Chapter 1

Four Spartans stood in silence around the holo-tank in the Pelican, watching the images before them. Ruined cities that had been full of innocent people, at the center of each image a giant crater. Palmer wasn't new to the sight of destruction, having seen her fair share of cities fall during the war. But there was something different about this. They weren't at war, in fact right now was some of the most peaceful time she'd known in her adult life. That was a depressing thought, but it was her reality. It was what made this carnage so chilling.

A new image appeared alongside the images of destruction, and while Palmer usually would be happy to see him, at the moment the appearance of Captain Lasky meant that there was work to be done. "Over the last 72 hours, 5 colonies have experienced identical events. Massive destruction. High casualties. All with what seem to be Forerunner origins." There was a visual weariness to the Captain as he briefed the fireteam. Tom had been through the wringer a few times as a Captain but this was a lot of destruction very quickly that they didn't understand. On top of that she was with her hand picked team for this mission leaving him understaffed on the bridge. She regretted leaving him without an XO but she needed to have her boots on the ground for this one. "Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey has managed to contact us, claiming to have information about the attacks."

"Of course she does," Sarah commented with a scowl. Halsey had made her life since Requiem hell and had caused all sort of problems for her, the Infinity, and her Spartans. Palmer could almost feel the Captain's eyes on her even though he couldn't see the gathered Spartans. He knew better than anyone her personal feelings toward the doctor. It had been a point of friction between them since ONI had ordered a hit on Halsey. Sarah let out a long breath and stepped into her Commander mode as she addressed her team. "Halsey's currently in the custody of a Covenant group on the planet Kamchatka. Our mission is to insert behind enemy lines, retrieve Halsey, and bring her back to the Infinity." Palmer turned her gaze to the image of the Captain and in some way she felt like he knew and he was looking back. In a way this mission would ease all that tension and bitter feelings between them. Her orders and what he wanted were finally aligning.

"Be aware, Dr. Halsey is in the hands of a group called the Didact's hand, which is lead by a wanted terrorist, Jul 'Mdama." Sarah's gaze turned to Spartan Holly Tanaka, a woman who she'd taken on a high risk mission against the Sangheili terrorist in the past. "Given the chance…I call dibs."

Lasky looked like he was going to object but thought better of it. "Good luck, Fireteam Osiris." The Captain paused for a moment and his voice softened. "Stay safe. Infinity out." The image of Lasky vanished and the Spartans were left looking over terrain maps and tactical assessments of the planet below. They didn't need any of it, Palmer had built this team and been sure they all had the data they were currently looking at well in advance.

Sarah stepped away from the holographic display, turning her attention toward the actual mission ahead. If she focused too much on the logistics she'd get in her own head and it would only cause problems. "Check your gear, Osiris, and prepare for drop." Palmer moved to where her gear was stowed and retrieved her pistol, checking it over. The routine task grounded her as she prepared for combat. It felt good to be in the field but even better knowing she may be able to close the door on a frustrating part of her life.

Spartan Edward Buck approaches her, eyeing her weapon. "Sure you don't want something with a little more impact?" he asked as he reached out to grab a shotgun.

"I think I'll leave the compensating to you," Palmer retorted with a slight smirk. Buck and her had a unique relationship that allowed for him to make those sort of jokes even though she was his CO. She'd first met Buck when she was in her early days as an ODST and he'd saved her life in a situation that had cost the lives of the rest of her squad. Of course she'd returned the favor years later after she'd become a Spartan on Draco III not long before he joined the Spartan IVs. He was one of the few Spartans she had full trust in which was why he was her second-in-command on this mission. She wasn't sure if it was their interactions and the sort of bond of combat it had forged between them or if it was simply that they had both been ODST before they became Spartans but she felt close to the man despite their past interactions being so limited. Her old Sargent always told her that what made a Helljumper a Helljumper automatically connected every trooper. She had yet to meet an ODST that really disproved him.

Buck smiled in a way that spoke to past events between them. "You know I have nothing to compensate for."

Sarah shook her head slightly but she was honestly thankful for him at the moment. She'd never gotten used to being in command, not completely, but the banter set her at ease. "I've seen you in combat," she pointed out as she turned to walk away. "I beg to differ." Buck tried to look hurt but his smile gave away his amusement.

"You sure we can't do a round of rock paper scissors for the split-lip? " Tanaka asked as she counted and checked her backup ammunition. Palmer could understand the woman's desire to take down the Covenant leader. Tanaka had been part of a mission to stow away aboard one of the Didact's Hand's ships in an effort to capture whatever Halsey was leading the terrorist to. Of course because Halsey had been involved everything went to Hell and no one came out with anything positive. In fact they'd lost any chance at everything there had been to gain. But during that mission Tanaka had proven to be effective and able to handle being behind enemy lines. It made her perfect for this mission.

"You can clear his personal guards for me to get to him," Palmer offered the other woman. "I'm sure if he trusts them enough to have them protecting him they'll have plenty of blood on their hands." The Didact's hand had been attacking civilian populations, attacked military instillations, and given Spartans just about every reason to hate them. Having had a mission fail because of him and Halsey was more than enough reason for Tanaka to want Jul's head as much as Palmer did. But Palmer was a Spartan Commander and the burden of command had to have some perks.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Tanaka conceded with a small shrug.

"Tracking gear is operational," Spartan Locke informed her as he approached.

Palmer lifted her forearm and checked the system herself before she nodded. "Good," she responded. There wasn't much else to say to the man. It wasn't that she didn't like Locke, but she didn't know him. While Tanaka and Buck were her personal choices Locke had been forced onto her team by ONI. It wasn't his fault that he had been assigned to this mission but his presence being required by the shadow organization made Palmer cautious. She had a feeling he was here for more reasons than running the tracking softwear.

"So, any ODST pre-drop rituals you wanna share with us?" Tanaka asked as she retrieved her helmet.

"Believe it or not, we didn't really do drops like this," Buck replied as he attached his shotgun to the back of his armor.

"Every Jumper I knew who did a ritual is dead, so we skip it," Palmer informed them as she moved to the back of the pelican and lowered the hatch. Wind whipped past the rear of the vehicle and Palmer turned back to her soldiers. Locke and Tanaka approached, put on their helmets on, and jumped out into the open air.

"You know usually we would use pods," Buck pointed out before he handed Palmer her helmet.

Sarah took the offered gear and chuckled. "You getting chicken in your old age?" she teased. Buck smiled and Palmer slipped on her own helmet. "Feet first, Trooper." Buck just grinned before he slipped on his own helmet and launched himself out of the back and Palmer followed him.

The four Spartans dove toward the snowy mountains below and the battle that was raging there Palmer had looked at the recon reports about the conflict but there was nothing like seeing it with your own eyes to really understand the situation. It seemed worse than the reports had made it sound. Below there were Covenant cruisers being fired on by Forerunner canons and what seemed to be a multitude of ground engagements. "Comm check," Palmer ordered.

"Comms online," Tanaka responded a second before she slammed into a Banshee, causing it to blow up. The Spartan's shields flared and then recharged, her armor undamaged.

"No need to flex, Tanaka," Buck commented but his voice gave away his amusement.

"Comms online," Locke responded, ignoring the joke and clearly focused on the mission.

As they neared the ground Palmer angled herself to match with the slope of the land below them. "Weapons free, Osiris," she ordered. In unison the Spartans all adjusted their position and fired their thrustors to slow their speed. Palmer was peripherally aware of her teammates and where they were, her focus turning to what was ahead of her. She waited until right before she was going to collide with the mountain side to cut her thruster. Palmer hit the ground and she rolled to take the impact, jumping to her feet and starting to run with her momentum.

Their enemies were caught off guard by their surprise appearance, an opportunity that the Spartans gladly took advantage of. Palmer put a single shot of her magnum into the heads of three Unggoy before she grabbed a Sangheili and pushed it to her side. She looked back in time to see Buck pump a shotgun shell into the enemy before jumping over the fallen foe. Sarah turned her attention back forward as she continued down the slope moving out of the way of falling debris or out of the way of Promethean fire. She fired on whatever enemies were in her line of sight, either killing or weakening them for the other side to kill. Despite the chaos around her Palmer felt completely at ease in the heat of combat. Since she'd become a soldier the center of a battle was where she always wanted to be. After all she'd become an ODST for a reason. Sarah didn't bother keeping track of if those she shot died. Culling the heard wasn't an objective of their mission, but she wouldn't pass the chance to lower their numbers.

Osiris reached the bottom of the slope and dropped down to even ground bellow. A plume of snow surrounded Palmer as she landed, startling the Covenant forces they stumbled upon. Buck was the first to react, slamming the butt of his gun into a Sangheili's head, causing it to drop the energy sword. Palmer moved forward, scooped up the blade, and clicked it to life before cutting down another Sangheili. Sarah glanced to her side where Locke was breaking a line of King-Yar and an Unggoy behind him was pulling back its arm to throw a grenade. Palmer hurled her energy blade at the smaller alien, killing it before it could launch its projectile. The plasma grenade exploded harmlessly but got Locke's attention. Locke turned to Palmer and silently nodded his thanks which she returned.

"Crap," Tanaka spat, causing Palmer to turn her attention forward and to the two Hunters before them.

"Get down," Buck shouted before he slammed into Palmer. She was about to ask him what he thought he was doing when a Phantom crashed into the ground where the Hunters had been. Sarah waited until the burning wreck had come to a stop and the snow had settled. "I can't decide, was that luck or not?"

Palmer got to her feet and reached out a hand to help Buck up. The male Spartan took the offer and let her pull him to his feet. "Thanks for the save."

Buck nodded and Palmer could almost see his charming smile. "I got your back," he assured her.

Sarah checked her weapon and turned to the rest of her team. "Let's get ourselves a war criminal." Palmer turned toward the route ahead and focused in on their mission.

Author's note: So I have a lot of ideas for this story. Unlike when I wrote Blue 4 where it was still the same events just with Blue Team included this story would include real changes to the events of Halo 5. The thing is that it will be a big undertaking if i continue this story. While somethings will be simplified I'm looking at two to three chapters for each level and even adding more 'levels' worth of events to make it an actual dual campaign style story. So if you're interested in me writing more I just need a comment. You don't have to say anything positive or negative if you don't want to. Just say you want me to continue. Considering the investment of time and effort it would be for me I just want to know that it's worth the effort.