Chapter 41: The Reaper

June 17, 2686; 1231 Hours

UNSC Baleful Eye, Remnant Orbit

"Director Thorne?" Throne's gaze left the mirror in his quarters for the first time in almost twenty minutes. Cinder was standing in the doorway, M7 dangling on its sling at her side. If she was at all taken aback by the undone buttons on Throne's shirt, exposing the wicked bruise left behind by the impact of a 12.7mm round to his chest, she didn't show it. "Screening of the fleet's well underway, no compromised personnel so far. Reinforcements from Reach will be arriving in a few days."

"Finally some good news, then." Thorne sighed, redoing the buttons on his shirt. "Anything regarding the missing persons reports?"

"There's no real pattern to them." Cinder explained, following behind Thorne as he began making his way through the drab gray halls of the vessel. "The reports are coming in from every kingdom. The only commonality is that there's none reported from the major cities, only the outlying villages."

"And the total number of these reports?"

"Just under three hundred, with the highest concentration being in Vale with 75 reported over the past eight months." Cinder explained, activating her datapad and reading over the information before her. "General Ironwood's already launched an investigation into the reported cases in Atlas, with little headway made."

"Changes in Grimm behavior?" Thorne asked, placing his bare palm against a biometric reader on a door, which granted him access to the command deck a moment later.

"Beyond a negligible uptick in Grimm attacks on oceangoing vessels, there's no change." Cinder shrugged. "We've had no other reported encounters with these 'Prions'." She added, referencing the ad-hoc name given to the strange worm-like Grimm. "All communications protocols have been changed, as well."

Thorne sighed, leaning over the large holotable in the center of the CIC. He swiped his hand across the display, bringing up the data taken from the listening post. He'd watched the footage of the comms technician turning his SMG against his comrades at least a dozen times by this point, and it still confounded him. "And you've never seen anything like this before?"

"Never." Cinder shook her head, leaning against the holotable in turn. "Last I was there, she was changing the Beringel… giving some of them wings."

Thorne sighed again. "We've already had our run-in with them, and they're no more dangerous than any of the others..." Shaking his head, Thorne turned his attention back to Cinder. "Head to the hangar bay, get a Pelican readied. We're reactivating the task force."

"Understood." Cinder nodded, turning for the door.

June 17, 2686; 1245 Hours

Remnant, Vale (Suburbs)

Ivan smirked as he stepped back into his home on Remnant, finding Winter to be flipping through something on her datapad. "Another busy Saturday, huh?"

Winter shrugged, placing the datapad down on the couch as she smiled. "Certainly not complaining. You know… I was thinking maybe we could go into town and-"

Winter was cut off as a vidcomm notification brought the holographic screen on the far wall to life. As the two SPARTANs glanced at it, they saw it was from Thorne, and answered immediately. "Ivan, Winter… Apologies for this being so short notice, but you two need to report to ONI Bravo Site ASAP." The both of them were surprised. For the first time in as long as they could remember, Thorne looked exhausted.

"Something happen, Thorne?" Ivan asked.

"Not something I can discuss over comms. I'll brief you when you arrive."

"Understood, sir." Ivan nodded, earning a similar gesture from Thorne before he cut the call from his end. Ivan let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Just had to open my big mouth..."

"I'm convinced you're cursed." Winter shrugged, standing up and heading for the bedroom to don her Tech Suit.

June 17, 2686; 1255 Hours

Remnant, Vale (Menagerie Embassy)

Blake sighed, stepping out of her office and locking the door behind her with a quick swipe of her identification card. As she turned back around, she was surprised to see a squad of four SPARTANs step through the main door to the embassy building. The two Faunus security personnel that were standing by the door looked to one another in confusion as they approached Blake. As they drew closer, Blake could plainly see the ONI symbol on their shoulders. "Missus Xiao Long, Director Thorne requests your presence at Bravo Site." The black-clad Lieutenant explained, MA5 cradled in his arms.

"Is something going on?" Blake asked, confused.

"Our orders are to escort you and SPARTAN Xiao Long to Bravo Site, ma'am. The Director can fill you in personally."

"Just got the ping, Lieutenant." Yang nodded, stepping down the flight of stairs behind Blake, clad in her MJOLNIR armor with her M45 locked to her back.

June 17, 2686; 1312 Hours

Remnant, Vale (Schnee Dust Corporate HQ)

Weiss looked down to her scroll, half-expecting another call from Misriah's rep on Remnant. Color her surprised to see the caller ID read out 'Gavin Thorne'. Knowing that he rarely makes social calls, she tapped a little keypad on her desk, polarizing the glass wall that separated her office from the rest of the floor, and answered the call. "Thorne? Is something happening?"

"I need you and Ruby at Bravo Site here in Vale. I can fill you in when you arrive." Thorne answered, his voice filled with a mix of exhaustion and urgency.

"I can be there in a few minutes, but I'm not too sure about Ruby." Weiss explained. "She's been out on a contract for a few days now. Hasn't called me for two days now."

"Wait one." Thorne responded, the telltale sound of being put on hold ringing through Weiss' ear. About a minute later, Thorne's voice returned. "Looks like she's about five miles into Forever Fall, Scroll's biometrics show she's a bit scuffed up, but nothing too bad. Seems to me like she's looking for something..." With a sigh, Thorne continued. "Ya know what, just meet me on your helipad, we're going to be taking a Pelican up to orbit anyways."

"Got it." Weiss nodded, sliding her scroll back into her handbag after Thorne hung up. She stepped out of her office, looking to the closest person she could find. She had a feeling as to why Thorne had called her, and wasn't expecting to be able to 'work' all that often. "Looks like I'm taking my vacation days. If you all can't handle the company for a few weeks without me, you're all fired."

Completely ignoring the confused looks from her employees, she stepped into the elevator and tapped the button for the roof access. As she stepped into the whistling wind of Vale, she saw the familiar sight of a D79H-TC Pelican setting down on the rooftop landing pad. As she approached the heavier, more-armored variant of the ubiquitous Pelican, the bay door hissed open, revealing Thorne, Cinder, Winter, Ivan, Yang, Blake, and three other SPARTANs that Weiss recognized as Ivan's old team.

"Have your weapon?" Thorne asked as Weiss boarded the transport. She simply nodded, shaking the large briefcase she always carried with her. "Good." Thorne waited until the rear door of the Pelican closed, and nodded to the three members of Ivan's team. The three SPARTANs stood up, walking to everyone individually, with the exception of Cinder, Thorne, and the other SPARTANs. All three of them had some sort of medical diagnostic scanner, running a full scan on everyone involved.

At everyone's confusion, Thorne finally began explaining. "Looks like Salem's making her move." He produced a small holographic projector from his coat, tossing it to the metal floor of the Pelican, where it began playing the security footage from Thorne's examination of the listening post. A tense atmosphere set over the entire Pelican as they watched Agent Yorck draw his sidearm on Thorne, only to be put down by the ONI director. Eyes went wide when they watched one of the Prions slither its way out from Yorck's nose.

"Do any of us…?" Blake looked up at Lauren, who had just finished scanning her.

"Thankfully, no." Lauren answered. "They're all clear, Director."

"Thank you, SPARTANs." Thorne nodded. "We've been screening all UNSC personnel in-system for the past ten hours. So far, the only confirmed cases we've had are Agent Yorck and a few Marines that had been assigned to long-term patrols. As of ten hours ago, the entire system has been placed under strict quarantine and the CORRUPTER protocol has been enacted."

"We've cleared nukes, sir?" Ivan asked, concern heavy in his voice. That drew concerned looks from Blake and Weiss.

"They're on the table." Thorne nodded. "Thankfully, the infection is limited enough at the current time for conventional means to be preferred. As it stands, the task force has been reactivated. I've got other agents clearing the rest of the team and bringing them up to In Spirit of Fire. We'll discuss our next move there."

"Why didn't you scan us, sir?" Yang asked, looking over to Thorne.

"Due to the nature of these new Grimm, SPARTANs are immune." Thorne explained. "The Torpet Datacluster implant interferes with the creature, and kills it as it attempts to hijack your motor functions. For that reason, you'll all be receiving the implant." At the glances around the bay, Thorne sighed. "The others can vouch for it, it's virtually painless. The procedure takes less than twenty minutes."

"Director, we've got her on scopes." The pilot's voice crackled over the intercom. "She's engaged with some Beowolves."

"Good. Bring us in." Thorne nodded, grabbing an MA5 from the retention locks on the nearby wall and chambering a round.

As the Pelican set down, the occupants saw Ruby, her normal dress a bit tattered, positively hacking through a swarm of beowolves with little issue. She looked back for a moment, surprised to see all of her friends pour out of the rear of a Pelican, raining hellfire down on the beowolves with MA5s, BR85s, and M7 SMGs. She sprung back into action as the horde was thinned, and the remainder of the Grimm were quickly cut down, leaving the dense forest strangely quiet save for the thrumming of Pelican engines.

Ruby smiled at first, seeing her friends approaching. That smile quickly faded when she saw the deathly-serious look on their faces. "Ruby, why didn't you call me?!" Weiss demanded, seeing her better half's tattered clothes.

Ruby looked like a deer in headlights for a moment. "S-sorry, Weissy… my Scroll got busted..."

Thorne wasn't sure if anyone else noticed it, but there was a momentary… flicker of something behind Ruby's silver eyes. He couldn't quite place it, but something felt off. He glanced over to Lauren, being the nearest SPARTAN, and gestured with his brow towards Ruby. No words needed to be exchanged, as Lauren simply stepped forward and pulled the diagnostic scanner from her thigh maglocks. "Hey Ruby, lemme just give you a once-over, make sure you're all good."

"Oh… sure!" Ruby nodded, allowing Lauren to run the short diagnostic. Ruby couldn't see it, but the device eventually blinked red, the glare just barely visible on the reflective visor of the SPARTAN. After Thorne spotted the quick hand signal from Lauren, his grip tensed on the MA5. Just as he took a step back, Ruby became a flurry of rose petals and motion.

The huntsmen barely had time to register that three rounds had been fired from Crescent Rose before two of them sent Thorne to the ground, the third shattering Lauren's shields as a quick follow-up swipe from the scythe took her legs out from under her, sending her to the floor. The last two rounds in Crescent Rose's magazine found their mark against the Aura of a stunned Weiss, shattering her aura and throwing her to the ground. It wasn't until she lunged at the group that fire starting pouring down on Ruby,

Her sheer speed made her nigh-impossible to hit, only a few rounds actually finding their mark against her Aura. It wasn't until Yang, who had scarcely even moved since the firefight began, found herself on the backfoot as her sister sent a flurry of swings with her scythe in her direction. A near point-blank 8-gauge slug managed to stagger the shorter huntress just enough to give the four still-standing SPARTANs the window they needed to slam into Ruby with the full weight of their armor, throwing her to the ground and restraining her. Lauren, limping from the wicked wound in her ankle from Crescent Rose, managed to jam the syringe of the medical diagnostic scanner into Ruby's neck, administering a strong anesthetic and knocking her unconscious.

The forest fell into an eerie silence as everyone looked around, finding Ivan to be sprinting over to Thorne's side to examine his wounds. The first round had hit Thorne in the forearm, the massive projectile very-nearly ripping the arm clean off. The second had punched clean through his lower abdomen. He was alive, but clearly unconscious. "Biofoam over here!" Ivan shouted, causing Lauren to make her way over and set to work. "This is Colonel Chesnokov, we need immediate MEDEVAC at my position!" He shouted into the Battlenet, not even waiting for a reply before cutting the comms and turning to the rest of the team.

Mary and Jacob were busy restraining Ruby's arms and legs. Winter was slowly pulling Weiss to her feet, the younger Schnee sister unable to take her eyes of the sight of her fiance being restrained by a pair of SPARTANs. Yang had just punched a hefty chunk out of a tree, her entire body tense and rigid. Even from nearly two dozen meters away, Ivan could see her hands shaking as her eyes were locked on the shotgun at her feet. Blake was slowly making progress in calming Yang down, and Cinder was doing her best to help Lauren stabilize Thorne.

As he scanned the treeline for any more Grimm, his eyes eventually settled on one of the Seers. It was just barely visible in the brush, its spherical body seeming to sit on the wet soil, watching the scene unfold before it. Knowing full well that Salem just saw everything unfold, a seething rage boiled inside. He simply raised his MA5E, rattling off the entire 32-round magazine into the creature and cutting it to ribbons before it began dissipating. He saw Winter look over to him as he threw the empty rifle into the rear of the Pelican. "When he's stable, bring Thorne and the wounded to In Spirit of Fire." He explained, a bit too calmly for Winter's liking. "We'll take the second bird with Ruby."

All Winter could manage was a solemn nod.

June 17, 2686; 1551 Hours

Remnant, Orbit (UNSC In Spirit of Fire)

Weiss sat against the sterile white wall of In Spirit of Fire's medical bay, her knees pulled up to her chin. Her cheeks were stained by the faint tracks of dried tears, and she wasn't sure if she could stop any more from breaking through if she tried. She couldn't even muster the energy to look at her sister when she sat down next to her, the armored plates of MJOLNIR clanking against the metal floor. They sat like that for what felt like hours before Winter finally wrapped a comforting arm around Weiss' shoulders.

Weiss finally spoke up after that, her voice coarse. "They wouldn't let me see her..."

Winter chose her response very carefully. "It's a security precaution, Weiss… they wouldn't even let Ivan or I in."

"I'm her fiance!" Weiss half-shouted, not even caring that the pair of Naval Security personnel that had denied her entry were well within earshot. "She has one of those fucking things in her head, and I can't even see her! I don't know if she's even her anymore!" That did it. More tears started streaming down her face as she buried her head in her hands.

Winter wrapped her sister in a hug, running a comforting hand across her back. "Hey, hey, hey… The medtechs are going to try the datacluster implant. If all goes well, you'll be in there with her in a few hours."

"Yeah, and what are the chances it actually works?" Weiss managed.

Winter hesitated for a moment. "They don't know… But it's worth a try."

XXXXX

Yang had no idea what else to do with herself, so she found herself in the S-Deck running a simulation with Jacob and Mary. Neither of them had spoken a word the whole time, simply focusing on the enemies before them. The simulated Grimm before them were falling by the dozens to the three SPARTANs, but Yang was another matter entirely. She usually tried to be a bit flashy in how she fought, but that was thrown out the window. She was moving methodically, planting 8-gauge rounds into the creatures with extreme prejudice. It wasn't long before she was using the shotgun as a makeshift club, the sim actually bugging out trying to fathom exactly how hard she smacked the creature with the assistance of her Aura.

She wasn't sure how long she spent in the simulation, but it eventually fizzled back into the drab grey room covered in hard light projectors. As she was locking the empty shotgun back onto its rack, she felt an armored gauntlet clasp her on the shoulder, her head jerking around to find Mary with her helmet off, carried in the crook of her free arm. "C'mon… think I got a better way to blow off steam."

Yang half-considered shrugging the gesture off, but decided to at least humor her teammate. "Alright..." After being stripped down to their tech suits by the removal apparatus, Mary led her through the halls of the massive starship. They found themselves stepping into one of the many recreation rooms aboard the vessel, all three of them on this deck being reserved for the SPARTAN contingent. A special exception seemed to have been made, as Blake was sat on a small couch, staring out into the empty void of space. The ancient rays of light from distant stars finally making their way to the glass.

Blake turned around, hearing the door slide open, and a soft smile crossed her face as she saw Yang. A sly smirk crossed Mary's face. "I'll let y'all have some time."

For the first time all day, Yang actually managed a smile, clasping her teammate on the shoulder before she turned to leave. As Yang sat down, she was content to just sit and rest her head on her wife's shoulder. "Heya, Blakey..."

Blake smiled, wrapping her arm around Yang. "You doing okay?"

"Definitely been better..." Yang sighed, snuggling in a bit closer. She gave a small smile as Blake planted a soft kiss atop her head, her eyes finding the different constellations that could be seen from Remnant. Off in the distance, she could just barely make out a small collection of ships burning towards Remnant, looking like UNSC frigates. "You always manage to find the nice views..."

"You've got your puns and sappy songs, I've got the nice views." Blake smirked, resting her head on Yang's.

Yang smirked. "Speaking of… Let me show you a little trick with the rec rooms." She fumbled with her datapad for a moment, eventually finding the right wireless connection out of the corner of her eye and tapping a few commands into the tablet. The air around them was filled with the sounds of gently falling rain. Blake looked around, a small smile on her face. She always did like listening to the rain. "Helps keep us sane on long jumps."

"That, and the picture of me you keep in your helmet, I'd imagine..." Blake smirked, hugging her better half a bit closer.

"How the hell did you know about that?" Yang asked, a broad smile on her face.

"I have my ways."

June 17, 2686; 2151 Hours

UNSC In Spirit of Fire, Medical Bay D-2

Thorne groaned, clamping his eyes shut again as the light bounced off the far-too-bright white ceiling. He eventually found the energy to glance down to his abdomen and arm, finding a series of bandages wrapped around his lower torso and left forearm. He already knew what it meant when he saw that his left arm was just a bit skinnier than he remembered; they grafted flash-cloned tissue on. He groaned, sitting upright after yanking the IV line out of his right wrist.

"Director, you need to rest..." An older medical technician said, rounding a corner and passing through the privacy shutter. "If you move around too much, you'll reopen the wound in your abdomen."

"Anything major get hit?" Thorne asked, shaking off the dizziness of the anesthetic.

"Only soft tissue, and it was a clean exit. You're lucky she had armor piercing rounds loaded." The medtech explained, glancing down to his datapad. "Still, I don't want you bleeding out if the wound reopens."

"Got biofoam in here?" Thorne asked, earning a confused expression from the tech. "I'll just plug the damn hole myself, I've got work to do."

Knowing better than to say 'no' to the ONI Director, the medtech eventually relented and handed him a small canister of biofoam alongside his clothes. As he set about buttoning up his shirt exceedingly carefully, he turned back to the tech. "How're the others?"

"Only minor injuries if any, sir." He explained. "The worst of it was a cracked rib on Missus Schnee and a torn achilles for SPARTAN Markham. Seems like you got the worst of it."

"No surprise there." Thorne sighed, carefully pulling his coat back on. "And Ruby?"

"She's in surgery right now, receiving the datacluster implant at Agent Fall's request. At the current projection, we're guessing 60/40 odds of success."

Much to his dismay, that formed a pit in Thorne's gut. "Christ..." He shook his head, sliding the small IFAK-grade biofoam canister into his coat pocket. "Notify me the second you're done with the procedure."

"Yes, sir." The tech nodded, opening the privacy shutter and letting Thorne make his way out into the wider vessel. As he stepped into the halls of the med bay, he spotted Winter sitting beside Weiss. Weiss seemed to be asleep, head resting on Winter's shoulder. She sent him a quick nod, which he returned.

He made his way through the deck until he found the lift he was looking for, tapping his identification on the reader, granting him access to the deck reserved for officers of the fleet. After the short ride, he approached one of the few doors on the deck, tapping on the door with his knuckles. A few moments later, the familiar face of Admiral Bishop met him at the door, eyes widening in surprise. "Gavin? What the hell are you doing up and about?"

"Always hated hospitals, Joe." Thorne smirked. "Still got your stash, by chance?"

Bishop smirked. "If anyone else asked that, I'd give 'em an NJP… and I owe you. Any requests?"

"Something strong enough to kick a SPARTAN in the liver." Thorne chuckled, earning a smile from the older admiral. After a moment, the grey-haired officer returned to the door, handing Thorne a pair of hefty bottles, one of which lacked a label. The other was a full, unopened bottle of single malt scotch, straight from Scotland. "Damn… two bottles? What's the occasion?"

"Settling that debt, hopefully." Bishop smirked. "The 21's good, but the other one… I think you'll like it."

"Appreciate it, Joe." Thorne smirked. "And yeah… looks like I owe you a box of cigars now."

"Damn right… I'll take Nicaraguan." Bishop smirked.

Thorne chuckled. "Fair enough. A man of refined tastes. I'll keep you posted."

"Copy that." Bishop nodded before closing the door again.

With a heavy sigh, Thorne made his way back to the lift, tucking the scotch under his arm and checking his datapad, seeing the locator ping he was looking for coming from the S-Deck's observation room, to absolutely no surprise. He tapped the associated key on the lift, and waited.

Thorne didn't even pay attention to the amused looks from some of the more-veteran SPARTANs aboard the vessel, seeing an ONI Director walking the halls of the S-Deck with a pair of opaque bottles. Was it technically violating the regulations? Yes. Did he give a good goddamn? Absolutely not.

As he stepped into the observation room, he was greeted by a welcome surprise. Both Ivan and Cinder were sat on the bench, watching the planet rotate below them. Both of them glanced up at the door to see Thorne on his feet, a bottle in each hand. "Stubborn as ever..." Cinder scoffed.

"What can I say, fuck hospitals." Thorne smirked, making his way over and sitting down between them. He broke the seal on the scotch, taking a hefty swig straight from the bottle and handing it off to Cinder, who happily did the same.

Sighing, Ivan took the bottle from Cinder as she waggled it in his direction. He was far from used to it, suppressing a cough as the burn hit. Even then, he had to admit… it wasn't bad. "How long have you two been in here?"

"Couple hours." Ivan shrugged, handing it back to Thorne. "Any word from the docs?"

"She's still in surgery, I'm afraid." Thorne sighed, taking a bit of a longer swig this time.

"Fuckin' bitch has some balls." At the pair of cocked eyebrows, Ivan elaborated. "Saw one of those seer things in the treeline… she saw all of it."

"Well, she's still a cunt." Cinder shrugged. "At least something hasn't changed..."

Thorne sighed, reaching into his coat pocket and producing the small metallic case he kept his cigarettes in. "When we're all back on our feet, we're taking a trip down to Haven. I got that feeling Ozpin's hiding something."

"How so?" Cinder asked, accepting the offered smoke from Thorne.

"He still has yet to tell me what any of these damn relics actually do." Thorne explained, handing another cigarette off to Ivan, who shrugged and accepted it. "I get the metaphor, the knowledge one being a lantern, but it has to do something other than fuckin' float there."

"And if he is hiding something?" Ivan asked, taking a short drag, not giving a damn about regulations at the moment.

"I've got half a mind to shoot him." Thorne gave a grim smile. "Son of a bitch practically sent you all on a suicide run at Salem's goons more than a few times."

"Aww, you do care." Cinder smiled, leaning forward a bit.

Thorne simply chuckled. "Damn right I do… You'll pardon the candidness, but I just had an anti-material round tear out my side, so I'm feeling a bit more alive." At that, Thorne earned the attention of both Cinder and Ivan. "I've spent the better part of fifteen years being an asshole, I'm getting a little tired of it."

"Hey, you put a C-12 charge in my neck, and even I don't think you're an asshole." Cinder smirked.

Thorne chuckled, looking down to the slowly rotating ball of green and blue that was Remnant. "Guess the truth really is stranger than fiction. An ONI Director being told he's a good person by a girl with magic powers… fuck me, this place is strange."

"Damn right it is." Ivan nodded, leaning forward and looking down to the planet. "I get the sinking feeling that's why you're still here."

"That's about half of it." Thorne nodded. "I've also got a… bit of a debt I gotta pay back. There's a lot of people who've paid for my mistakes… you more than any." Ivan was surprised to see Thorne looking straight at him.

"Uhh… what are you talking about?" Ivan asked, suddenly very confused.

"You nearly lost your friends and your life because I wasn't prepared… because I got cocky." Thorne sighed, shaking his head. "I promised your old man I'd look after you, and I almost fucked up that part, too..." At Ivan's even more-confused look, Thorne let out a heavy sigh and continued. "I was the agent handling your mother's operation in deep space aboard the Elysian Dawn. It wasn't just a scouting operation, her mission was to provide security for an ONI science team hunting for Forerunner and Ancient Human technology. Much like the Spirit of Fire, the damn ship dropped off the face of the galaxy about three weeks into the op."

At Ivan's stunned expression, Thorne continued. "Before you, Annalise was the best goddamn SPARTAN I've had the privilege of working with. After everything she did for the Office and all of Humanity, it would've been a disservice to leave the family she left behind to the wolves, so… I made a promise to your old man that I'd look after you and your sister, should you ever join the military." Thorne chuckled, looking around the observation room. "Wasn't too different from this, actually… we just had cigars instead..."

Ivan was struck speechless. Of all the things he never expected to hear from an ONI agent, much less one like Thorne, was that he was a guardian angel. "You know it wasn't your fault, right?" Ivan asked, hoping it could be a rhetorical question.

"I know… It's just that the Office's fuck-ups have left enough people to the wolves. Figured I'd at least do what I could to help someone out." He sent Ivan a smirk. "Sorry for dropping all that on 'ya at once. You know how it is, feel most alive when closest to death."

That actually earned a laugh from Ivan. "Oh, I feel you."

Thorne gave another smile. "And hey… when this is all said and done, the same stands for you and Winter if you two ever have kids."

"I appreciate that, Thorne." Ivan nodded.

"Hey, just an offer on the table." Thorne smirked. "Feel free to take me up on it whenever. After we're done with Salem, hopefully shit will calm down out here."

"God willing..." Ivan nodded. "We might be cut out for this, but the others have dealt with enough of this bullshit."

A/N:

Like I said, I'm getting back into the swing of things. Yee yee.

Reviews, blyat:

Famond- There was a little glimpse of hybridized weapons when the gang went to Menagerie, so it's definitely in use. Much like the modern equivalents (being things like the 6.5mm battle rifle JSOC is considering), those sorts of weapons are still largely only in the hands of special forces.

Evinco- Funny you should say that.

Another STALKER- I dunno, I've spent more than my fair share of time around both active and retired military from basically all levels of service in just about every branch. The last thing I'd call current or retired military is callous, and it'd largely be the same for the SPARTAN IVs. They're just 'normal' people with some wicked awesome augmentations, nowhere near the unquestioning loyalty and devotion that the IIs had. Your emotions and morality are still yours, being in the military wouldn't change that a whole lot.