A/N: Hello, hello, helloooooooo, my dear readers! So, this is the 'second treat' that was supposed to come 'later tonight' last week. Yeah… I know it took an additional seven days; sorry about that. But here it is at last, so, do not fret my children. ;)

Anyway, with E3 2019—and the likely announcement of the next big entry in the Halo franchise—only a day away, I thought continuing the story that began 6 years ago was long past due. I do want to let you know that updates will not be as regular as they were back in the earliest days of TFRR, the reasons for which I will explain in the post-chapter A/N.

Meanwhile, and without further ado, it is my pleasure to give you the next entry in the TFRR-verse…

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THE FIFTH-RACE RECLAIMERS: UPHEAVAL

PROLOGUE: Osiris

1307 hrs. August 9, 2559 (Military Calendar)

The hour of dusk was drawing near at one of the scarce mountain ranges that were spread across the equator of the icy world, yet the white snow of the mountaintops and the frozen waters of the lakes and rivers below shone brightly with the last rays of sunlight. From outer space, this gave the planet the appearance of a pearl, tainted only by what few patches of brown stuck out through the ice and snow.

Located at the fringes of civilization, Kamchatka, also known as Caspar V, appeared absolutely quiet and peaceful from afar—and until less than a week ago, it was. But below the atmosphere and almost imperceptibly to the naked eye, a battle was raging on between two formerly allied forces.

There had been no warning, no apparent reason for the Forerunner Prometheans, the holy army of the Didact, to betray the Remnant—or, rather, one of many splinter factions bearing the same name as the former collective of alien species known as the Covenant. With no explanation from their Sangheili leader, Jul 'Mdama, as to why this was happening, many of his soldiers wondered if they had incurred the wrath of the gods in some way, while others began doubting that the self-appointed Didact's Hand was truly their messenger.

Yet in spite of the confusion that reigned among the Covenant troops, they were doing their best to push back the mechanized army that had turned against them and now attempted to seize back control of the planet.

Along an icy pathway on a hillside overlooking a frozen lake above which a sizable number of ships attempted to down one another, a few Covenant lances were pushing forward, trying to clear a path to the structure where their leader was completing a mission of vital importance to their cause. Not an easy task, given the Promethean reinforcements that kept warping in continuously. Unbeknownst to any of them, an even more formidable force was quickly advancing from behind, having already broken through enemy lines at a larger battlefield not so far away.

Plasma bolts and hardlight rounds were soon joined by well-placed armor-piercing projectiles fired from precision weapons. The seemingly primitive ammunition took down several Kig-Yar, Unggoy, and Crawlers alike in less than two seconds. What few combatants weren't killed by shots aimed to the head didn't have time to react as four armored figures—two male, two female—shifted their attention from the fallen enemies to those still alive.

After a few more shots, a single Sangheili was the only combatant left standing, the only one who had the skill and strength to hold his own against these four newcomers. Even then, he only lasted a few moments before one of them charged forward at an impossible speed and shoved the butt end of his weapon into his chest, overloading the Sangheili's shields and shattering its ribs and spine.

The towering saurian creature was dead before it hit the ground, its last thought being how he had fought valiantly and fallen with honor, despite impossible odds. For these were Spartans, the fearsome demons responsible for the deaths of more Covenant than any other human force in the galaxy. And it wasn't just any squad of Spartans either but Fireteam Osiris, one of the newest Spartan teams made up of some of the finest soldiers in the UNSC, barring the original S-IIs of course.

"All clear. Move on toward Halsey's position," the leader of Osiris said as he stood from where the alien copse had fallen. He aimed his Battle Rifle forward and led the way towards the next section of the cliff-side. There was still some ground to cover between this place and the Forerunner structure where Jul 'Mdama was holed up, along with the undercover human agent they were here to retrieve.

"How did Halsey survive, anyway?" one of the two young women, Olympia Vale, said. "Wasn't her cruiser destroyed when she rammed it into that Precursor ship last year?"

"'Vaporized' would be a more appropriate term," the other woman, Holly Tanaka, replied. "That explosion could've turned half a solar system to dust."

"Which, again, begs the question: How's the old lady still around?" That was Edward Buck, former ODST and the only member of the team who could be considered a true veteran.

"She may've been able to take the Luminous Truth into Slipspace if the ship wasn't too badly damaged," Tanaka said. "That, or Cortana could've rigged an FTL-capable dropship."

"FTL-capable? What, like our Condor?"

"We know Dr. Halsey is a resourceful woman, and lately she's also proven to be a valuable asset as an undercover agent," Osiris' leader broke in as they neared an ice cave. "It's up to us to make sure the UNSC doesn't lose that asset. How she survived is not our concern right now."

The rest of the Spartans fell silent at this statement. Behind his helmet, their leader grinned, shaking his head ever so slightly. As one of the newest Spartan Fireteams, its members were still getting to know each other, and this kind of chatter helped break the ice between them. It wasn't such a bad thing, but in the middle of a mission this delicate, it was important to stay focused. And it was Jameson Locke's job to keep his teammates on the task at hand.

And as if to drive that point home, the moment Osiris crossed the cave entrance, a pair of Forerunner Soldiers appeared in front of them, only to phase away when the Spartans started shooting at them. "Up the cliffs! Get after them!" Locke ordered as he climbed up a rock wall to reach the passageway the Prometheans had gone through. Osiris obeyed and continued advancing towards their objective.

A little over twenty minutes—and hordes of Covenant and Promethean forces—later, Osiris had finally reached the innermost part of the 'temple', as the self-appointed Didact's Hand had named it. The Spartan fireteam assembled at the exit door as it opened to reveal the entrance to Jul's two-level balcony. The four Spartans headed stealthily down the long hallway, weapons at the ready.

The supersoldiers' enhanced hearing, coupled with their helmets' finely tuned audio receptors, allowed Osiris to hear 'Mdama clear as day, growling something angrily in Sangheili at the far end of the balcony. For tactical purposes, instead of having Vale interpret, Osiris' built-in translation software displayed the Didact's Hand's words as text in their HUDs: "What is the problem?"

"Well, there are several," was Halsey's reply, also in near-perfect Sangheili. "Would you like to discuss the finer points of casual reconciliation?"

"More human sarcasm."

"So you have learned something from me, Jul."

"You claimed to be able to access—"

"And I can," Halsey cut 'Mdama off. "However, I did not claim to be able to access it instantaneously."

"The security situation is not stable. There is no time to dither. You will also accord me the respect befitting of the Didact's Hand."

By this point in the exchange, Osiris had reached cover at the end of the hallway and were prepping to attack. Locke was able to spot half a dozen Zealots standing guard on both levels—and a Phantom holding position near the balcony. Jul himself was pacing in the center of the lower-level balcony while Halsey tinkered with a Forerunner terminal and her data pad.

"Heh, seems your fingers are in open rebellion, Hand," Halsey replied to 'Mdama's latest statement.

"Enough! Resume your work," 'Mdama commanded.

Meanwhile, all four members of Osiris had finished picking their respective targets and were ready for Osiris Alpha's go signal. Locke decided to wait until 'Mdama got distracted by the doctor again before initiating the assault. Lucky for them, that didn't take long. Not a minute had passed when Halsey started grunting in frustration.

"This location does not serve my needs!" she exclaimed. "When she makes another transmission, I must triangulate—"

"I tire of this, doctor!" Jul 'Mdama roared menacingly, staring Halsey down. "You have been chasing shadows for weeks to no avail."

This is it, Locke thought. He turned his head to Buck and nodded, giving him the first shot. Buck responded in kind, aiming down his lightrifle again—and with a high-pitched zing, the targeted Zealot fell.

Thus began Osiris' onslaught, as Tanaka emerged from behind a stack of crates and fired her assault rifle, while Locke dashed to the balcony center, punching and firing away at any of the guards standing in his path. Vale jumped up to a Zealot guard and leap off of his head, landing behind him. The Sangheili Zealot advanced slowly towards her while she shot her pistol at him—but when he got closer, Vale flung him off the balcony and to his death.

It only took 'Mdama a brief moment to recover from the initial shock. "Kill them!" he bellowed, pushing Halsey away and drawing his energy sword. The scientist stared worriedly at Locke, as though fearing he wouldn't notice the towering Sangheili approaching him from behind.

But Locke had already dispatched the guards closer to the Didact's Hand, and with the rest otherwise occupied, nothing stopped him from charging at 'Mdama. Dropping his battle rifle and pulling his combat knife from its sheath, he ducked and slid as the Covenant leader swung his sword, grazing the Sangheili's shield with the tiny metal blade. Using his thrusters to abruptly stop his momentum and propel him forward, Locke drove the knife into 'Mdama's chest with such force that his shields overloaded.

Stunned from the unexpected stabbing, 'Mdama was unable to stop Locke from swinging around and sticking the knife into one of the thicker plates of his armor in order to jump on top of him. Though the Sangheili struggled to shake the Spartan off, the latter was able to cling to the alien's back like a rodeo rider to a raging bull. Locke raised his knife, ready to stab 'Mdama in the neck…

…but he failed to notice as 'Mdama pressed a button on his wrist.

An invisible force hit Locke in the chest, depleting half of his shields and throwing him into the air. He landed next to Buck as the latter hit a Zealot in the face with his lightfifle. The former ODST, noticing his team leader groaning in pain on the floor, kicked the alien away before kneeling to help Locke get on his feet again. Vale, having also noticed what had happened, leapt to gun down the last Zealot from above and then rushed to Locke's side. Tanaka jumped in front of him, aiming her assault rifle at 'Mdama and unloading half a magazine on him.

The Covenant leader simply sneered behind his segmented helmet as the flurry of armor-piercing bullets was swatted by a repulsion field emanating from his armor. Then, pressing another button on his wrist, he was surrounded by rings of bright golden light that snatched him away from the balcony. The same golden glow appeared a millisecond after at the troop bay of the Phantom. All four members of Osiris shifted their aim towards the Covenant dropship from which Jul 'Mdama was now looking down at them, but by then the side bay doors were half-closed.

For reasons unknown, the Phantom didn't fire its heavy cannon at the Spartans as it sped away; whether or not it was due to a malfunction from a previous engagement didn't matter. Jul 'Mdama, the honor-less Sangheili opportunist, had slipped away once again, living to fight another day…

At least he had left behind the true target Osiris was after. As the three Spartans who still had weapons holstered them on their backs, Locke turned to face the human scientist.

"Dr. Halsey," he said, "Captain Lasky would like a word with you."

The woman, clearly not amused by the remark, simply said: "It took you long enough."

Thirty minutes after that, Osiris' Condor was landing in Docking Bay 11 of the UNSC Infinity, currently stationed a little shy of 4 light-years from Kamchatka. As the hyperspace-enhanced dropship landed and its rear door opened, Captain Thomas Lasky and Commander Sarah Palmer approached it. Osiris was barely exiting the craft by the time Dr. Halsey had reached the end of the ramp, hurriedly walking up to Lasky. "Captain Lasky, I sent you my position three weeks ago! I told you this was happening!"

"We'll discuss that in private, Doctor," Lasky was quick to refrain the doctor from talking further. He gestured to Palmer, who grabbed Halsey's arm just with enough force to get her moving. Then, he turned to the Spartans. "Good work, Osiris", he said, nodding at them as he walked away to catch up with Palmer and Halsey.

But it seemed whatever had Halsey troubled weighed more than the Captain's instruction not to speak. For as the trio put some distance between Osiris and themselves, the scientist asked in a loud enough voice: "What has she done? How far has it already gone?"

"What do you think that's about?" Buck asked Locke, intrigued. Locke didn't answer. He stared ahead impassively, unconcerned about the matter. After all, his place was not to question but to obey. That he had learned early on as an ONI operative, and such ideology had carried over when he'd been enlisted into the Spartan-IV ranks.

What did concern him was the fact that Jul 'Mdama had escaped thanks in no small part to the Forerunner technology his combat harness seemed to have been upgraded with. The repulsion field and the translocation device were the kind of stuff one could expect from a Forerunner Monitor, according to the Master Chief's mission reports from the firing of Installation 04b back in '52. Not even the San'Shyuum—the former Prophets of the Covenant—had had access to such defensive technologies. Which begged the question: had 'Mdama found a way to reverse-engineer it on his own… or had Catherine Halsey helped him to do so? And if the latter was true, had it been out of a need to maintain her cover, or had they just brought a traitor aboard once again?

In Locke's mind, hunting down Jul 'Mdama had to take priority, and he hoped HIGHCOM would give him the go for it before the Sangheili could find a way to regain control over the Promethean forces. Whatever else Halsey had been working on couldn't possibly be more important than that.

Then again, Osiris, like pretty much everyone else aboard Infinity—and probably in the UNSC as a whole—had no way of knowing just what exactly was going on. Only two people and the ship's AI were in on this operation. For that reason, those two people were taking Doctor Halsey to a secure conference room—the same room Halsey had once used to contact Jul 'Mdama for the first time.

Roland was already there, waiting for Lasky and Palmer. The doctor was trailing behind them, and only after she had crossed the threshold did she begin speaking again. "I tried to warn you this was happening! Cortana is no longer an asset, Captain—she is a danger. She has accessed the Forerunner Domain, a galaxy-spanning network that allows her to control whatever devices caused this damage."

"Well, apparently the Master Chief believes she contacted him," Lasky said, and after a pause he added: "And he's gone in search of her."

"What?" Halsey exclaimed, clearly concerned. "You let him go? Do you even understand what kind of a security risk that could be?"

"We do, Doctor," Palmer replied, "but the truth is nobody 'lets' the Chief do anything. Ever since he and Blue Team left, he does what he wants."

"Until 0631 this morning," Lasky interjected, "when he was declared absent without leave."

For a moment, Roland thought Halsey would continue objecting to a decision that had already been taken and which was out of her hands—nothing she wouldn't have done back in the day. Instead, the woman remained silent, so he decided to take advantage of that and clear the question that was bugging him. "Hey, I know I'm just an AI, but would you mind explaining how Cortana is still alive after what happened last year with the Precursors?"

Halsey opened her mouth to speak, but Lasky raised a hand. "Roland, why don't we let our good friend get comfortable?" Then, to Halsey: "Doctor, I imagine you might want to wear your own skin again, even if it's just for a short while."

The doctor stared at the Captain for a moment like she had no idea what he meant. It was probably a reflex action, not uncommon of undercover operatives who would maintain their cover even in front of friendlies until 100% certain they were in a secure location. When she realized it was just the four of them behind closed doors, she smiled and pressed a button on her wrist TACPAD.

As if by magic, the gray-haired, one-armed old woman was gone. A woman in her late forties and with all her limbs intact took her place—a scientist, just like the late Catherine Halsey had been. The dead woman's identity and simulated appearance were but a smokescreen; such deception had been necessary to help the blonde infiltrate Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction as part of a sanctioned operation. Her true identity was one of the best-kept secrets within the UNSC. Ironically, this woman was not part of the UNSC… nor was she native to this galaxy.

"Feel better now, Colonel?" Lasky asked her.

"Indeed, Captain. Thank you," Colonel Samantha Carter replied with a nod.

"Great. Now, give us a minute to contact Dr. Jackson at the Fifth-Race Reclaimers, and then let's hear that debrief."

A/N: And there it is, the Prologue of the sequel for TFRR. It is short, I know, but I just wanted to set the groundwork for now and let you know what I have planned for this sequel.

Before that, however, I do want to publicly apologize for any and all inconsistencies/plot holes I may have incurred in TFRR. Yes, I admit there were many things that didn't really make sense. Yes, for the most part, I downplayed Forerunner tech and the UNSC as a whole in favor of the SG faction. I'm guilty as charged on all accounts, and I certainly hope to be able to make up for that in the sequel.

That being said, don't expect the sequel to follow the events of Halo 5: Guardians too closely. As a matter of fact, and even though the Prologue is set at the very beginning of H5:G, more than half of the story itself will cover several prior months leading up to that point.

I have a slightly more in-depth (read: rather spoiler-y) 'Sequel Summary' ready for all of you, regarding what should be expected of this sequel story-wise. I also have a more-or-less lengthy explanation as to why updates will be rolling out slowly (PLEASE DON'T KILL ME). I don't want to leave any of that here, though. If you're interested in reading about it, check out the latest 'chapter' in TFRR, titled "Anniversary Treat: Sneak Peek & News". For better reference, that 'chapter' is the one I uploaded last week; I'm updating it today to include the aforementioned summary and explanation.

For those of you who prefer to avoid spoilers and wait until the next chapter of the sequel is out: don't worry, I understand. Still, please, don't forget to review on your way out! ;D