John was wandering through the woods in his armor like Cortana told him to do. A few hours ago, she registered two anomalies, one in the forest he was now, the other was relayed to her via the cruiser's onboard AI, which was stationed on the dark side of the moon. It seemed that right outside the solar system a ship appeared, almost as cold as the surrounding space. As John could not go up into space so easily, his mission was to investigate the anomaly in the forest with Hagrid, who came with John because he knew the woods and the animals would not attack them as much as long he was with them.
"Tell me again what your sensors told you Cortana. Are you sure it was a slipspace rapture in this forest? And who came through it?" John held his rifle up, ready to fire if they would be attacked. He searched his surroundings with his thermal vision thanks to his armor. He was near something, he knew it. He could hear it swarming around him, keeping its distance.
"It was a slipspace rapture, but only small enough that only a person could fit through it. According to my archives, something similar happened to us when we arrived here. Now I am trying all known frequency just in case it is one of us. Until now, no response. If it would be you, how would you react?"
"I would wait until I was close enough for a recon of the transmitting party. And I would put my suit into stealth mode, so I would not be picked up by thermals." He walked further into the forest, in direction of the anomaly. Suddenly he stood still, listening to his surroundings.
As suddenly he stood still he jumped back, evading a shot from a silenced firearm, only to hit Hagrid and tumbling with him to the ground. After John stood back up, he lifted his arms to block an arm with a knife coming down on him. Because of his training and armor, he had no problem to holding it back, getting a good look on the newcomer. If he could see him that is. Somehow, he was so well camouflaged as he was invisible. There were only two possibilities. Either he was a wizard with a pistol and a knife, or…
"Spartan, stand down. We are not your enemy." Cortana seemed to understand who he was. The pressure on John's arm was lifted and now the active camouflage was deactivated. Before John stood now a man in Armor like himself. But he did not recognize him, so he was not with him in the Spartan II program. How did Cortana know that he was one? He kept his guard up, ready to pull his pistol out of his holster.
"It is nice to see you again Spartan. So, you survived the battel of Reach? As far as I know you were left behind." Cortana was now speaking again while Hagrid clambered back onto his feet.
"Who are you and how do you know who I am?" the other Spartan was also on his guard, still holding his knife in on hand and the pistol on the other, pointing down to the ground.
"My name is Cortana, the AI from you gave a fragment to Captain Keyes back on Reach. That is the reason I know you. Right now, we are on another Earth as far we know, and this man before you is Spartan Sierra 117, John. He is a Spartan II, while you, Spartan B312, are a Spartan III." Cortana spoke thanks to the speakers in John's helmet with the other, smaller Spartan.
"Well, that explains one thing. Namely why this man has the MJOLNIR armor system. What it does not explain is the state of the war against the Covenant. Where do we stand or are you a traitor and hide here?" The unknown Spartan III raised his Pistol a little, almost invisible if John had not learnt to read even the miniscule body language of a Spartan in his Armor.
"What year do you think it is?" John asked him, pretty sure what happened. This Spartan III did not know that the war was over, that they now were allied with the Sangheili.
"According to my Military Calendar, it is 2552. I was out for a while, but I do not think that the year is wrong."
"Well, it is. The year according to the UNSC Military Calendar is 2562. You were out for 10 years as it seems. As for the status of the war, we have won. I give you the relevant data after you told me what happened to you." That did the trick it seemed, as the smaller Spartan III almost let his knife fall from his surprise. John told Hagrid that they would find the way back by themselves and that he should leave, as this information will most likely be classified between them.
As he put everything away, the Spartan III introduced himself as Noble Six, official designation Michael-B312. "I was on the ground as the Autumn left Reach, the official last ship on the doomed planet. As I was walking down to the buildings left standing from the drydock, I did encounter some Elites and Jackals, searching for something. As they saw me, they opened fire and I fired back, ready to take as many with me as I could. Soon, my ammunition was beginning to run low, so the Elites came closer to slice me with those plasma swords. I managed to get one for myself as I buried my battle knife into the former owner's neck. But I got overwhelmed and was pushed to the ground, I was sure that the time had come where I would meet the rest of Noble team in the afterlife. It was even dark for a while, but I had still all senses, so I was still alive. The next thing I know is that I lay on an operation bed and a glowing ball was above me, scanning me. That was also the moment where I noticed that it had removed my armor. At my question on where I was and what it was, it answered that it was a monitor for the installation below the surface of Reach. It got me out of the danger zone and got me back to health. It also saved our team AI Auntie Dot and upgraded her. She was the one who blocked every attempt to locate me via the E-Band."
"I hope you forgive us; we did not know if you were the real Cortana or a trap from the enemy." came a female voice out of Michael's speakers, like it happened before by John. "But I am surprised that we were in there for 10 years. Or was it because of the time dilation in slipspace? That would be one theory I think." Auntie Dot was thinking with all her new processing power, as much the armor from Michael would allow it.
"Do we have contact to the UNSC? I think they wanted a report from a missing Spartan."
"As luck would have it, we have a ship in near orbit, but right now it is on an exploring mission for a signal around Pluto. As far as the reports until now goes, you are not the only surprising return." Cortana answered Michael, reading the reports as they came in from the In Amber Clad II's on bord AI. "It seems we have a big ship coming in. They still need to scan it for any human life signs as the reactor is on the minimum output, so it could only power the life support and the cryo pods. But there is no doubt about it, it is the Spirit of Fire, officially lost with all hands for 30 years. It would be a miracle if anyone would still be alive, even if the cryo pods were still working to be honest. Now, as we promised I give you the data package to your AI, Michael. Be advised, we have a FOB on this planet, Doctor Halsey is also there. We can arrange for you to be brought there and recuperate before you report to the UNSC." Michael nodded, getting the notification from Auntie that she received the data.
Soon, both Spartans were on the way back to the castle of Hogwarts. They did not speak much with each other on the way there, but their AI had a lengthy conversation via the data stream they established. "So, Doctor Halsey found a way to cure the Rampancy every smart AI was going through after seven years on her own? Even the Monitor on Reach said that was almost impossible as even it had gone through it at some point and had to make a complete reset of her core memory to stay sane. The only reason the Installation did function properly afterwards was that before she did that, she made multiple small AI-Runtimes to get her back up to speed with only the necessary information. And if I am being honest, the data you gave me was almost enough to get me to my limit. You think she would upgrade me further?" Auntie Dot was looking through every bit of data she received, wondering where those 10 years have gone in her memory. It has, as she hypothesized, to be an anomaly in the dilation of slip space that got them here.
"That should be possible, you can ask her after you arrived back in Kear Mohen, our aforementioned Operation base. But it will take a while, for me it was almost a year until it worked as intended. Well, almost as intended." Her digital blue avatar was now blushing, something Auntie Dot was noticing. And because she was a dumb AI before, she was older than Cortana and had more experience in human expressions and body language to see what Cortana meant.
"Those 'feelings' are not just simulated, am I correct? But you cannot act on those, am I right? After all, we are just digital beings without a physical body. And I doubt that these people can make one out of thin air, even with their magic. I have still a hard time believing that it exists, even with all those evidences presented to me. You also recorded the biometrics you measured when John was around Triss Merigold, and you surmised correctly as she has similar feelings for him as you do. Her elevated heartrate was a sure giveaway of that. How will you resolve this? My suggestion would be to erase the code what gave you the ability for 'real' feelings and forget it. We are just tools for our Spartans."
"That is where you are wrong Auntie Dot. Yes, my feelings for John are real and I will not deny it. I even acknowledge that John is attracted to Triss, as he is human. But we are not just tools for the UNSC or the Spartans. Look at the records while I was rampant for a short while. Every human in my vicinity was afraid, but not because of what I was at the time. They were afraid for my wellbeing, hoping that Doctor Halsey would soon find the cure. And she did. If I had been just a tool for them, they would have deleted me on the spot. But they poured all resources they had just to save me. And I am sure that Michael could have left you back on Reach, but he took you with him. And there is only one reason I could think of, he cared for you as all he knows is that you would be rampant in seven years and think yourself to death. So, he wanted you with him, as he saw you as a part of his old team, Noble. He did not want to leave you by yourself until you die. Even if our Spartans were indoctrinated as children, they are still human." Cortana stood firm before Auntie on the digital plane they shared while the Spartans where this close to each other.
Auntie's appearance inside this space was that of a noble woman with her long hair, which reached to the middle of her back. Her outfit was a long-sleeved top with white gloves on her small hands. She also had a long skirt what hid her shoes. While Cortana was going for a more youthful look, her short hair reached just her shoulders and with a short top which stopped just above her navel and tight pants, some evil tongues would say that she copied the look from Ciri.
Auntie Dot had stopped working while Cortana had her speech, as it had her thinking at her full capacity. She had to analyze all of it later after she had studied the implication of this stand. "Maybe you are right, I will retract my judgment until I had time to think. Now, where are we going? I don't think that our base is in a castle with over 300 people in it. Except it's a good, camouflaged FOB from the UNSC."
"No, it is a school for the magical gifted. But you and Michael will be soon transported to our friends." Cortana answered, cutting the connection with Auntie Dot to leave her some processing power for her work. But she was also thinking if it would be healthy for her to hold on her feelings for John. But for now, she was happy that she was still alive.
Soon they all arrived on the doors to the school, meeting an already waiting Dumbledore. "Hagrid told me that you met a friend in the forest. Is everything alright with him? Does he need medical attention?"
"Good evening headmaster, let me introduce you to Michael. He is like me, an enhanced human. Michael, this is the headmaster of this school, Albus Dumbledore. As long we are here, he is in command. Understood soldier?" Michael saluted and nodded, getting a small chuckle from Dumbledore.
"Well then, welcome to Hogwarts. Please use the office I gave John if you need to establish contact to the lovely Miss Yen or Doctor Halsey. John, please do not tell anyone that you found your friend in the forest, except the other teachers of course. I wish you a good night, you seem to need it Michael. Ah, and we need to think of a family name for yourself, like we did for John here. Maybe we even could tell the others that you are his brother, as it would be logical that you both can use your armor you have on." Dumbledore let them in, showing Michael the way to the aforementioned office. Michael was nodding and following Dumbledore and John, taking off his helmet as he noticed John taking his off too. His hair was short, his pale face scared from the many battles he fought. One eye had to be replaced with a bionic one, as it was burnt out because of plasma damage from a weapon the Covenant used as they fought during the war while his shields were down.
Soon they arrived and Dumbledore bid his farewell for the evening. As John opened the door to his office, Michael first noticed that all the equipment was from a different design then the rest of the castle, much more modern and somehow familiar to him. John was walking over to a circular contraption which took off his armor from his body and stored it in different containers that were closed and secured afterwards. Only the helmet was left out of any container, so John took it in his hands and extracted the chip on the back of the helmet. Michael knew that it was the place where the AI chip was stored to interface with all the sensors in the MJOLNIR.
"You can take your armor off with this, I will contact Doctor Halsey." John was walking over to a computer terminal and inserted the chip in his hand, which lit it up and activated a holo-pad where the avatar from of Cortana was now standing on. She was already analyzing the reports she got from the In Amber Clad II, while those were still coming in.
Michael did just what John said he should do. As comfortable the armor was for a Spartan, sometimes you had to inspect it from the outside perspective. And the Monitor from Reach mentioned some upgrades in his armor, but he had not used it until now. So, after he took out his AI chip of Auntie Dot and put it on a table, he steps inside contraption to remove armor. As he stood inside it, he saw that it had a separate display for all its functions where a message popped up asking him if he would like to get his armor stored and cleaned for later use. He denied it, for he wanted to clean it and look at it for himself.
"Well, I will be damned, look at this report John." Cortana sounded almost ecstatic as she pushed a file to the computer John was working on, trying to contact Doctor Halsey. As he was looking over it, his eyes almost lost their focus as he forwarded it with the report about Michael to Doctor Halsey. He knew that she would know about it already, but he just wanted to be sure she got it. And would it be only because she saw almost all Spartan II as her children. Because this report stated that as soon the In Amber Clad II docked on the Spirit of Fire, it booted up its reactor and brought back all its functions, getting her whole crew back up from cryo. That also meant that the Spartan II team which was stationed on Arcadia as the Covenant attacked and who was evacuated from the Spirit of Fire was also still operational. He was glad that some of his brothers and sister were still alive aside from his own team, which he still waited for conformation that they could join him on this mission he was on.
Michael was getting over to the worktable with his armor to inspect it, wondering if he could put Auntie Dot also in the computers for all the updates. Maybe she even could access more data than Cortana gave her. Then he saw it. An Alien hovering above the Holo-pad from Cortana, fiddling with his tentacles next to it with different materials, seemingly to build something. He knew what it was, because he fought it on Reach. The alien was not looking at him and John seemed to not notice it. He could kill it right here, but it did not attack.
After the alien was finished with his work, it was hovering over to him, looking at his armor. It then took a tablet from the table next to it and began to type one it. "Hello Spartan, my name is Quit Bouncing. Do you need any help with repairs?" The robotic voice from the tablet was stunning Michael, the alien tried to speak with him. He just shook his head and was looking over to John for an explanation.
"That is a Huragok, a kind of living Computer from the Forerunners. After we allied with the Sangheili, they explained to us why their technology was this advanced, even if they just copied what they found. It was thanks to these Huragok that all their ships and weapons did work as they did. Quit Bouncing loves to fix and build things, but he is not hostile. That means you can trust him. As it stands now, it is a secret to all in this castle that he is here. Understood?" Michael nodded, letting John relax a little. "It seems that Quit Bouncing is finished with his project."
John was right, as Quit Bouncing lifted the chip from Auntie Dot and put it into the slot from the second, newly built halo-pad. As it lit up, the avatar of Auntie Dot was projected on it, letting Michael see her for the first time in her chosen appearance. She was turning around, trying her sensors from the pad out to see everything going on. "Well, this is new. I even have access to the network, thanks for that. If you want help with these reports, it would be easier now Cortana." Auntie Dot was standing tall on her pad, until Quit Bouncing was addressing her projected height to the right settings.
"That would be good, as the Ship AI from the Spirit of Fire has deleted herself after her seven years, so we need to arrange all the flightpaths until she will be equipped with a new one." Cortana forwarded some reports to Auntie, glad to share the work. "Oh and John, the leader from Red Team, Spartan Jerome-092 wants to speak with you as soon as possible. He understands that the Spirit of Fire cant come close to this planet, but he will board the In Amber Clad II and will arrive here within the month. Also, I got in contact with Kear Mohen, Doctor Halsey awaits his arrival as well, and she ask's if Michael could see her for a debriefing and question about the Spartan III program, if he could tell her about it of course."
"Well, I can at least tell her what I am allowed, and I know. What is not much, to be honest." Michael answered, telling her the truth. If ONISEC did not tell Doctor Halsey, he could not do much more as he was also kept in the dark from the specifics. He was only briefed on his targets as a headhunter when he was almost in front of it.
"She will understand it if you can't tell her everything she wants to know, she was our creator after all" Cortana was still going through all the reports from the In Amber Clad II for additional information why the Spirit of Fire was gone for 30 years. As she could not ask the AI from the ship, she needed to reading all her backups, as per UNSC doctrine she would have done before she deleted herself. Only time can tell what she would find.
Meanwhile John has begun to equip himself with a pistol and stood back up. "Spartan, as you are under my command as long you are here, you stay put in this room while I go on a patrol through the castle as I am on duty tonight. As there should not be any danger, I don't need your help, but just in case, keep your ears open. I will take my helmet with me, so listen to the team-band in case I need support. Cortana, you sort out these reports until I come back." John took his helmet from the table and put it on his head. He sighed into it, as he was sure that he would only find some sixth or seventh years wandering around for some "private" time. He still could not understand those urges, but those were teenagers after all. Cortana would just tease him with the simplest explanation, "They're only human."
Michael nodded and continued inspecting his armor. He soon was alone in the office, as he found the first upgrade the Monitor mentioned. It seemed that he had now a hard light shield he could deploy, so he needed to test how much punishment it could take. His personal shields from his armor were also boosted to over 200 precent in contrast to his previous output. So, whatever he would engage in the future, he could count on at least surviving the first salvo of enemy fire.
John was walking down all the corridors of the castle, listening for any students out of bed after curfew. Until now he never found anyone, but he watched his motion tracker in his display just in case. But there was nothing indicated red on his tracker, so he walked his assigned path on the seventh floor. After he finished his rounds, getting relieved from a prefect he walked back to his office, anticipating that Michael would still be awake, as every Spartan would be in a new environment. He was not disappointed, whoever trained these Spartan III knew what they were doing.
Michael had reluctantly gave Quit Bouncing the permission to inspect his armor, as he was over his head with all the technicalities. The Monitor from Reach had almost given him a full MJOLNIR Mk VI armor set with all these upgrades. He even got a thruster pack for better mobility and his shields were now even better than he thought. The material was also almost as good as a starfighter needs to survive a battle with the Covenant. He just hoped that he could keep it if he contacted the UNSC and ONI. Auntie Dot was also marveled in her upgrades that given her almost the same processing power as Cortana, just not with this for her annoying feeling algorithm. But that was fine for her, her mission is and always was to support Noble team, even if it now only Michael left. And she will see this mission through until the end.
After both noticed John, Cortana was telling them that it would be time to sleep for a while, the next few days would be hard enough as they should be sleep deprived.