The shaking only continued to get worst as the Covenant cruiser plummeted toward the planet below. Jason and the others were fighting to keep their balance aboard a rumbling bridge. Jason ran over to a consol and sat in the oddly shaped chair, trying to get an understanding of what was displayed on the screen. It took several seconds but eventually he understood that he was looking at the ship's orientation in comparison to the planet.

"I think I got it!" he yelled over the roar resonating throughout the ship. Helen tumbled over and gripped the back of his chair, heaving herself back onto her feet.

"What now?" she yelled in his ear. Jason looked down at the blue holographic controls. There were two small pointed circles and a big vertical line sitting in the middle of the keyboard. Jason looked around but found no other controls or hints as to what the line and circles did, but he had a hunch he knew what they were for.

He looked at the display of the ship on the screen. It was beginning to aim down toward the planet surface. Jason reached out with his hand and slid it up the line. Jason was surprised to see a reaction so quickly. The entire bridge shook uncontrollably while the monitor showed the ship was starting to level out. He slid his hand back down the line and the ship went back to how it was before.

"Why did you put it back?" yelled Helen.

"If we kept it like that the friction would have ripped the ship apart!" He responded loudly, "When we get closer to the surface I'll pull the ship out of the dive so the rear of the ship will take most of the impact." Flying 101 he thought with a grim smile.

Jason watched the ship displayed on the screen. It was starting to tip slightly on its right flank. Jason put his hand on one of the circles and gave it a slight turn counter clockwise. Once again the ship responded very quickly and reoriented it self as it fell through the atmosphere. Helen glanced around the shaking bridge, spotting Keelu and Trepid sitting rigid in two of the weirdly shaped Sangheili chairs.

Helen pointed to several symbols in the top left hand corner of the screen, "altitude and speed?" she asked in his ear.

Jason shrugged, honestly having no idea. The two of them watched as one group of numbers increased while another decreased, answering Helen's question. Jason held his hand over the blue line while slightly adjusting the ship's roll, waiting until the decreasing alien numbers dropped to three digits. When they did another wave of adrenaline shot through his already agitated body.

"Hang on!" he yelled to the others as he slid his hand up the blue line. The shaking got even worse, nearly throwing Helen from the back of Jason's chair. She reached over and gripped his hand. Jason held her close as the monitor showed the ship pulling its nose upward. The air now felt hot and sticky, a by-product of the intense friction heating the underbelly of the ship.

Helen held onto Jason for dear life, hoping this moment wasn't going to be her last. She looked into Jason's rugged face and did something she knew she would never regret. She leaned in close and kissed him. Jason was taken by surprise, but chose not to resist and kissed her back passionately. He had never experienced something so wondrous in his entire life. Even in their last moments, he wanted nothing more than to be with Helen. And then, as Jason kissed Helen, believing their lives were over, they hit Abian IV's dusty surface.

The collision was explosive. It threw Jason and Helen clear from the chair. He called on the force and created a shield around them both, protecting them as the crash sent them soaring across the bridge and into the walls. Jason and Helen closed their eyes, hoping on hope that the force shield would hold.

And then, as suddenly as it began, all was quiet. Jason opened his eyes and peered into Helen's dark blue eyes, hardly believing they did it. They survived. For what seemed like a blissful eternity, they laid there, still wound in each other's embrace.

"I've never felt like this before." He whispered to her.

She smiled knowingly, "maybe because you've never fallen in love before." She whispered back. She leaned up and gave him another kiss, but pulled away suddenly and looked at him dismally.

"What is it?" he asked.

She shook her head and smiled sadly, "it won't work will it?"

Jason was confused, "What won't?"

Helen rolled her eyes, "you know us. Together. I mean don't the Jedi have rules against falling in love?"

Jason slumped, "yeah, they do."

"What are we going to do?" she wondered.

Jason shook his head, "I don't know. We'll figure this out later. Come on, let's find the others." The two of them stood up slowly, each looking around at the ruined bridge with curiosity. It seemed the ship flipped on its side during crash, seeing as the floor of the bridge was now the wall.

"Nice driving." Helen teased.

Jason laughed, "Hey give me some credit here. I landed a ship I've only ever seen from a distance. That takes some skill, even for a Jedi."

Helen smiled as she cupped her hands around her mouth, "Master Keelu! Lord Trepid! Are you two ok?"

"Ugh" groaned Trepid from across the room "and I thought you Jedi were supposed to be graceful." Jason waited, but no sound from Keelu came. He was starting to get worried.

"Master?" he called out.

"Here" called a strained voice near Trepid. Jason ran over with Helen close at his heels. When he found his Master amid the wreckage of a terminal he wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried. His Master had survived the crash, but she was seriously injured. Her body was twisted in an odd position, her spine clearly broken.

"Master I'm going to have to ask you not to move ok?" he asked her, "Now can you wiggle your toes?"

His old Master grinned, "Jason I know I'm paralyzed. The best thing for you to do is get out of here. Send help if you can but you must stop that Covenant squad from finding what is on this planet."

Jason got down and kneeled beside his Master, tears filling his eyes. "The force has shown me a glimpse of the future" she told him, "and if the Covenant find what their looking for, then countless humans across the galaxy will be wiped out. Please Jason; the fate of your species could rest with you."

"I'm not leaving you here." he said stubbornly.

"Jason, if you try to move me you might only make the injury worse" she insisted, "take Trepid and Helen and stop those Covenant. I sense they will leave the planet soon, you must hurry."

"What about you? We can't just leave you here like this." Helen said from behind Jason.

"Call for an emergency team, I'll be fine once they get here."

Jason began to fidget, "Master, I..."

Keelu looked at him sternly, "Jason I'm not going to argue with you. Go, now."

Helen gripped his arm softly, "come on Jason, she's right we need to get out of here."

Without a word Jason stood up and followed. They walked away from Keelu and rejoined Trepid below his hole which was now on the roof. They all stared up at the bright sunlight streaming through the hole, eager to make this cruiser a distant memory.

"Helen don't move ok? I'm going to levitate you up to the hole." Jason held out his hand and with the force he was able to slowly lift Helen up towards the hole. Once she pulled herself inside she waved her hand at them, signalling the all clear. The two force users then force jumped up through the hole, joining Helen outside.

The three of them looked around, finding that the side of the ship had somehow been ripped clean off in the crash. Helen whipped out her comlink and dialled up Cris. He answered immediately, sounding frantic.

"Helen, are you ok? I saw the crash from orbit, it was brutal. Please tell me you're ok."

"I'm fine Cris, but Keelu wasn't so lucky. We think her spine is broken, can you call for an emergency crew?"

Cris's rubbed his neck nervously, "it'll be a bit difficult. The space battle is still going on up here, not to mention the Covenant has deployed ground forces on Abian IV and V."

"Just do what you can" she told her brother.

"Sure thing, did you guys get the data?"

Jason and Helen shared a glance. "No, the terminal where it was stored was destroyed."

Cris sighed gloomily, "So mission failed then. Hopefully we'll get it next time. Right now I'm on my way to pick you guys up and take you back..."

"Actually Cris" she interrupted, "there's one more thing we need to take care of. Don't ask what, I'll tell you once you get here."

Cris was curious, but chose not to pester his sister. "Sure thing, see you soon."

The hologram winked out and Helen stashed the comlink back in her pocket. "So" she said, turning to face the other two, "how're going to find those Covenant?"

"The same way we found the bridge" said Trepid, "we use the force."

Kalleem winced in the harsh sunlight as he and his squad emerged from the Forerunner structure. He blinked a few times and stared down into the crater's center where the Jiralhanae stood around their Phantom drop ship, watching the crater's edge far above them.

He followed their gazes and found himself staring at bright lights flashing just beyond the crater. This was getting too close for comfort. Kalleem knew these heretics had advanced technology, but he didn't expect them to survive this long against Rilka's powerful fleet.

"Hurry" Kalleem urged his troops, "get the Huragok aboard the phantom before the battle gets any closer." He leapt off the ancient Forerunner floor and fell towards the downward slope of the crater. Together, Kalleem and his squad slid down the dusty hill toward the hovering drop ship.

Kalleem hoped his luck would hold out. He watched impatiently as one after the other, the Huragok boarded the phantom. He was slightly more relieved that they were safely aboard, but they weren't done yet.

Then as if his worst nightmares had come true, one of the humans appeared at the top of the crater, pointing down at him and his squad as they attempted to escape. Kalleem watched with silent dread as one human soon became ten, then twenty, then far more than he could count.

"Heretics!" Kalleem roared, "Kill them all!"

He aimed his repeater at the white armoured humans and pulled the trigger. Each bolt of plasma found a target, knocking the humans off their feet as they slid down the crater. Behind him, Sangheili and Jiralhanae temporarily forgot their differences and fought side by side, firing spiker and needle rifles at their common foes.

Kalleem kept firing, but more and more of the heretics continued to file down the crater towards them. If they didn't leave now then the Destroyer would never be found, but running from battle was the most dishonourable thing a Sangheili could do.

The humans were practically on top of them now. Two of the humans were coming at him from the right, each carrying small metal knives. Kalleem flipped his repeater on to his back and fetched his new energy sword resting on his waist.

The sword erupted from the hilt in a flurry of light. But this energy sword was no where similar to a common blade. This sword did have two blades like normal energy swords, but one of them suck out parallel to the hilt while the other curved up from the bottom like a hand guard. Just looking at it filled him with confidence.

After his mentor's death, Kalleem risked heresy and had a new sword built by an underground group of engineers. They gladly created a sword based on the one Salleema had fought against ten cycles ago. It had taken Kalleem a while to get used to the upward blade, but eventually he became very skilled with it in private training.

The humans came at him surprisingly fast, their knives aiming for his armoured chest. Kalleem nimbly dodged their knives, his new blade spinning in his hand. He turned his blade upside down and plunged it into the shoulder of the one on the right. The human yelled with agony as Kalleem pushed the blade deeper into his torso.

The other human jumped at him with his knife but Kalleem's shields easily took the brunt of the attack. Kalleem struck out with his foot, sending the other human reeling with several broken bones. He pulled the sword from the human and stood surveying the fight. They were losing horribly. These first two humans were just the start. Many more continued to surge forward from behind, and for the first time in his life he was considering escaping with what he had while he could.

Kalleem knew he would be dishonoured and shamed but this was an impossible fight. Then a thought struck him. There was no way anyone could shame him if there was no witnesses. With a dark smile spread across his mandibles, Kalleem turned and ran towards the phantom, firing his repeater behind him as he went. His comrades looked at him with curiosity as he ran by, but quickly refocused on the battle at hand.

When he reached the ship he jumped into the drop Shute and was swiftly lifted into the troop bay where the two Huragok waited patiently. Kalleem brushed pass them and keyed open the cockpit and stepped inside. The Sangheili pilot turned to look at him with surprise.

"Shipmaster, what is..." the pilot didn't even get a chance to finish his question when Kalleem fired his repeater into the Sangheili's chest. He ripped the body from the cockpit and dragged it back to the troop bay. His muscles strained as he threw the body down the drop shute and into the battle below.

He rushed back to the cockpit, his three fingered hands tapping away on the main consol. He quickly closed the troop bay doors and deactivated the drop shute. He gripped the flight controls and pushed on the thrusters. The drop ship vibrated as it ascended into the bleak grey sky.

As the phantom flew towards the relative safety of space, Kalleem saw a flash of movement in the corner of the view screen. He turned the Phantom slightly and found a familiar sight.

Cruising toward the crater where his abandoned soldier continued to put up a valiant fight, was one of the small ships he had seen ten cycles ago with Salleema. Anger flooded through him and demanded he should go and hunt down the humans who killed his mentor.

Kalleem growled but continued on his present course. He knew going up against the occupants of that ship without assistance would end horribly for him, no matter how skilled he was with his new sword.

Less than a Minute passed until they grey sky Changed into the starry landscape of space. He surveyed what was left of the space battle with a bitter taste in his mouth. Fleetmaster Rilka had lost. Only a mere three cruiser survived, one of them including Rilka's personal carrier ship. The rest of the human fleet sat several million kilometres away, waiting for Rilka to make one final move.

Kalleem flew the phantom closer to the carrier while keeping a watchful eye on the human fleet. As his drop ship came within a thousand kilometres of the ship, the hangar bay doors opened and the security shields deactivated. He soared his ship inside the carrier and set it hovering above the hangar floor. Kalleem climbed from the cockpit and stalked back into the troop bay where the Huragok floated silently.

"Come" he ordered them as he hopped into the drop shute and fell slowly towards the floor of the Carrier ship. Kalleem landed softly and looked up with surprise, into the face of the legendary Rilka 'Dalisee. Kalleem looked around and found the hangar to be unusually empty.

"Fleetmaster" he said with humility, "it is truly an honour." The old Sangheili stared at him sadly.

"We have failed Shipmaster" Rilka said with a shake of his long head, "I doubt meeting a failure such as myself would count as an honour."

Kalleem didn't know what to say to that, so he decided to change the topic, "I have been able to recover the location of the Destroyer, Fleetmaster." 

The Sangheili Fleetmaster eyed him curiously. "Just you?" he asked.

"Unfortunately yes, the rest of my team perished on the planet surface" Kalleem lied, knowing this was half the truth, "I am sorry to say I could not defeat all of the humans by the time my last squad member fell in battle. They died honourably, and for that I am proud to have served with them."

Rilka nodded gratefully, "They died in battle with honour, just as a true warrior should." Rilka moved forward and clasped Kalleem's shoulders. "I must ask something of you Shipmaster."

"Of course Fleetmaster, anything." Kalleem said in a rush.

"You must kill me. If I return to our people without a victory then my family and I will be shamed and dishonoured. Please, allow me this one last mercy."

Kalleem stared at the desperate Fleetmaster. Honour is everything to a Sangheili, which was why many preferred death to the alternative of being dishonoured. Kalleem might have been dishonoured himself, but it was his secret and no one would ever know. But if Rilka returned to the Covenant with only three ships, he would be disgraced and stripped of his rank.

"Of course, Fleetmaster Rilka" Kalleem said softly, "but before I do I must know the fate of the Unknown Truth."

Rilka let go of Kalleem's shoulders and cocked his head to one side, thinking hard. He then lowered his head in sorrow.

"I may be mistaken Shipmaster, but I do believe that ship was boarded by several of the humans. I heard that it crashed on the fourth planet in this system."

Talis, Kalleem thought, I had just promoted him and he was killed by the humans just as his father had.

"Thank you Fleetmaster." Kalleem gripped his energy sword and brought it to bear. Rilka sank to his knees as Kalleem raise the hilt above his head. He ignited the blade and watched Rilka's eyes widen at its unique shape.

"Heretic" the Fleetmaster hissed "you tampered with the technology passed to us by the Prophets. They will have your head for this."

"What the Prophets don't know won't hurt them" Kalleem said sinisterly. He threw his weight behind his weapon and sliced clean through Rilka's armour protected skull. Such a legendary Fleetmaster deserved more than death or dishonour. It pained him to end the Sangheili's life, but he knew it would have been cruel not to.

He stepped away from Rilka's body and turned to regard the two Huragok. Both of them seemed to be conversing with one another, not even noticing Rilka's corpse lying next to Kalleem. He turned his back on the two creatures and headed into the ship, knowing they will stay here unless ordered otherwise.

Kalleem stalked the halls searching for the bridge. Like the hangar, the halls of this ship were oddly empty of personnel. Then it dawned on him that the carrier ship would have dropped most of its troops on one of the planets for a ground engagement.

Kalleem hung a right and found the bridge entrance at the hallway's end. The moment he stepped through the door he was greeted by twenty pairs of eyes. The carrier's Shipmaster approached him from across the room.

"Where is Fleetmaster Rilka?" the Sangheili demanded.

Kalleem narrowed his eyes at the Shipmaster's tone, "the Fleetmaster succumbed while his honour was still intact. We have what we came here to find, so if you would mind setting course for High Charity I believe the Hierarchs would greatly appreciate it."

Without a word the Shipmaster turned his back on Kalleem and started barking out orders. Kalleem turned on his heel and went back the way he came, knowing he had no other business on the bridge.

On his way back to the hangar he felt the deck rumble beneath him. He knew the feeling well. They had entered Slipspace. The Covenant fleet may have been defeated but with the location of the Destroyer secure, victory against the entire human race would be imminent.