This is it. The rest of Insurrection in it's entirety. I want to say thank you to everyone who's supported me throughout this. I'd like to profusely thank [i]Steadman[/i], whose "steaditing" has proved invaluable to me. I'd also like to thank everyone in The Mirratord -- you've all been fantastically supportive. And of course, a massive thank you to the fans who have read this 337 page novel from beginning to end. All that remains to say is simply; enjoy. [b]Epilogue - Conclusion[/b] The Didact was the first to notice it. A slight shift in the Flood's movements, a moment of perplexity. It was fleeting, and they continued to fight, but the Forerunner had definitely seen what had happened. "They did it," he remarked aloud, as he was crouched behind cover. "They killed the Gravemind!" His voice carried to people near him, and they repeated the statement. Very soon, the entire army was awash with cries telling of the Gravemind's death. Trusting his intuition, the Didact stood out of cover, and immediately the Flood fired upon him. The shots were uncharged, or completely missed. They were completely disorientated, without the Gravemind to guide them. "Now's our chance, soldiers! Forward!" he cried, leaping over the damaged Wraith tank he had been cowering behind whilst the Flood had beset them with fire. The Didact sprinted over to the group of Flood which had been suppressing him and the two Unggoy he'd been fighting alongside, and disposed of them easily. They were practically tripping over themselves, now solely guided by pheromones. The wave of still surviving non-infected soldiers surged forward. Humans held rifles in hand, shouting feral cries as they charged. Sangheili ran with grace and finesse, deftly holding the burning energy swords that were their trademark. The Jiralhanae wielded archaic yet effective weapons. The Kig-Yar did not charge, but doubled their sniping efforts. Yan'me flew overhead, tackling the flying Flood swarms brutally. Unggoy fell in amongst all the ranks, the brave little soldiers doing their best to assist. The Flood were trampled over. Where the non-infected had once been making a last stand inside a ring, they were now spiralling out, knocking down the Flood with ease. No mercy was shown. Those who surrendered were shot anyway. It was a massacre, but the Didact couldn't condemn it. This was, after all, the Flood. After a long, harrowing battle, the city of Vadam was once again made safe. The Didact looked up and noticed Flood controlled aircraft falling out of the sky, or being shot down by the speeding Shortswords and Banshees. "Didact!" a voice boomed, and the Forerunner turned to see the Jiralhanae Hierarch lumbering towards him, drenched in the blood of Flood. The Didact nodded respectfully as he shot a crawling, dismembered Flood form in the head, putting it out of its misery. "Hierarch," he greeted, staring out at the city. The rolling dull plain of biological putrid mass was awash with colour as plasma rounds, rifle sparks and explosives splashed across it. Battlements were retaken, settlements reclaimed. For the first time in his war torn life, the Didact looked forward to the future. "Do you think the Gravemind is truly dead, then?" Daedalus asked him in his low, soothing voice. The Didact looked up at the Jiralhanae, who towered over him by several feet. He smiled. "I think that much is obvious," he answered, watching two Unggoy outgun several terrified Flood forms. "It seems it has finally come to an end." "What happens now?" Daedalus asked, always looking for guidance from his 'god.' The Didact folded his scarred, bleeding arms thoughtfully. "Offensive Bias is still up there, fighting Admiral Cole. It would be a little bit upsetting if we won this victory only to lose against him. How soon can AA turrets be set up?" Daedalus chuckled, pointing at overhead flying Phantoms. "They've already started, Didact. I believe the humans are going to attempt to erect a MAC cannon also. We will blast that heretical Oracle out of the sky, and reclaim Sangheilios for the Sangheili." The Didact gave the Hierarch a sidelong glance, assessing. "You're a good person, Daedalus. Never forget that," he told the Jiralhanae, who smiled and gave confused thanks. The Didact bid him farewell, and strode across the inactive battle field, relishing the victory. This time, a true victory. There had been no need for Halo. He found Relg and Malkor standing in a small tower, staring out at Sangheilios, and the flurry of fire that was sweeping across it. They didn't notice him enter the small room, and so he announced his presence. They turned, smiled, and then looked back at Sangheilios again. "We won," Malkor sighed. "But Sangheilios is still lost. Her surface is ravaged. This planet cannot sustain life." "Well," the Didact began slowly, standing next to him and staring out at the landscape. "I suppose you now know how humanity felt when your burnt their homes. Now I'm not saying you deserved this, but I doubt you'll find a lot sympathy from them. They will stay true to their promise, and I'm sure you will be allowed to live on Earth until a more permanent solution is devised." Relg shook his head, shoulders terse and stressed. A tear dropped out of his eye. "They [i]are[/i] too forgiving. Just over a year ago, we nearly committed genocide upon their kind. Earth is all they have left. And they would share it with us. It is more than we deserve," the Light of a broken Sangheilios said bitterly. The Didact put a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps it is. But that does not mean you should not accept their help. I'm sure many humans still hate you, but this is the first step towards a future of symbiosis. Now come, let us find poor Captain Daniels. He must be wondering what's happening." "He'll be relieved it's all other, I'm sure," Relg smiled. "Do you think the Demon's team made it out alive?" The Didact thought for a few moments, before answering. "I'm sure they're just fine, child." * * * * * * * * * "How many ships have we lost?" "Just over half sir," Anubis reported, "and a dozen or so ships are incapacitated." Cole nodded in affirmation, grabbing onto the holodeck as the [i]Hastings[/i] shook again after being hit by a plasma torpedo. The static image of Sangheilios stuttered as his hand passed through the image. "And Offensive Bias?" Anubis grimaced -- or at least Cole thought he did. It was hard to tell with the AI wearing the face of a jackal. The AI held a virtual Ankh in its hand, and was worriedly tossing it in the air. "We've taken out three linked groups, but it's hard to attack when we're constantly being pressed." "Right. What's your assessment?" the Admiral demanded quietly, not wanting his crew to hear the AI's musings. Anubis considered for a moment, unconsciously tapping its holographic sceptre on the small pedestal as it thought. "Honestly sir? I don't think we can win this one." Cole nodded, passing a weary hand over his face. He looked out the window, and saw his brave fleet engaging the enemy next to him. MAC rounds flew from his own ship. The solace was broken by constant fighting. Longswords sped past his windows, attempting to outrun pursuing Sentinels. Offensive Bias' ships were stoic, cold pieces of metal, conjoined as they linked their pale blue shields. It was not unlike the scene he had witnessed over twenty-five years ago, when he'd first battled the Covenant. It was like medieval archers attempting to kill gunmen. Perhaps every once in a while they would score a kill, but more often than not they were massacred. But they had beaten the Covenant. And they would beat this AI too. "Anubis?" "Yes, Admiral Cole?" "Screw your statistics," the Admiral told the bemused looking Egyptian AI, pacing up and down his bridge whilst holding onto the railing to keep things steady. "Hall!" he barked at the pale haired woman. "Any luck contacting the surface?" "Uh, that's a negative sir," she replied after a few seconds. "Bias must still be scrambling the signal." "Understood," Cole replied, before rushing back to the prow of the ship, staring out of the wide one-way window. Suddenly, turning away from their seperate targets, four of Offensive Bias' ships pivoted to face the UNSC [i]Hastings[/i]. Multiple energy beams shot from them, hitting a small empty area of space and combining into a bright light. Cole's eyes grew wide. "Take evasive action!" he roared at Anubis, who began to methodically plot an escape route. It wouldn't be fast enough. Now was not the time for planning and equations. The Admiral rushed forward to the very front of the bridge, and grasped the manual controls of the [i]Hastings.[/i] And then, he performed a move that he would have court marshalled anyone else for had they attempted it. He pulled the [i]Hastings[/i] into a steep nose dive, nearly tearing the hulking ship in two. Unprepared, crew members began to topple as they angle of the ship changed faster than the gravity emulator could keep up with. He pushed the Marathon-Class frigate into full throttle, and the [i]Hastings[/i] whined and complained, its rivets threatening to pop. Several supports tore away from their sockets, collapsing to the ground and buckling certain beams across the ceiling. Offensive Bias' combined ships fired. The thin, slicing beam glanced the very rear of the ship as it continued to climb down faster than the powerful weapon could trace. Part of the armoury was severed from the hull, killing all those inside the small area of the ship. But the majority of the [i]Hastings[/i] had been saved. Knowing that if he dove any further he'd begin to burn up in Sangheilios' oxygen rich atmosphere, Cole slowly pulled the frigate up, and ordered his weapons crew to launch a counter attack. [Edited on 09.13.2010 3:13 PM PDT]