OK EVERYBODY, HERE'S THE NEW CHAPTER! don't ask about the chapter number, im not quite sure myself. just read and enjoy. Chapter 2(?) 0800, September 16, 2552 (Military Calendar) Halo, Unknown Ring number Twisting the old MA-3 in her hand, Kelly looked over the old and basically useless semi-automatic weapon. It was, however, much more powerful than the pistol that was aboard the Chiroptera-class cruiser, the Black Pearl, which neither she nor Einstein could identify. After testing it on her own shield systems, she knew that if any Covenant landed on Halo, they would have to laugh so hard that they’d drop dead. She laughed at the though, knowing how truly pathetic such a situation would be. Dr. Halsey, still aboard the Black Pearl, had keyed Kelly’s radio. “ETA two minutes. The Pelican will drop you off at the first checkpoint I’ve marked for you. Unfortunately, it will take time to map out the entire ring quickly due to its size. I’ll use the Black Pearl to map out as much as I can, and Einstein will pilot the Pelican and do the same. Before you left the Black Pearl, Einstein detected a large underground region with many passageways, and that’s where you’ll be dropped off. Search the underground and report anything significant to me. We don’t know exactly how far down it goes, but I estimate about half a mile. So keep your eyes open.” “And…what exactly am I looking for?” “Don’t worry”, she replied with a hint of amusement. “When you see it, you’ll know.” “Understood”, Kelly grumbled. She was very upset with Dr. Halsey, yet still followed all of her orders, regardless of the fact that she held no military status. But all Spartans considered her an authority, and followed all directions given by her. This, however, was almost crossing the line. Ever since they entered the system, the supposed mission they had, which was important enough for Dr. Halsey to take her while she was unconscious, steal the pirate leader’s ship, and force her to leave her team when they needed her the most, was never told to Kelly. Despite this, she still trusted Dr. Halsey, but that trust was waning with every new plan and idea implemented by the good doctor. “Remember, if you see anything out of the ordinary, comm. me immediately. Halsey out.” A mild male voice came through the Pelican’s speakers and into her armors receivers. “Dust off in five.” The hatch on the Pelican’s back opened and Kelly hopped out, landing on the ring-world with no recoil or bounce. She took in the scenery around her, all of it strange and foreign. Anything out of the ordinary, she thought questionably. How about this ring? The programmed Nav Point presented itself on her HUD as she slung the MA-3 over her shoulder, and began running to it. She had a lot of land to cover, and didn’t care to waste any time. Slowing down from 50 kilometers per hour, Kelly took in the large room, and would have been shocked by the size if she had never seen one before. It was dark, barely lit, yet all was visible enough for her. Small rectangular pillars stood out of the ground, but only on the lower ground on the sides of the walkway she stood on. Standing at the mouth of the room, she began to walk towards the center. Light came out of the gaping hole she began to see as she neared the middle of the room, and reaching the edge, she could see the fall was too far for her to survive. The other side was at least 60 meters away, and two strangely shaped pillars protruded from the cliff. Looking over the edge again, tow identical pillars were placed opposite the original two. They were five meters long, and if she jumped from one to the other, she had a much greater chance to make it, although it was still too far. Walking back onto the darkened path, a dim light to her left brightened and dimmed. Jogging over to the story-high light, an inclined path presented itself, and she went up and found an illuminated control pad with only a pentagonal figure on it. What the hell, she thought, knowing it was the only way across, and somewhat curious. Upon pushing it, the four pillars extended closer to each other, and a rectangular blue light appeared above them. Kelly jumped out the open window and jogged back to the ledge, seeing the pulsing blue light up close. It gave off only minimal radiation readings, enough for her to know it was there, but nothing was certain. The “bridge” was not trustworthy to use; it would have to be tested. Not spotting anything on the spotless floor to throw onto the light, she pulled out the pistol and took out the ammunition cartridge and dislodged one bullet. I won’t be needing that. Tossing the bulled at the energy stream, it bounced off, making a strange noise, resembling that of her own energy shield. When it stopped bouncing and simply sat on the beam, Kelly became truly intrigued. An energy beam that makes no residual field and is completely tangible and constant. Dr. Halsey would love to see this. But she thought better of herself and continued going, knowing there wasn’t time to waste. Dr. Halsey ad already stressed the importance of this mission, and Kelly planned on completing it as soon as possible. They could come back later for study. Kelly resumed running and began to think of John’s adventure on another Halo ring, now gone by his hand. She remembered the face he made when he first introduced the Flood into the story, and what they did and the purpose of the rings. From what she remembered, the Covenant accidentally released them and caused mayhem for both them and the crew of the Pillar of Autumn. And from the expression her own team leader made, the bravest, most cunning and courageous of all Spartans, she kept her eyes sharp for anything. Everything. Of course, she didn’t know who she was looking for, let alone have any idea where they could be. Kelly could tell that she was meant to search for someone, just from the way Dr. Halsey had phrased the mission. But who could possibly be on this ring? And how would Dr. Halsey know about it? Hell, how did she know where Halo was at all?