The universe was a vast and infinite place. From Earth's metropolises to far flung farming communities there was a vast amount of variety with the types of places you'd meet. Amazingly you even had a few settlements that only existed because they had built up around a military installation. That as the case with the planet of Theta XY-seven a rather unimportant planet in the grand scheme of things yet thanks to its position close to the edges of GNU territory it was part of an early warning system. It was on this planet Apolloyon was waiting drinking at the local tavern to pass the time but of course what was she waiting for? Unknown to the other tavern patrons Apolloyon was on a mission for her employer and she had stopped off here awaiting transportation to a distant moon. With her helmet resting on the bar table Apolloyon was still in her armour and happened to be rather well drunk. She'd been here for half a day now and was starting to get bored incredibly so where it not for the alcohol she would have cracked from the idleness already.

"Ugh jeez...can't my ride arrive already?...I have work to do!" Twirling her tumbler around Apolloyon couldn't help but feel a certain excitement. She knew exactly what she was going to be doing and where she was going. It was another one of H&M's fanciful projects but one that Apolloyon was extremely eager to get involved with because it involved one of her favourite things: sick.ass.robots. She may have been a EVA expert and tank driver at heart but while growing up Apolloyon had always been a massive fan of robots of course that was mostly because her father and mother had been a massive grease monkey working on the farming robots that kept her home planet's economy afloat. "Ahhh...I wonder how mom and dad are doing..." She muttered to herself under her breath before downing the remainder of her pint glass. She slammed the glass back down on the bar and chuckled to herself. She and her parents had no exactly parted on good terms but that was in the past. "Hey barkeep...another round." With her glass taken away from her by the barkeep Apolloyon was without something to drink for the time being. Fortunately a foaming pint, with a perfect head, was placed in front of her by the rather well built bartender.

The door to the tavern swung upon as the figure of a man clad in the all-too-recognizable Orbital Drop Shock Trooper gear walked in. A few heads turned to look at the man before they went back to minding their own businesses.

Michael walked over to the bar and set his helmet down onto the counter - right next to Apolloyon. He was quite young for his occupation but the diagonal scar that decorated his right cheek and general rough appearance denoted experience.
"Just get me a beer," He said to the bartender as he placed his thumb on a fingerprint scanner that was fixed onto the surface of the counter. The scanner recognised his print and extracted the required payment for the beer from his account. While he waited, he took a look around the bar before his eyes rested on the strange woman to his right. His gaze lingered for a bit before the bartender returned with his drink in hand.
"Thanks." He said before grabbing the drink and taking a sip.

"Been busy lately?" The bartender asked him.
Michael smirked. "Last deployment was two weeks ago. Fuckin' waste of time that was." He muttered.
"What happened?"
Michael took another sip. "Command said it was some sorta distress call on the outer edges of the union sector. We took a ship there to investigate and it turned out that nothin' was there in the first place. We figured it had somethin' to do with the higher-ups not keepin' their equipment in check."
"Could've been a false alarm, no?" The bartender suggested.
Michael finished his drink and tapped on the glass. The bartender began to re-fill it. "Nah, there was no ship out there when we arrived. Literally nothin' but the blackness of space for infinity and fucking beyond." The bartender laughed at the joke. Michael took his second drink and began downing it.

As she sat there drinking the tavern's worn out door flew open and in marched yet another military personal. Despite being in a half drunken stupor Apolloyon twisted her neck to look at the new arrival immediately recognising the armour. "An ODST....Hmp....bloody pansies hiding in their little metal delivery boxes." the Raven muttered to herself a half whisper. Apolloyon had a very low opinion on ODST's. In her entire military career with the GNU/UNSC she had never once known ODSTs to actually fight on the front lines; they just showed up after all the heavy lifting was done by the boots on the ground. Another reason why the arrival of an ODST further soured Apolloyon's mood was because of why he was here; elite soldiers like ODSTs were only ever deployed on really important missions. For the time being Apolloyon would remain silent and simply drinking from her pint glass slowly sipping the fermented liquid. She acted out the role of being uninterested keeping to herself in a brooding manner where really she was listening to everything the ODST said.

A distress call on the outer reaches of GNU space?...Odd. Very very odd. What kind of distress call would warrant the attention of an ODST? The questions rebounded around the interior of Apolloyon's skull as she pondered the implication behind them. The Raven was only concerned because the outer edges of the union sector was dangerously close to where a certain secret project was being carried out. As a self-respecting member of H&M Apolloyon felt a certain responsibility to ensure secrets remained as such until their appointed time. With that in mind Apolloyon decided to try and worm some information out of the ODST. "Eh?Command sent you on a bum mission? Jeez not the first time that's happened as of late....Duff orders are why I am passing the time here. Waiting for my next assignment." Apolloyon did consider the possibility of pretending to be a Spartan but she doubted her deceit would pay off; after all she lacked their height and how many Spartans went out drinking? Or talked smack about the upper echelons of command? Very few she doubted. Of course if the ODST were to assume she was one....well that would be something she could use.

Michael put his drink down and looked at the armoured lady to his right and examined her again. She was wearing an armour that resembled the MJOLNIR worn by SPARTAN-IVs but it was clearly a knock-off... a very well made knockoff at that. Perhaps some sort of military experiment he was unaware of? He wouldn't be surprised if she was since scientific endeavors were above his pay grade.

"Sounded more than justa' bum mission, babes." Michael replied. "The distress call came through in pieces and it was hard to make out. Our communications expert managed to clear up the static a bit... it didn't sound too good." Michael paused to take another sip. "Who knows, maybe they sent us to the wrong place, maybe the ship disappeared somewhere. Not like there was any sign of anythin' for lightyears." He shrugged.

"You said it sounded bad though." The bartender said. "Didn't that warrant an investigation on its own?" Michael turned back to face him.
"Like I said, there was no sign of any ship anywhere. Besides, our orders were to board the ship should we find it at its last broadcasted location. Normally ships that give out distress signals tend to stay put. This one - if there was one, was nowhere to be seen at all."

Babe? Did this ODST just call her babe? Oh that did amuse Apolloyon so as evidenced by her lips curling into a sly smirk. Returning to the matter at hand it was true that the distress call may have sounded bad but that still didn't really explain why an ODST would be deployed on a simple search and rescue mission for some missing vessel..unless of course the vessel responsible for the message was highly important. "You know...what I want to know is why was a oh so big bad ODST deployed....aren't search and rescue missions below your pay grade?" Apolloyon simply played it casual and took another mouthful of alcohol from her glass swallowing it down. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if command did send you to the wrong place.....those damn idiots couldn't find their way out of a paper bag." It was a good thing Apolloyon was more than a little bit tipsy, evidenced by the red blush in her cheeks, as hopefully it would trick the ODST into lowering his guard....After all drunk people often found their memories of the night rather befuddled so perhaps that would be enough to get the ODST to relax and let slip certain information he normally wouldn't? He was drinking himself so he would end up drunk sooner or later....hopefully. A drunken man was a careless man.

"Yeah you're right Bartender man....call me paranoid but isn't the fact you couldn't find it a big problem in of itself?" To Apolloyon being sent to find a ship that had sent out a distress call only to discover the ship wasn't there implied one of two things: the ship had to leave that area or it was never there to begin with. If it was the former then one would be asking why did the ship have to move in the first place? That was only one of the few questions Apolloyon had. It all seemed incredibly fishy to her especially given the involvement of an ODST which brought her back to questioning the value of the vessel responsible for the SOS.

Michael snapped his head back to look at the lady in the armour, in response to her question. He stared for a moment before replying. "I don't get paid to ask, sweetheart. I just do as I'm told. And yeah, that's what I'm thinkin', maybe they got the wrong place... maybe the ship moved. I dunno, it wasn't like we were ordered to follow it across the galaxy or somethin'."

He took a moment to pause and finish his second glass as the lady briefly addressed the bartender, speaking again only when the conversation was directed back to him. At her question, he shrugged his shoulders. "Must be a problem if the ship was important enough to send us in. But I don't get paid to think, I get paid to jump feet first into hell. Shoot or get shot." He smirked. "That's how we helljumpers roll."

A loud beeping noise went off from behind the counter. The bartender took himself away from the two to answer what looked like a telecommunications device by putting on an earpiece.
"Yeah?" He said. "Uh-huh. Yeah, I'm still-what?"
Michael looked away from the bartender to the lady. "So what's that all about?" He asked as he gestured to her suit. "Doesn't look standard issue." He paused. "I'd call you a cosplayer but that doesn't seem right for you. You've definitely got military experience right?"

"Don't get paid to ask huh?...heh..... Well that's fair enough.but one should always ask questions" Despite her apparent acceptance below the surface Apolloyon found that a rather stupid idea. Asking questions were something one should ALWAYS do as to not was dangerous! Oddly enough despite Apolloyon's career working for a secretive military group she did believe the truth would set you free; even if it was a painful one. "Hmmm I suppose that's true..I mean you did go check the location out..." She smiled at the ODST loosening up rather a lot on account of the booze. Of course immediately her good mood was ruined by the Helljumper's bragging and it showed visually as her expression was soured. Not only that but her voice also grew more than a little cold. 

Apolloyon's gaze snapped to the bartender as he answered a phone call securing a communication device into his ear. The Raven's curiosity was immediately piqued as she listened in on the bartender's half of the conversation but sadly she heard nothing that gave away the details of the conversation; still the bartender did seem surprised about something or other. Of course the conversation son came back to Apolloyon, specifically about her armour, forcing her to snap away from the bartender. "Hmm? Oh this? Yeah it's a fake. I'm totally an extreme cosplayer. It's how I managed to get onto this military base. I don't even know the first thing about military combat!" There was a definite tone to her voice one of mocking and sarcasm; it was incredibly obvious she was simply taking the piss out of the ODST.

Michael could detect the obvious sarcasm in the woman's voice and demeanor. He thought nothing of it though and chuckled in response. "Don't wanna tell me huh? That's fine, I won't ask anymore." He replied before looking back at the bartender. The bartender returned Michael's gaze with a shocked expression on his face. Michael's expression turned into a frown as he saw this. "Is there a problem?"

"We-we're.. apparently we're under attack.." The bartender managed to utter.
"Under attack?" Michael echoed before an explosion went off somewhere outside. The sound of it was quite close and sent heavy vibrations underneath everyone's feet. Michael's gaze shot back to the entrance to the tavern. He then looked back at the bartender while grabbing his helmet.
"Get everyone to the basement, now!" He said in an authoritative tone - a sudden change from his relax and laid-back one just a few seconds ago. He put his helmet on before detaching his sidearm and running towards the exit.

Outside, crowds of civilians were running from the as-of-yet unseen threat with some security personnel running opposite them seemingly to meet the enemy head-on. Michael followed the men down a few blocks before he heard the familiar sound of Plasma Pistol and Needler fire. "Ahh shit.." He said, realising that another Covenant pirate group had commenced yet another attack. The sound of human weaponry going off was soon heard as Michael moved his way through the crowds of fleeing people.

He turned a block and that's when he saw them. In front of him, the Human security personnel were locked in a firefight against a group of Grunts and Jackals. The Grunts as usual were at the front while Jackals lagged behind with their shields. Their plasma weaponry clearly outmatched the security personnel's outdated MA5D Assault Rifles and they dropped one by one with a few Grunts dropping dead here and there. Michael stuck to the building that he had turned the corner around before readying his Executor pistol sidearm.

"Hehehhehehe~ Oh I don't mind telling you..but hmmm..how about we play a little game about it first?" Her skin curled back as her lips twisted into a smug grin. Out of the corner of Apolloyon's eye she took stock of the bartender's expression and sighed downing the last of her drink and grabbing her helmet. She didn't know what was to blame for the barman's expression but whatever it was couldn't be good. She slipped the helmet on her head just as the bartender got to explaining what exactly was occurring. The moment the word "attack" escaped the Bartender's lips Apolloyon was on her feet walking towards the exit grabbing the handgun that had been attached to her waist. Unlike the ODST's significantly more panicked running she was calmly walking out of the building even stepping side ways to allow Michael to go past her.

Taking the advantage of the disturbance caused by the crowds, the tell tell sounds of Covenant weaponry and the rushing of security forces to resolve the emergency Apolloyon...vanished. She slipped away into the military base allowing the ODST to take the direct route to the Covenant raiding party. Having snuck through the military facility Apolloyon was crouched behind a building looking out at the aliens. "Grunts and Jackals...jeez security boys are so out classed..." Shaking her head Apolloyon climbed up a nearby building via a ladder climbing onto the roof. She crawled on her stomach until she was above the Covenant firing line before climbing onto her feet. She jumped off the roof and landed on the ground rolling forward before jumping up. The aliens turned to fire at her but it was too little too late for them as Apolloyon had formulated a plan already.

The moment Apolloyon had landed blue energy had erupted around her as an armoured figure appeared violently lashing out at the Jackals. It grabbed the first of the jackals and held them before itself using it as a shield before throwing the body away. It rushed forward suddenly thrusting its claws into a Gaunt and pulling the creature apart in an explosion of brightly coloured liquid. Apolloyon's spiritual partner was not the only one hard at work as she herself fired a few rounds taking down another Jackal. If the ODST and the security force didn't hurry up they would find themselves short of a chance to find any glory on the battlefield! And what self respecting warrior would tolerate that? Apolloyon's partner would continue tearing through the raiding party easily out performing the physically incapable Grunts and Jackals. It was a shame they were so physically frail or else they may have stood a chance.

Michael fired off a few explosive rounds with his Executioner sidearm, capping a few Grunts off from a distance before a mysterious black figure suddenly entered the fray and practically started to tear the pirates apart.
"What the hell is that?!" One of the security personnel cried as he saw it. The Grunts and Jackals began to cease fire on them gradually and concentrate it on their newest attackers. Michael also ceased fire and looked up to see the woman from the bar jumping down from the roof and entering into the battle as well. He deduced that perhaps she had something to do with the black figure that he had first assumed to be a Spartan.

Michael looked back to the still-outmatched security personnel. "Fall back immediately! Get the civilians to safety, that's an order!" He barked at them before laying down covering fire for them to escape.

With Stand in Our Way tearing through the Alien raiding party and Apolloyon gunning down a few of them here and there it seemed like the battle was going very well especially given Michael's assistance. Seeing how the Alien's fire power had focused upon her now Apolloyon would dart out of the way and roll behind a parked worker's vehicle to avoid being turned to Swiss cheese; she lacked the rugged durability of a Spartan's armour after all. The same could not be said for Apolloyon's partner as her turned to face the group of Grunts attempting to gun his owner down. One minute the temperature was what one would expect and next it grew increasingly hot as a spout of flame erupted from Stand in Our Way's mouth. The flames ate their way towards the Grunts licking at them hoping to consume their bodies in glorious fire.

This eruption of flame from the armoured figure's mouth consumed the Grunts sending them into a panicked flame en-wreathed frenzy of terror. As Grunts were prone to do they ran around aimlessly attempting to extinguishing the flames burning through their armour. Seeing this situation play out Apolloyon took advantage of the distressed Grunt's and popped out from behind her cover popping from behind the parked maintenance vehicle to take down the Grunts. With exactly four pulls of the trigger the burning Grunts dropped put out of their misery. Apolloyon ducked back behind the vehicle to reload as the surviving Jackals began to pull back seeing how the fight wasn't going in their favour. Apolloyon dismissed her partner causing the spiritual being to fade out of the physical realm for now.

"What the actual fuck, was that?" Michael said to himself out loud. He emerged from cover as the Jackals retreated. He looked down at the corpses of Grunts, Jackals and Humans littering the road before looking back up at Apolloyon. "So I was right about experimental." He continued. "You have some sort of.. supernatural.. assistant?"

The moment of respite was abruptly interrupted by a pair of Covenant dropships whooshing overhead. Michael looked up at them and watched as they flew over towards what he recalled to be a small military outpost, not too far from where they were. He then began to look around, finding an abandoned motorbike and mounting it. Trying his luck, he kicked down the starter pedal and the bike roared to life. Michael then looked over to Apolloyon. "You coming?" Whether or not if she got onto the back, Michael put the bike into its first gear and twisted the accelerator, riding off towards the military outpost.

"Oh that's a friend of mine. Not sure what gender it is but I've had it since birth apparently but he's very useful no?" With her hips cocked and a hand resting upon said hips Apolloyon's body language screamed smugness something which would have been confirmed by her expression not that Michael could see it through her helmet. "Sadly I can't really share many details. In fact you might want to forget all about this after today. It'll save you a lot of headaches." Apolloyon truly did want Michael to forget about this for his own sake as much as her own; she didn't want him badgering her for answers and she doubted the ODST would appreciate how Project H&M would be forced to react in order to maintain the needed level of security. 

Overhead roared the sounds of Covenant engines as drop-ships flew in carrying what one could only assume was a second wave of troops heading towards the more militarised side of this outpost. Apolloyon chuckled and shook her head side to side an idea forming in her head. "Hey. ODST. Take me to the vehicle hanger. I have an idea." What that idea was Apolloyon kept to herself as she jumped on the back of the motorbike; normally she disliked playing second fiddle to someone else, especially an ODST, but she had never ridden a motorbike before so she decided to defer to his expertise. Wrapping her arms around Michael Apolloyon held on firmly as the engine was revved. The reason why she wanted to be taken to the hanger was because she felt they'd need some heavy armour to blast those drop ships out of the sky.

"The nearest vehicle hangar is inside the military outpost, exactly where we're going," Michael half-shouted over the roar of the motorbike engine. He expertly veered the motorbike around corners and escaping civilians and vehicles before accelerating down a long road that lead to the military outpost.

The entrance to the outpost was shut. Michael used specific eye signals inside his helmet to manipulate his HUD and contact the base's AI. Upon requesting clearance to gain entry, the AI checked his credentials before opening the entrance - just in time for him to speed through it. The Covenant dropships were already landing and the army troopers began to engage the invaders from afar, using cover from sandbags and large metal shields. They seemed to be holding their own quite well to Michael went along with the lady's suggestion and steered the bike towards the vehicle hangar that was open.

A few Warthogs left the hangar, moving to assist the army troopers engaging the enemy. He rode the bike into the hangar and stopped just as they reached inside, switching off the ignition and putting the stand down. He got off the bike and looked around.
"Seems they got plenty'a armour here." He said as he looked at a Scorpion tank and several armoured Warthogs. "Anything in particular you had in mind?" Michael asked as he looked back at her.