Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ VanDread - Halo ❯ Christmas ( Chapter 13 )

VanDread - Halo

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to either VanDread or Halo

Chapter 13

Christmas…

< >: Thoughts

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

In space…

The Nirvana was once more abuzz with activity and the women were currently carrying cans and boxes of decorations and they seemed to be decorating the entire ship and even the rest of the Nirvana's Fire Teams seemed to be taking part in the whole celebration bit as they were in their normal Megele clothes and having a great deal of fun as they helped.

Even the Talvern soldiers were joining in and helping out their Megele allies doing what they were doing as well as they would carry boxes and other materials for use as well in what seemed to be some sort of celebration

The only members of the crew who had NO idea what was going on was obviously the men from Tarak as they looked on in confusion.

“What the heck are they all doing at this time of the day?”

Bart asked as he had no idea of what was going on at the moment and neither did Duero and Hibiki at the moment..it was then that Pyoro floated into the area and decided to educate the three men on what exactly was going on at the moment with the women.

“Today is December 25th, usually in this day the women get ready to celebrate Christmas.”

“Christmas?”

The floating Navigation Robot looked at the men and realized that it was going to take a while before the men would understand just what Christmas was.

“Don't tell me none of you have any idea what Christmas is?”

The silence of the three men plus the confused expressions was more than enough to tell the robot that they didn't have a clue and it sighed and explained.

“It's a yearly festival! Don't tell me you men don't have festivals on Tarak?”

“Oh we do…but it's mostly military parades and showing off…not exactly entertaining to say the least….right guys?”

“No kidding…”

Hibiki said as he winced at the memory of the last festival he had managed to sneak in to watch and found it extremely boring totally odd at the time. While the festivals celebrated important dates…they were mostly the birthdays of leaders and whatnot.

“I agree…the festivals back home were not that pleasing either.”

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

In the Nirvana hallways..

Dita panted a bit and relaxed herself and slowed down as she turned around and was happy that neither Jura nor Barnette were after her at the moment.

The redhead had been running away as she had made a rather serious mistake with the Christmas turkey and it had been turned from prime food material to kitchen disaster…she had secretly sampled the chocolate icing Barnette was making for the cake when Jura hit her on the head and reminded her on her duty watching the turkey and when she turned…she saw the whole mess and high tailed it out of the area.

She turned and there was Cortana with a handful of decorations as well…the redhead smiled at her friend from the UNSC and spoke to her…unlike the others…even Mr. Alien…she preferred to call Cortana by her real name and no nicknames as well.

“Cortana! Need any help with those?'

“Sure…I might be strong but I don't have an extra set of hands.”

The redhead helped Cortana carry some of the more numerous decorations to help lessen the load Cortana had to carry and while they were bringing those to the area where Christmas would be celebrated…the redhead asked her companion a question.

“Do you celebrate Christmas back in the UNSC?”

Cortana shook her head and replied.

“No…I was a military ship smart AI back then, remember? I knew about Christmas and I did help in the celebrations but fully experience it for myself…no. This'll be my first celebration as a human for that matter.”

“I see…well I hope you will find it nice…but does Mr. Green Alien celebrate Christmas too?”

Cortana was a bit sad at that and replied.

“John…didn't have much of a civilian life Dita…he's a Spartan after all.”

Dita was shocked by that and was very much feeling sorry for the Master Chief and she however quickly perked up and spoke to the somewhat silent woman who was her friend and advisor when it came to being with Hibiki as she didn't want to see the normally charming, witty, smart, brave, and friendly Cortana this sad.

“Don't worry Cortana…I have a feeling Mr. Green Alien will finally get to have a real fun time with this year's Christmas celebration!”

Cortana smiled at the cheerful redhead…sometime her enthusiasm was a bit tiring…but was certainly welcome when things were bad and down.

<She certainly knows how to make a person feel back on track and on the game.>

“I hope so too Dita.”

“By the way…do you think that Mr. Alien will give me something nice for Christmas?”

Cortana smiled at that and wondered just when was Dita ever going to call Hibiki by his real name…it would be considered nicer that way despite how well their relationship had blossomed for the past few months…then again…Dita was still the same and she knew she couldn't change that too much.

“That's up to Hibiki…though I have a feeling that he would have no idea at the moment on what to give you.”

“What about Mr. Green Alien…will you get something from him?”

Cortana recalled the time she teased John about not getting her anything and smiled a bit at the funny memory in her mind and replied.

“I guess I'll have to wait and see right?”

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

The Forward Unto Dawn section of the Nirvana…

The Spartan was busy training with his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle in the firing range as he thought about the upcoming Christmas celebration as the sound of weapons fire filled the range..Truth be told he had no desire to be involved with the situation and it was not that he didn't know about the festival…it was the fact that he had no idea just how to act in such an occasion.

Having lived a full scale military life ever since being inducted into the Spartan II Program and fighting for nearly 3 decades ever since…he had no memory of Christmas to say the least and had no idea on what do in days like this…unlike the UNSC Marines and Navy personnel that he worked with and who had prior civilian lives before and during their times of service in the UNSC and were given leave times…he and his Spartan team were not…they were either training, meditating, and getting ready for the next mission…and 30 years of combat with the Covenant non-stop naturally left no time for celebrations…brief victory celebrations were done…but he was no fan of large ones and he was not a very comfortable person when thrust in the public eye.

Even though he had VERY vague memories of Christmas in his past…he had forgotten the whole thing and it was fairly obvious to him that he had not been in any Christmas celebration at all in his 30 years of combat and training. The only thing he knew about Christmas was that it involved gift giving of some sort.

The Spartan put those thoughts aside as he reloaded his Assault Rifle and activated the safety and placed the weapon on his back and then made his way to the armory to leave his weapon there for the time being. He had given the Fire Teams leave to celebrate Christmas with their comrades…and the Talvern soldiers…having been familiar with Christmas also were given the time off to celebrate as well. The Spartan merely walked on and did his rounds as he checked the records once more…Unlike the Megele pirates, their Tarak allies, and their new Talvern comrades…the Master Chief didn't have a civilian life like they did, and even though he was a civilian nearly 27 years ago…it was long gone from his mind…he was a Spartan.

The Spartan then decided to see just what was happening on the Nirvana at the moment as he had not much to do at the moment. He was still wearing his MJOLNIR Mark VI Armor and was now on his way towards the rest of the Nirvana.

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

In another part of the Nirvana…

The three Tarak men were busy asking Pyoro questions about this Christmas when the doors opened and in walked one of the Talvern soldiers who was part of the Fire Teams.

Private 1st Class Felix Riddick was one of the Talvernian volunteers who had walked forward to join the detachment of his fellow men and women to help the pirates for their mission to head home and the young soldier was finding the people on the Nirvana to be the odd bunch…the men had no idea on women…with the exception of the young one named Hibiki who was the master Chief's student and protégé, he seemed to be a lot more receptive towards women than the other two…though he could tell that the three were still unsure around women.

Felix had deep brown hair that was in a boyish hair-cut and was tall…nearly as tall as Duero and he carried himself as a young but strong and dependable front line fighter. He had been in a relationship with a young woman back home…but she had been killed in a car accident and he was heart broken but lived on and dedicated himself to his duty…for now he was able to hear about them asking questions on Christmas.

“Hey there guys…what's going on?”

Hibiki turned and replied.

“We were asking questions on this whole Christmas thing.”

Felix gave them a confused look and asked.

“You don't celebrate Christmas on Tarak?”

The three men shook their heads and the young Private couldn't help but be shocked…everyone he knew on his world of Talvern Prime celebrated Christmas…and every person knew about the long standing tradition of Christmas…to think that there were people who didn't was a shock to the young soldier. He then decided to fill them in on the details so they won't make a misinterpretation on things before them at the moment.

“Well you want to know more?”

Duero, Hibiki, and Bart turned and were surprised with Duero being the one to ask the question.

“You celebrate Christmas on Talvern?”

“Oh yes…I've been celebrating Christmas for at least six years and it never gets old….so basically from what the Navi-robot told you, you know that it's held every December 25th right?”

“Yeah…so what so special about Dec 25th?”

“Well it's a long story…”

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

In another part of the Nirvana…

“All right…let's get those decorations over there!”

Corporal Leila Kendrick was busy moving the large number of boxes and she was enjoying the buzz of peaceful though frantic activity at the moment and that was a good thing as she liked a peaceful situation more than once. Leila had to admit that being around the Megele females was surprising as she heard all sorts of rumors being moved about…namely about the new men on the ship.

Leila was a blonde beauty with deep blue eyes…and amazingly enough…she was almost a mirror image of Jura as she had the same height and build…but unlike the Dread pilot…Leila was a skilled soldier and was wearing normal military issued clothes of a tank top and camouflaged combat pants and boots….though she had every intention of wearing civilian dress…she was also toned with muscle…not large amounts but showing considerable muscle tone and unlike the blonde Megele woman with the long mane of golden hair…she had her hair in a short style up to her shoulders only.

As the blonde soldier placed the box down…one of the Megele crew-members went up to her and asked a question.

“Excuse me?”

“Yes?”

“You grew up around men all your life right?”

Leila was confused at first and made that fairly obvious with her answer to the question.

“Yes I have…my father was a man and my mother was a woman if you wanted to know…why are you so surprised by it?”

“Well…on Megele…we're an all female society and we see men as inferior and more.”

Leila was surprised at this…while she knew that some women on her world…being ultra-feminists would have liked the idea…she was not a big fan of it and wondered just what sort of world to these women live in…having no men on the planet…that was way too odd for the blonde soldier.

“You can't be serious…how do you even manage to have children?!”

Leila was immediately told about how Megele society grew and flourished and she was not quite happy at what she learned…apparently the women of Megele were able to reproduce using artificial methods…with the one woman consenting to be the father of the child and donating her DNA and the ohma, who was the mother would use her egg and have it fertilized by the fahma's DNA and the ohma would carry the baby to term. And when she heard about how men were seen by the Megele women she was not happy with the whole thing and she made it quite obvious to the woman talking to her.

“You can't be serious…that is just odd…I know that it's your culture and all…but to me it's really weird!”

“And how do women on your world have children?”

Leila smiled at that and spoke honestly…after all…she knew some of her comrades had done the deed before…though none of them were expecting kids at all at the moment.

“Why do you think we live with men?”

The Megele girl was horrified and she spoke in a very shocked tone.

“That's…so wrong…you can't possibly have a child with a man!”

“Hey…I'm the product of a union between men and women here…my mother and my father, who is a man mind you, had me as their child.”

“But…can you really have a child with a man?”

“Yes…you can…and it's a rather interesting and fun experience…especially if you happen to be very close to the man and that's where being with a man can be really fun…one of the high lights of a woman's life…where I come from anyway, is when a woman manages to have a man in her life…in every sense of the word.

“How can being with a man be fun?”

For the first time since learning about Megele…Leila grinned at the question and then she gave a sly look.

“You have no idea how much fun it is to be with men…it can be a great experience once you get used to them and learn their unique quirks. After that…well…let's just say that if you manage to get it right off the bat…then things get VERY interesting.”

“How much fun can being with men be?”

Leila just smiled and then she spoke to her companions just how much fun being with men was….she knew that she would get into trouble at some point but hey…where was life without risk?

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

Back with the men…

“I see…so who is this Santa Claus?”

“Santa Claus is the shorter term of Saint Nicholas…a famous person who would always come to deliver toys and gifts to those who were nice boys and girls during Christmas time. He's a jolly fellow who wears read and white…and has white hair and beard and always rode on a sleight with several reindeer pulling along the sleight. At least that's how he's seen in the normal versions. I can bet that the women of Megele have their own version of Santa Claus. As well…considering the fcat I saw the elderly captain dressed like him”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well…in some places Santa Claus has reindeer and a sleight that flies on the air currents and he goes down chimneys to deliver presents and usually is given cookies and milk by those expecting him and he usually places those said gifts inside socks of some sort.”

“He can fly?! Cool…makes me wish I can do that.”

“Yeah…though the one thing that always astounds most people who hear about it is how a portly old man with a golden heart manages to sneak into a chimney that's a lot smaller than he is…even when I was a kid I never got the idea on how he even manages to get in there…and I am willing to bet I wasn't the only one.”

“Fascinating…to think that such a festival actually existed in our ancestor's times…what else can you tell us?”

Felix thought it over and replied.

“You know about gift giving right?”

Hibiki and the others looked at one another and gave confused looks…making Felix sweat drop at the fact that his Tarak allies knew nothing about that part of Christmas…he decided to ask the question that had been plaguing him ever since meeting the three Tarak men.

“What sort of festivals do you guys from Tarak have?”

Felix was shocked by what he was told and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the men before him.

<These guys have no idea of how to have a grand time…man, we've got to remedy this.>

It was then that a door opened and out came a certain redhead who smiled warmly and rushed towards Hibiki.

“Mr. Alien!!!”

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

In yet another part of the Nirvana…

Captain Garret Harington looked at the group before him and shook his head as he sat down on the nearby bench and spoke.

“All right ladies…let's try that again and this time…please try not to sound like condemned men…and women okay…this is Christmas for crying out loud! It's supposed to be a day of celebration and you make it sound like a day in the hangman's noose…come on…liven up that performance!”

The grizzled soldier looked at the bunch of his fellow Talvern soldiers and wished that they had more time to practice…when he had found out that the day of Christmas was fast approaching he got a good number of his fellow Talvern soldiers together and formed a surprise number for the celebration…however…they barely had enough time to practice and the war veteran was doing his best to make due…

Garret had his normal military haircut broken with a long ponytail and his silver grey hair made him look older than he really was…he had been a veteran of nearly twenty years in the military…enlisting when he was fresh out of college and had done a lot of combat training over the years…he had been among the soldiers during the siege of the Harvesters on his home world and was eager for a chance for some payback…

He was also impressed by the Spartan…he had watched the videos of the Master Chief's abilities and saw a rough and tumble ground pounder like the rest of his group…he might have been a Navy NCO as he was familiar with the rank but the Spartan was a seriously skilled fighter. He had been told by the Fire Teams and his fellow soldiers…those who had taken part in the previous mission and that one on their old home-world how he had molded the Fire Teams into what they were and that was good to him.

The veteran placed that out of his mind and tried to work the performance of his group and when they repeated the practice another five times…the grizzled war veteran was now somewhat content.

“All right! Now that's more like it…grab some rest time…when the countdown starts…you all get ready to sing and have fun…that's an order!”

Garret turned and grabbed a nearby glass of cold orange juice and sighed as he held the drink…he would have settled for Firecracker Beer but getting drunk on Christmas Day and getting himself thrown in the brig was not one of his favorite things…besides that…he was not in the mood to do something that would be considered indecent and dangerous before his Tarak and Megele comrades at the moment.

As he finished his drink…he decided to take a peek at the rest of the ship and saw that the women were going at it and he knew that soon things were going to get even more spectacular as soon as he and his group got ready their contributions to the Christmas celebrations.

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

In the Kitchen…

Jura and Barnette were not very happy as they gazed at the burned turkey and looked at the newly thawed one…there was not enough time to ready another roasted thanks giving turkey in time for the soon to come dinner and that was not a good sign…

“What are we going to do? We don't have enough time to properly marinate this one and it would take another hour or so to cook this one…we'll be late…I wish Dita wasn't such a ditz at times!”

Barnette had to agree and wished that maybe there was some answer to their situation as she was not in the mood for all the hard work to go to waste…the two then noted that they had a visitor…in the form and armor of the master Chief…the Spartan had heard the whole thing and was somewhat curious on what was happening.

“Is there something wrong?”

Jura sighed and pointed to the turkey…or what used to be the turkey that now resembled something out of an inferno.

“Oh yes there is something wrong…the turkey's ruined and we don't have enough time to marinate and cook another one…by the time we're done with this…we'd have now make due with only side dishes for the Christmas feast!”

“I see…”

Jura then had an idea.

“Hey Chief…can you cook?”

Barnette was surprised at that question and spoke out.

“You can't be seriously asking him that question Jura…he's a soldier…not a chef!”

The Spartan was not the least bit offended by the remark…since it was true…he had been so used to military rations and more that he was not a skilled cook…though he did have wilderness survival training on Reach and was quite familiar with some of the basic cooking techniques such as boiling, and roasting…not to mention eating wild berries and fruits back in his training days.

“Barnette is correct Jura…I don't know how to cook, I know some of basic cooking methods like roasting and boiling food items but that's about it. But I can learn quickly…all I need is a guide.”

Jura thought it over and then had an interesting idea as she looked at Barnette.

“There's an idea…Barnette…maybe you can teach the Master Chief how to cook?”

“WHAT?!”

Barnette had no idea how to react to that question at all…she didn't know whether to laugh, feel insulted, or what. The idea of a woman teaching a man how to cook was totally unheard of on Megele and seemed utterly ludicrous to her sensibilities and she didn't respond at first until she gathered her wits made sure she didn't look like an idiot and leave her mouth open…and she spoke.

“Jura…are you listening to yourself…we have less than four hours before the celebration starts…and you expect me to teach a man who admits that he knows NOTHING about the finer points of cooking how to cook?!”

Jura nodded and replied…

“Yes…but think about it…all the Master Chief needs is a guide and you're the best cook in the ship that I know of. Besides if he could be able to learn at a rapid pace then that would be no problem…and with his abilities, speed, and skill…that will be enough to get enough dishes out and ready before the dinner party.”

“But…”

Jura looked at Barnette and spoke gently.

“Please Barnette…this is Christmas and we can't afford to be late and besides, you can guide him very well and with his learning curve it would not be a problem.”

Barnette tried to think up an excuse but she couldn't think or find one that could try and reason with the blonde Dread pilot before her at the moment. But she decided that with the time constraints as they were at the moment she could certainly need all the help she could get at the moment…she still had her misgivings but she decided to do this…though she was not liking the situation.

“All right…I'll do it…but what about the turkey?”

The Spartan provided the answer for them as he spoke to them.

“You can go to the Forward Unto Dawn and head for the kitchen section…use the map. The automated kitchens there will be able to make a well roasted turkey for you.”

Jura nodded and headed for the Forward Unto Dawn section of the Nirvana and that left John with Barnette and the emerald haired Dread pilot looked at the seven foot tall Spartan who was dressed in his MJOLNIR Mark 6 armor and in the one place she thought she would never see him in and that was in the kitchen…it was so odd and unexpected…she had no idea on whether to laugh or be disgusted…it was then that the Spartan turned to the Dread pilot and spoke

“All right then Barnette, shows me how this is done.”

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

Dita and the others were currently looking about the ship to find some other decorations to add to the celebrations in Christmas. Hibiki was not into the whole thing at first but at Dita's mentioning of the soon to come Christmas feast made Hibiki willing to help out in the search…the two were also accompanied by Duero, Bart, Cortana, and Felix as they were also interested to see just what was here on the ship.

They entered a particular room and then they tried to look for any trace of Christmas decorations and when Hibiki leaned on a nearby wall…there was a creaking sound and then the wall fell out of place. The group quickly found themselves looking at a massive number of dolls, furniture, items and more…many of them were unrecognizable at first until Felix grinned and spotted something that was easy for him to recognize. He picked up the item that resembled a hand crafted child's doll and he admired the craftsmanship.

“I'll be darned…this looks like an old hand crafted doll…first time I saw one of these things.”

“What's all this stuff?”

Dita asked as she looked at the items before her at the moment…Cortana took a peek and quickly saw the large collection of dust and the way the items were arranged at the moment and the various items told the former UNSCAI what they had just found.

“I think we found a sealed off section that housed stored items during the Colonization Era of this dimension's Earth. The colonists here must have stored these here and must have forgotten all about it when the Ikazuchi was separated during the older days and this place was forgotten when the Ikazuchi was retrofitted by the men of Tarak as a military vessel.”

Duero ran his finger on the dust and the thickness of the dust made him agree with Cortana's assessment.

“Cortana has the right answer…judging from the dust…no one's ever been here for the past hundred years. Still to see all these artifacts in our own ship and to know that all these items were right under our very noses for that matter is rather surprising…I guess looking throughout the ship can yield even more information on how things were back in the Colonization Era.”

“Hmm…I still am not sure what we can do with all these things…”

“Hey…what's this thing?”

The other turned and looked at Dita as she produced something that seemed like a rectangular object and it had some decorations on it and the words `Xmas with the Family'.

“What do you suppose this is?”

Bart asked as he and Hibiki looked at the item and Cortana and Felix recognized the item rather well…with the Talvern soldier commenting.

“That looks like an old Earth style VHS cassette tape…it's hard to imagine that something like this survived being here all these years…the film in it should have already corroded by now…this must be a fully restored version.”

“Yeah…as far as I recall…VHS tapes have long since been out of use where me and John are from…we basically use holograms and data crystal chips to store and contain data…this thing must be pretty valuable to the people in the Colonial Fleet for it to have been preserved for this long period of time…”

“Can we see what's inside?”

“I'm not sure we can at the moment Dita…VHS cassettes need a player system for it…but if the VHS tape is here…then chances are that the system unit is here as well…all we have to do is find it.”

It didn't take long for the small group to find the system needed in question and with a little fiddling they were finally able to get the VHS player online and placed it on a nearby television unit and it was soon ready to play. Unknown to them…they had wired it directly into the live video feeds in the entire ship.

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

Back in the kitchen…

Barnette was busy giving directions to the Spartan as he moved about in a very quick and agile pace and his hand and eye coordination was flawless. Barnette had to work hard not to gape in shock and disbelief as the Spartan went about the chores being assigned to him by her with an almost machine like speed with human grace. He chopped the vegetables well and in perfect order, and the meat was well sliced, bread was evenly made, eggs were there, along with other ingredients…along with the measuring of the water, spices…as all she had to do was show the Master Chief the measurements and how it was done and then the Spartan quickly got it into the need of things and was literally cooking up a storm right before her eyes…

It seemed that the very same precision military training and upbringing could be applied to civilian life after all as the Master Chief methodically prepared every dish just to specifications given to him by Barnette. Already dishes which took a longer time were being prepared in record time by the Master Chief and she couldn't help but look on and give instructions…the food dishes that were there were now growing in number as the Spartan was moving all out to get the food prepared and when Barnette sampled the food…to her amazement…the food was delicious to the taste…just as the Spartan was one of the most skilled soldiers she had seen, he was just as good a cook as she was…even more as the food matched her requirements flawlessly.

<I'll be damned…if the Spartan was a woman…she'd be one HELL of a chef! No one I know moves this fast and efficiently and still make good food on the go!>

The Dread pilot wasn't the only on as several of the Nirvana crew came there and smelled the food being prepared…naturally they assumed it was Barnette doing the cooking along with the other cooks in the galley helping out…they were stunned to see the Spartan doing the work and Barnette was merely supervising the whole thing.

It had gotten so fantastic that the Talvern soldiers got to see it and were themselves amazed at the fact that the fearsome and very much skilled fighter who they had joined with could be such a skilled cook.

Already there were a large number of dishes…including roasted and fried fish, along with boiled soup fish, fried chicken, baked chicken, roasted beef ribs, beef stew, noodles, vegetable salads, fruit salads, and even more. The Spartan completed each with swift and efficient military precision and followed the instructions down to the letter and the food was all ready…and as he finished the last meals…he turned to Barnette and replied.

“That should just about do it.”

“No kidding…”

In less than an hour and a half, the meals for the Christmas feast had doubled and it was then that Jura returned with a sweet smelling well roasted turkey from the UNSC section's kitchen..she was impressed and had tried a sample earlier and found the meat to be cooked down to specifications and that was a very good thing in her mind and when the blonde looked at the fully prepared food ready to be catered out to the main hall area for the party…she whistled.

“Wow…I guess having the Chief help out in the food preparations was a great idea after all. The turkey's just about perfect and all we need is to garnish this one.”

Jura then turned to the Spartan and smiled.

“Thanks a lot Chief…with all this food done…we'll have a seriously great feast ahead of us…you know…you might not make a bad chef with a lot more practice.”

The Spartan merely shrugged and decided to leave for the time being and that left Barnette and Jura to handle the rest while the audience allowed the Spartan to pass as they still looked at him…trying to combine the image of him slaughtering Harvester troopers and other Harvester forces with super-human precision and skill, and the image of him being able to make dishes that were delicious in record time like a master chef.

It was also at this time that a certain video began to play on the screens that got the attention of just about every person in the crew.

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

The women of Megele were all getting ready for the celebration and when they saw the video…they had at first thought of it being a video of a normal Christmas celebrated on Megele and it seemed that way as they saw a young girl being there with her mother and a young baby at the moment in a quaint home…the camera recorded them being happy and the women gave comments on how nice it looked and how cute the baby and the little girl were…that is…until they saw just who the father was…

A man!!!

The women of Megele were utterly dumbstruck and couldn't help gape in shock at what they had witnessed before them and it was obvious that none of them were expecting to see the video of a man and woman living under the very same roof The same could be said for the shocked men of Tarak…with the exception of Hibiki who had gotten quite used to the idea of being around women for some time….even though it still surprised him immensely…while Cortana merely grinned at the sight.

The only members of the Nirvana crew who were not the least bet shocked were naturally their Talvern allies who were smiling at the image of a man and a woman living under the same roof as they came from a co-gender world to begin with. Magno herself was smirking as she had been one of the First Generation and knew full well how things were back in the old days…as she dressed in a Santa Claus outfit. She was not the only one as meia looked at the image…along with Buzam and the others involved…including Parfait herself.

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

In the Medical Bay…

Bart was not in the best of moods as he ranted on what he had seen while Duero, Hibiki, and Felix were with him…Cortana had very much gone with Dita as she had a plan in mind for the Christmas gift giving occasion and the former UNSC AI had a feeling that this gift in particular was aimed at the young Vanguard pilot.

“That is just wrong!!!”

Duero took out some tablets from a nearby container and handed them to the blonde Tarak cadet and then handed him a glass of water…

“Here…some valium…take these before you lose yourself.”

Bart wasted no time and chugged down the tablets and drank the water and as soon as that was done…he gave an explosive breath of release to show that the pills were now taking effect on him and he was utterly happy for it. He then spoke in a very shocked and still disbelieving tone.

“There is no way a man can live with a woman…”

“So says you.”

The Tarak men turned to face their Talvern comrade Felix who was grinning from ear to ear at the blonde cadet's discomfort and shock…he had never seen such a moronic action before in his life both as a soldier and when he was off duty and being with the civilians of his home planet.

“Where I come from and the rest of my fellow soldiers…that's pretty darn normal to us.”

“It's…”

“What?”

“That will never happen on Tarak! No way!”

“Listen Bart…we're not ON Tarak and what makes you think that there's no way women and men can't live under the very same roof anyway…in case it escaped your attention…you're living with women on this very ship and for me and my fellow men back on Talvern…the idea of men and women living under the very same roof is not impossible nor is it wrong…in fact I can wager a bet that apart from Megele, Tarak, Anpathos and Talvern…there are just as many planets in this galaxy that have men and women living on them as well.”

Duero thought about that and had to agree with Felix…it did make sense that since there was a massive fleet that left Earth during the Colonization Era all those years before…it would make sense that the other ships would have both male and female crews on them as he had seen that men and women can actually live together in the same space and he had been routinely checking himself, Hibiki, and Bart for any sign of the supposed illnesses that one man could get being in the company of women.

“He does have a point Bart…if the Ikazuchi was part of a colonization mission from Earth…then it would make sense that there were other ships that were part of the fleet and have no doubt settled on other planets…Anpathos had men and women living there and Talvern is living proof that men and women can live together under the same roof.”

Bart was still helpless in trying to come up with a counter to all the evidence…but Hibiki was uncharacteristically silent for some reason as he was deep in thought and wondered just what was going to be done at the moment after seeing the video of a man and a woman living under the very same roof at the moment.

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

Meia was currently underway to head out on a recon patrol…like her commander Buzam…she was not a big fan of Christmas all that much and valued her privacy at the moment. As she made her way to the lower floors of the Hanger to get to her Dread, Gascogne called out to her that maybe she should consider celebrating with the rest of the crew for this year.

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

The Bio-Park…

The Master Chief observed all the moments there all on the Nirvana and when he heard a bang…the battle trained sense kicked in and he rushed to the sight…ready for anything…except the sight of one of the most odd looking devices he had ever seen, with a soot and dust covered Parfait with slightly frazzled hair and a slightly goofy expression on her face.

“You all right?”

“Yeah…but I think I goofed up somewhere with the snow maker.”

“Snow maker/'

“Yeah…I was supposed to make artificial snow for the crew inside the Nirvana to celebrate Christmas…but this darn thing is giving me trouble again. I won't give up yet!”

“But Parfait…we've got less than an hour before the celebration and there's not enough time for anymore repairs.”

Parfait's face fell at that and she was not very happy with the news.

“You've got a point there…maybe I should scrap it?”

“No you won't Parfait! The celebration won't be the same without snow…a Christmas without snow is just plain odd!”

Jura replied as she and several of the women were there on the scene…along with Commander Buzam. The ship commander had tried to keep some semblance of order and function on the ship but she gave up as the celebration was the only thing on the minds of the crew and no amount of words from her was going to do much good anyway.

Buzam then suggested a compromise for the situation as she was not in the mood to have a conflict of interest flare up at the moment.

“We can use the comet instead as it pass through space near us…the ice tail should suffice.”

“But it won't be the same commander!”

The speaker was a woman named Celtic Midori who was always seen wearing what appeared to be some sort of bear costume and she never seemed to want to take it off for any reason. The Spartan wondered just what was the issue with Celtic…he had never seen her remove the costume and since it was a normal costume it would no doubt be very uncomfortable to and hot to be in for long periods of time. Why didn't she take off now and then? Unlike her costume…the MJOLNIR Mark VI that he wore was able to regulate body temperature and was very comfortable to him since he had gotten quite used to wearing it for long periods of time and while he wore the Mark IV the longest of the MJOLNIR series…this was becoming a close second favorite for the Spartan. He placed that issue aside as Barnette arrived and then the plucky head engineer asked the Spartan something.

“Hey Chief…you know anything about how to fix a snow maker?”

The Spartan shook his head in response…he had received combat training and technical knowledge on every UNSC vehicle and weapon in his many years and was very familiar with Covenant combat systems and weapons…never snow makers or any of the sort…thus he would be of little help in the project Parfait had in mind at the moment.

“I'm not knowledgeable on such things Parfait…but I know you can do it.”

Parfait smiled and replied.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Chief! I'll get this baby running yet!”

The Chief nodded and took his leave…he was rather curious on what was Cortana up to at the moment…and decided to find her and do some recon work for the time being. As he made his way towards the residential section…he entered the Medical Bay and noted that Duero was working on something…a canvas of some sort. He walked over to the Tarak doctor and spoke evenly.

“What are you doing Duero?”

The doctor turned and replied.

“I plan to give this to someone.”

The Spartan couldn't help but give a slight smile as he saw just what Duero was cooking up at the moment before his eyes. It resembled flowing snow and in a blue background as well. The doctor had acquired the canvas and the paint brush and coloring paints from the very same section where the VHS castes and dolls were found along with the other artifacts.

<Not bad…>

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

Dita's Room…

“It's done! This is going to be so cool!”

Dita lay back on her bed and there on the redhead's lap was a very small box that had the words `Do not open until Christmas' on it at the picture of her there on the box as well. Cortana was there and smiled at the very happy and content redhead.

“I guess you're going to have a lot of fun with giving this to Hibiki I take it?”

“Yes! I just know he's going to like it!”

Cortana smiled and left the room and headed off to see just what else was going on in the Nirvana and it was then that s ran into the Spartan as John was going to leave the Medical Bay to see just what else was going on at the moment in the Nirvana. The two walked together in silence for the moment…just enjoying the silence and the lack of activity before the main celebration and made their way to the Bio-Park to witness what was going on. It was then that Cortana looked out at the window and with her specially honed senses saw what appeared to be…

“What is it Cortana?”

“Isn't that Hibiki's Vanguard?”

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

Out in space…

Hibiki was out in his Vanguard as he planned to get something extraordinary for the Christmas gift giving occasion…he had decided to get something for Dita as Paiway had told him about the whole concept of gift giving and he decided to give something to the red haired girl in appreciation for all the things she had done for him, it was fair after all to give something back for all the things Dita had done…but he needed something that would certainly stand out from normal presents and it was there as he viewed the comet that he had an idea.

As he made his way there…he was suddenly informed that something was following him from behind…he waited for his Vanguard's scanners to identify the unit and was happy to see that it was a UNSC signal and when he turned…he saw the undeniable shape of a UNSC Longsword Fighter and then he heard a voice that he quickly recognized.

“What are you doing Hibiki?”

“I was planning to get something for Christmas to give to Dita.”

The Spartan was very surprised by that and showed his shock on the matter himself.

“Wait a minute…are you telling me you're going to find a gift for Dita…in outer space?”

Hibiki didn't know how to respond to the question as the two approached the tail of the comet…it was then however that the Spartan picked up a faint pair of signals inside the comet and they were not ordinary ones either. He scanned them and found that one of the signals was a Megele pirate frequency and it was Meia's.

<What's she doing all the way out here?>

The other signal however was not a good one and he recognized it as Harvester Frequency.

“Hibiki…that present's going to have to wait…I think we've got very familiar company.”

“Harvesters?”

“Right…and Meia's in there as well…time to deal with the threat alongside her.”

“Don't have to tell me twice Chief!”

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

Inside the comet…

The Master Chief was right on the money on the scanners…the Dread pilot had been scanning the asteroid when she was suddenly attacked by a pair of long robotic arms and the second that happened she knew that there was danger coming in and that meant that a Harvester unit had been…however she had been caught in some sort of energy web like a fly in a spider's web and no matter how hard she tried to break free she couldn't leave…and the dame spider-octopus like hybrid unit was pounding at her Dread.

It was then that Hibiki and the Master Chief showed up…the Spartan guided his Longsword and fired it's rotary guns into the creature and forced it back along with the missiles it carried for space warfare…while Hibiki landed and tried to slice the web with his Vanguard's solid energy blade.

“What are you wasting time for? Put that sword away and use firepower!”

Hibiki turned to face her in his Vanguard and replied.

“In case it escaped your attention Meia…my Vanguard is not armed with ranged weapons! How am I supposed to free you when my Vanguard isn't even armed with even a decent pea-shooter?”

“Can the chatter you two…I'll keep this thing occupied but I don't know for how long…Hibiki…focus on freeing Meia and Meia, keep moving so the web can loosen and allow Hibiki to free you faster…this thing might make a move on the Nirvana so let's take this thing out before then!”

“ROGER!!!”

The Spartan knew that this was deadly to the extreme…just like that time in the nebula he would have to avoid the incoming space debris of rock and ice…that was hard enough…but having to fight a massive foe at the same time made this very risky to say the very least. But he had to buy Hibiki enough time to free Meia and with that…they could take this machine out without any other complications.

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

Buzam listened in on the information coming through the comm.-systems and she silently hoped that they would do all right…she had intercepted the transmissions and tried to rally some support to the three but with the crew so engrossed in the ceremony of Christmas there was no time to rally them…

Cortana arrived and when she found out about it…the woman wasted no time and ran into the holo-tank and when she was now in her AI form she began to activate the weapon systems but without knowing the location of the group inside the comet…there was no way she could fire any weapons as they might be caught in the barrage…she hoped that they would be all right.

Dita watched the happenings on a floating lift as she helped the decoration work on the tree…she had been looking for Hibiki to give him her present but the situation as it stood made looking for him harder than most…she was unaware that bright flashes of light from the comet was actually a battle going on between a Harvester spider unit and her Mr. Alien, the Master Chief and Meia.

She then began to try and find Hibiki as time ran out…only she had no idea how right she was at the moment.

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

Back in the comet…

Hibiki managed to damage the web with his sword and then launched a powerful fist strike to the web and shattered it hard. This freed Meia's Dread and he was able to grab a hunk of ice as a present…but they had no time as the Spartan told them to move as he had nearly run out of ordnance. The trio moved out of the area quickly and Hibiki and Meia formed into their VanDread form and quickly turned the tables on their foe and destroyed it as the master Chief fired another salvo of missiles to make double sure.

Buzam and Cortana was very worried but were relieved as they spotted the VanDread and the Longsword coming out of the exploding comet. Meia and Hibiki then separated and Hibiki unceremoniously landed on the Nirvana with the ice in the hand of his Vanguard while Meia smiled and left. Cortana quickly left and that made her ignore the arrival of a certain blonde haired navigator.

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

The Nirvana crew were very much relieved and enjoyed the full weight of the festivities and soon the gift giving was going to start. The Talvern crew made a surprise run at the start of the Christmas season and contributed in their own way with a Christmas Carol led by Captain Garret and the Megele crew were impressed by the way the Talvern men and women could sing…they were not too bad and were able to do very well despite the time frame they had to work with at the moment. As the gift giving began…Jura got a beautiful ring from Barnette and Barnette got a kiss and a bracelet as well.

Duero's painting was given to Parfait who was amazed at the gift and felt very happy at the present given to her, while the Chief who had been working with parfait was laughing in her own way…Paiway gathered all the pictures she could and write in her diary on all she had witnessed for this Christmas festival.

The crew gathered together and began to eat the Christmas feast and even Meia, Buzam, and Magno were impressed when they discovered that the Master Chief had contributed to the feat before them.

As for Dita and Hibiki….

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

In the Bio-Park…

John-117 sighed as he looked at the Bio-Park's trees and environments and this brought back memories of his time on Reach. Reach had been his home for so many years that he had forgotten what life was like back on Eridanus and while he had vague memories of his past life…he had long since left them behind and moved on…it was considered callous but he doubted that it would matter at the moment…he still had work to do and he needed to do something with himself…but for now…

“Hey…thought I lost you there…”

The Spartan turned to see Cortana looking at him with worried eyes as she walked over towards him and she seemed to be very serious about something as the two were now side by side and the Spartan saw the massive cloud of snow and ice outside of the Nirvana as the pirates and their Talvern allies were celebrating Christmas…the Spartan and the former UNSC AI then took a seat on a nearby bench and the Spartan removed his helmet…the head gear making a slight hissing sound at being removed by the Spartan and the former UNSC AI looked at her companion and spoke.

“You took a great risk to help out there in the patrol John…you could have been killed…MJOLNIR or not.”

“I know…but I'm still alive.”

“I know that…still…you know something…”

“What is it Cortana?”

“I never realized how utterly peaceful it is around here when the Harvesters are not bothering us or any other human society around the galaxy…it's kind of new…”

John knew just where Cortana was getting at…most of the quiet times he ever had in his time as a soldier was in cryo-stasis, and when he was out of stasis, he would be in the battle field and was always surrounded by the sounds of battle and the voices of allies and enemies alike…this kind of peace was very rare…almost foreign to the Spartan…but instead of being confused and bored…he was becoming adjusted to the peace and felt a bit more comfortable. He then decided to reach for something that he had planned to give Cortana before the Harvester spy unit had distracted him and the others from the celebration. He had made some medications and knew that it was done…

Cortana noted than and she was quickly curious as to what was the tiem that the Spartan was reaching for.

“What's that John?”

The small but very obvious smile coming from the tall Spartan was more than enough for the UNSC AI to get even more confused and eager to find out what it was that the Spartan had with him at the moment…and she didn't have to wait long either as he spoke.

“You remember what you said to Sergeant Johnson in New Mombasa when he dropped off the Scorpion Tank when we hunted that Scarab?”

“Yes…why?”

“You said I never get you anything…remember?”

“Yeah…I do, so what does this…you're actually giving me something? Wow…I never knew that.”

The Spartan gave a small smile and revealed the time…and it was a necklace…but not the regular kind…it was a locket style necklace and when she saw what was inside…Cortana gave a slight gasp as she was able to recognize the item inside the necklace.

The item was a coin…simple and directly ordinary…with the symbol of Earth on it and a value written on the metallic surface…it was a standard UNSC coin but it had a slight gash on the middle there…a simple coin to just about anyone, one in the trillions issued by the UNSC treasury department in Earth and the Colonies, however Cortana knew otherwise…because it was the coin that Dr. Catherine Halsey…her `mother' had used to test John when he was merely a young child all those years ago back on John's home-world of Eridanus…and since she was made from the thoughts and memories of the famous civilian head of the Spartan II Program, she would have no trouble remembering the coin.

Cortana was shocked as she held the necklace stared long at it and then spoke to the Spartan who was watching her the whole time.

“John…this is…the coin that…why?”

“I figured it would be a good gift…that coin might not be any different from most of the other coins around in the UNSC and even here I wager…but this coin started my life as a Spartan and who knows how the war would have turned out…and most of all…if it wasn't for this coin and Dr. Catherine…you and I would have never met you know…keep it close as I always have.”

Cortana felt another emotion that she had already been familiar with…but never felt as a flesh and blood human being…joy. She wasted little time and placed on the necklace and when she was done she held the coin in her hands as it was in a gold container and a silver chain as well. The former UNSC AI understood the significance of John's gift to her as she had admitted that if it wasn't for this coin…she would have never known John at all.

The former UNSC AI and now full fledged woman was close to tears at this but managed to calm herself as she still had to get used to these emotions that she had long been familiar with and sensed as an AI but never fully as a human being and with a smile she spoke.

“Thanks…now I think it's my turn…come here…”

The Spartan was confused but he didn't argue with Cortana in the least as he followed her and they were in the park's forest and then to the shock of the Spartan Cortana hugged him and she spoke in a very happy and sly tone.

“Now it's my turn…Merry Christmas John.”

And without any warning, she kissed him right on the lips…making the Spartan react with some surprise at the unexpected actions of the woman who he had been protecting for the past many years since they first met in Reach. As soon as the kiss was over…Cortana smiled and replied as she pointed to a certain plant dangling on top of the two.

“Mistletoe…the couple who are below it has to kiss… No we're even…I have to go John…work you know.”

The Spartan didn't say a word but Cortana smiled as she could see something that John could never see…a faint blush on his pale skinned face…and the red color there was contrasting to his full form and his Mjolnir Mark VI Armor. As Cortana left the area…the Master Chief couldn't help but smirk a bit as he walked back to the bench and got his helmet and with a sharp hiss…he wore his helmet once more and decided to head back to the UNSC section of the Nirvana to take a break…and he wondered just what Hibiki was doing at the moment.

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

In the UNSC section…

“What the?”

“MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! MR. SANTA ALIEN!!!!”

The flying saucer that popped out of the box when the Tarak youth opened it had startled him but when the thing began flying about and repeated the same phrase over and over again and then exploded into a toy version of him dressed in Santa clothes and with a wide smile and carrying a sack full of toys and riding a sleight pulled by reindeer and the showering of confetti make it even more interesting.

Hibiki couldn't help but smile at the sight as he took the toy and placed it near his bed…along with the pillow Dita had made for him. The Tarak youngster had to admit…this was not such a bad festival after all. He then recalled that Dita had reserved a large amount of food for him when he got back from the battle in the ice comet. And when he was full he gave her the present…there was a pair of flower pods in the melting ice and amazingly enough…both flowers bloomed instantly and one was a deep blue flower and another was red…both flowers matched both her eyes and her hair.

Dita was utterly happy with the gift and promptly hugged Hibiki…making him blush a bit for some reason as she said thank you to him…

With that in mind, and wondering what else would happen soon …he went to sleep.

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

In the Bridge…

Cortana walked over to the giant holo-tank where she would fall into and activate the weapons systems, defensive frequencies, and ground communications networks of the Nirvana. As she walked over to the tank…she greeted Buzam and saw the container of various colored food pills and couldn't help but smirk as she had a rather clear idea on who sent those…

She placed them out of her mind as she got ready to do her duty and send the Clarion Spy Drones out on recon duty…but before she did so…she held the coin in her hands and smiled warmly as she stepped on the holo-tank and quickly vanished and reappeared in her AI form…with the coin necklace still on her person…though in electronic form.

Magno and Buzam enjoyed the festivities and were happy that for once in this entire journey they could take a break from their worries and cares and at least be happy and enjoy the blessings they had with them.

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

Unknown to the Nirvana…

Back in the harvester home-world, things were moving up as the leaders of the Harvesters were looking at a series of images. The images were that of the Nirvana and the VanDreads…along with Hibiki's Vanguard and the VanDreads that formed the core force of the Nirvana's space borne forces…but then the images changed…to the images of a certain green and black armored giant of a man with a golden visor hiding his face and wielding a certain Assault Rifle and slaughtering the Shock Troopers and Ground combat soldiers…the most glaring data they had was the fact that there before them was the battle of Talvern.

As the images of the Master Chief played out the Council leaders turned and spoke to one another.

“This cannot continue…this soldier or whatever he or it is…has proven time and again to be a great nuisance. The Harvesting of Talvern should have been completed in three days…but instead….we lost the entire Harvesting forces and the loss of one of our Command Spider Queen has placed us in a serious bind!”

“We can ignore them…there are other worlds worthy of harvesting…”

One spoke out in a serious manner.”

“We cannot ignore them…our forces have been defeated by the Nirvana at every turn…we must deal with them now before the rest of the Colonies side with them. The VanDreads will be dealt with in the proper time…however…this…soldier is the one we must deal with…the combat prowess that soldier has is astonishing and that could help inspire greater resistance among the human colonies…the Nirvana and it's crews could very well unite the human colonies and they could become too powerful to directly assault.”

“You're being a bit overdramatic…”

“He has a point…it only take a handful of people to inspire others to fight to the end…remember our history…the Spartans of ancient Greece…they were only three hundred…and facing hundreds of thousands of soldiers, they held on for three days…before they were annihilated to the last man…but their example inspired their fellow Greeks to unite and defeat their enemies. The Nirvana's crew may only be a handful…but they have already won a handful of victories against us and it will not be long before they become heroes and martyrs…they must be crushed and wiped out from the memory of the people of the colonies…or the Harvest Operation will be utterly ruined.”

The Council then talked a bit more about the soon to come counter offensive that they would unleash on the Nirvana that had been a thorn on their side for quite a long time. The Council then turned to a nearby technician who had appeared to give the latest reports.

“What have you to report?”

The tech nodded and replied.

“We have managed to study the newest blood sample provided to us by Rabat that he reportedly gained from the soldier known as the Master Chief…and the blood cells and DNA show remarkable abilities.”

“Remarkable? Explain yourself.”

“The DNA of this Master Chief shows that he is already mentally and physically superior to the normal human being and his DNA is pure…no sign of genetic deformities and weaknesses. In simple terms…the Master Chief is the ultimate human being…one in a literal trillion of human beings…we have run his DNA profile on all the profiles we have on storage and record and NONE have any similarity to the DNA this Master Chief has…”

The Council were quickly intrigued…to hear about a human with NO genetic deformities and weaknesses and superior to baseline humans was remarkable and the leader of the Council was very much interested .

“I assume that this is a good thing.”

“Yes sir…the blood sample alone will not be enough to fully clone…but if we can somehow capture this…Master Chief…study every cell in his body and his full DNA code…we believe we can use his blood and body to clone an entire human being…without deformities…since his DNA is perfect in every manner, and is unsaturated and undamaged…he could very well be the key to our survival…”

“Easier said than done…the Master Chief is a fine warrior…even I have never seen such skill and ability in my years. He will not be an easy mark to capture for any of our forces…and I doubt the Nirvana will allow us to take him at all.”

“We have the answer to that…the rest of my teams have been studying every record we have of the Spartan's combat skills and performances and we have decided to relegate a small number of our Harvester troopers for further enhancements and upgrades and they will be ready in a matter of weeks…we have planned to deploy them as test be replacements in the coming years…but they might prove useful to the task of either taking the Master Chief alive or dead.”

“What about the VanDreads? They have been a thorn on our sides as much as this Master Chief…we have lost many valuable space born assets to them and we cannot accept the number of losses anymore…the replacement of this units is becoming expensive for us.”

“We have determined that the Paeksis onboard the Nirvana is the key to their power and we have developed the needed weapons to counter them…they are already passing their final test runs and will be ready for combat when the time comes for them to be deployed into the fight with the Nirvana

“What shall be the name of the units?”

“The enemy is called the Master Chief …then the units shall be named…the Slayers.”

Inside the breeding tanks for the bio-mechanical units which formed the core force of the Harvester's ground forces were a squad of four units…they appeared to be purely made of mechanical and biological parts and their faces were hidden and then the heads of the four units rose and their eyes…glowing like lights were open.

The Slayers were soon to be unleashed…and this time…things were not going to be easy for all of humanity…especially a certain ship and it's crew…one of whom was a very famous Spartan.

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

To be continued…

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

Author's notes:

Sorry for the delays…had my internet disconnected previously and had to work out some bugs in the computer's power supply gird and internet connection. But at least this chapter is finished and will be part of the saga that is VanDread Halo. To be honest this story has come quite a long way since it's conception…

In fact this is the second longest fic I have dedicated my time to since GunDread SEED and I happen to enjoy it….as for today this will be continued and so will GunDread SEED until the end of the story.

The Harvesters are now interested in capturing the Master Chief alive or dead and harvest his DNA and organs because of his genetic superiority and his lack of genetic deformities so they could plan to clone his organs and blood for them to use on their own…what does that mean for the Spartan and the war plans of the Harvesters?

And what are the Slayers?

On the next chapter…The Nirvana encounters yet another deadly situation as they stumble on a vital installation of the Harvesters…one that is directly supplying the war effort of the enemy…taking it out would hamper the Harvesters and slow them down…

But this will be even harder than before and here is where the Talvern soldiers show what they can do…as Cortana now unleashes new weapons in the fight against the Harvesters on the ground….and so do the Harvesters as they bring new weapons to bear down on the Nirvana's crew…

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

Trailer:

BOOM!!!!!!!

“GET DOWN!!!!!”

The dust and debris flying everywhere made Nirvana Fire Team Alpha duck as a cloud of dirt, stones and mud pelted the sky as the groups ducked in the trench. The fighting was pretty intense as the sky was filled with plasma bolts and more.

As soon as the dust settled the Fire Teams were bale to fire back and take out several more advancing Harvester Troopers and then they spotted something that made them feel fear…an armored spearhead of Harvester Main Battle Tanks heading right for them…the team members looked at one another and wished that they had some heavier ordnance to deal with them. To make it worse…several unknown fighters appeared in the air right above the Harvester armored column…The unknown aircraft resembled old Earth stingrays and were apparently well armed…

The women looked at one another as three of them were badly hurt and it was not looking good as backup was not going be there in time.

However…before things could get even more grim… a barrage of missiles and lasers came out from the other side of their make shift foxhole, the missiles slammed hard into the approaching armored column and reduced several of the vehicles to scrap while two of the unknown harvester fighters were sent smashing down to the ground in burning heaps.. Kara then turned and took out her binoculars and looked and she whooped in joy.

“ALL RIGHT!!! BACK UP IS HERE GIRLS!!!!”

And sure enough an incoming Hornet came into the area and there was the Master Chief armed with a Spartan Laser got off and ran to their position to lend them back up…just as the sky was now filled with Longswords fresh from the Nirvana. And to their surprise…the latest weapons made by Cortana and piloted by their comrades were now on the scene…

The Spartan turned and looked at the incoming air support some were piloted remotely by Cortana such as the Longswords…the others were piloted by the Fire Teams along with their Talvern allies and he began to distribute Medical Packs to the members of Fire Team Alpha…and he heard the arrival of the Nirvana's own answer to the Harvester's armored spearhead.

It was time for the Harvesters to say goodbye to another installation.

End of Trailer:

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

See you on the next chapter!