No Gods, Nor Masters

Spilling It

"What?"

Halsey doubled over from Kuribayashi's statement, concerned that this was some kind of prank or sick joke. The fact that Cortana, the Chief and Sergeant Kuribayashi stared at her and didn't flinch or let loose a laugh(a fairly rare feat coming from a Spartan) told her it was true. She blinked, taking her glasses off, her voice bearing a combination of shock and some slight hint of anger, "Our history is known to your people... And it's a piece of virtual entertainment?!"

"I... I know how this must sound to you," Kuribayashi rubbed the back of her neck, somewhat frightened, "But I just... Couldn't not say anything to the Chief and Cortana, or to you and your boys and girls," and she looked over to see the dumbfound Lieutenant Richard sitting at the doctor's side, brows furrowed and arms crossed to his chest, while Queen Tyuule, her mouth agape as she looked between the Spartan and her.

Halsey sighed deeply, still unsure of whether to believe this. It was a nigh-impossibility for this to be the case, that some random bystander in another universe would be aware of the reality of the UNSC and its brutal Great War. She put her glasses back on and pushed them onto the bridge of her nose, before asking with an edge to her tone, "Just how much is known about our operations?"

"Well, it's mostly focused on the Chief, but the latest piece of info we have is The Battle for the Ark in Halo 3... With that one added spinoff, Halo 3:ODST, about Buck and his team. That's latest chronological. We also know about Noble Team..." Kuribayashi stated, her voice cracking. She knew Halsey wasn't a woman you wanted to piss off. Behind her, the other three SPARTANs of Blue Team. Fred removed his helmet, showing his own face as it wrinkled in confusion, his eyes locked onto her. Kelly and Linda meanwhile, seemed a combination of amused and severely concerned, though Linda was far less openly showing it. She seemed to be thoroughly digesting the information.

"The last events before we found John," Halsey murmured.

"Yep," Cortana offered, "Trust me, I was spooked when Kuribayashi explained it to us... She told us everything in vivid detail, including our little Warthog Run to get off the dying Halo ring..."

"Favorite part of the game, by the way..." Kuribayashi whispered, smiling at Chief and Cortana. The AI chuckled at the girl's statement, while Kuribayashi turned back to the worried-looking Doctor Halsey as she bit her lower lip, seemingly in deep thought about the matter. Kuribayashi raised her hands defensively and said, "L-Listen, doc, I'm a big fan of your work. We also have book on the matter of the series, explaining a few things... I know this must sound stupid, but-"

"Books, too?" Halsey raised a brow, "Oh, just how deep does this damned rabbit hole go...?"

"Deep enough, I'd say," Cortana stated, "She showed us one book, ma'am."

"You have one book with you?" Halsey inquired, looking to Kuribayashi. The girl nodded rapidly, then looked to the Chief. The Spartan lifted the book, a rather thin and small paperback item. Its cover displayed the title 'Halo:The Flood' in a stylized font and represented Chief in his MARK V Armor, surrounded by and under attack from the Flood's Pure Forms on Installation 04.

Halsey took the book and started rifling through it, reading accurate descriptions of the Flood's beast-like behavior early on, sickening descriptions of their transformations, Private Jenkins's last few moments and other various points of interest. She stopped short of the scene she did not want to read, growing pale, then looked to the Sergeant. Shino simply said, "It's a novelization of the first game... Fun to read and see what people added, but..."

"Hm..." Halsey sighed deeply, then rubbed her temples, "That would explain the warm greeting of some of your troops..."

"Yep!" Kuribayashi grinned, "Some of the Marines are fellow Halo fans! Surprised not a lot of'em came to ask you for autographs! Uh... Speaking of..." Her face immediately tinted to a tomato as she handed the doctor a pen. Halsey raised a brow at her and she backed off, smiling the most awkward smile she must've ever smiled, before whispering, "Bad time... Right..."