The chapter begins hours after the skirmish with whatever Red Team had encountered.
In orbit, aboard the bridge of the spirit of fire, Professor Anders and Dr. Milo and Agent Finch were watching the helmet cam feed from Spartan Jerome-092.
Everyone was silent, all eyes on the holographic display, the digital sound of gunfire and orders being thrown kept the silence. The Brutes even in the footage was a monster to face against, then the Unggoy squads until finally the cam footage caught the glimpse of those elusive beings.
Then the footage paused, stopping at the perfect frame on one of these "beings".
Cutter's eyes narrowed, his brow creasing.
"There's truly nothing on them, not Forerunner, banished and definitely not flood... it's likely these beings aren't from our corner of the galaxy."
Isabel said, breaking the tense silence, her holographic form appearing. Cutter responded, his voice low with suspicion.
"Now i understand what they meant by 'curtains of light'."
Dr. Milo Finch took a step forward, his hands glasped together infront of him.
"B-bioluminescence, i-it's not an unusual trait. T-the Huragok, the covenants engineers u-used them during their repairs of covenant vehicles, other than that, e-earth, a-arcadia and other planets had animals with bioluminescence."
Professor Anders nodded, eyes bouncing from the fidgeting boy to the next hologram, revealing several species of animals, fungi, mold that had bioluminescence.
"I agree with Dr. Milo, the samples he provided on the surface corroborates with what Jerome, and what we see right now."
All eyes returned to the main photo, the alien.
The photo: one singular figure moving through the wreckage, bipedal, roughly humanoid in silhouette, but that's where the familiarity ended.
Despite the low light of the photo, it was clear enough to show it lacked a fixed form, like it's body was merely a suggestion, guided or assisted by the strange bodysuit it donned.
The limbs were elongated, with no visible joints, it looked as though they were tapered extensions than proper arms, and lastly 3 fingers, lengthy and way to fluid.
"It's uncanny, isn't it captain."
Isabel broke the silence again, Cutter nodded, glancing to the AI, who was still fixated on the photo.
"It is, something about it gives a familiar feeling to the flood."
Everyone shivered at that, Anders would speak up, reaching out to the hologram to highlight it's clothing.
"There's one key difference between the flood, and these beings.. these beings have clothing."
Cutter turned to Anders.
"Where are you going with this?"
Anders clarified.
"If I may indulge, Captain, i think we're looking at something truly alien, even by covenant standards."
The captains eyes furrowed, his hands, behind his back squeezing sharply.
"It may look bipedal, but i don't believe that's the entire story... look"
Anders zooms in on the bodysuit the being wore, revealing a subtle exo-framem
"See how there's thick material on the suit where the joints are supposed to be? It covers the entire backside of the figure, giving it the appearance of something humanoid while giving it posture support.. that's design choice."
Milo responded. "B-but why would they prefer bipedal r-rather than quadrapedal?"
Anders didn't answer, Isabel spoke up just as another photo appeared, it was a spline.
"Maybe Anders is onto something here, look at the highlighted areas, see the bodysuit the alien is wearing, how the spine, shoulder and pelvic area, see? It how it has that filament?"
She gestured, several highlighted area's appearing.
"I think the suit the alien is wearing is assisting the wearer's posture... or at the very least supporting it."
Milo turned to Anders, eyed widening.
"D-do you think they're trying to look like us?"
Cutter responded immediately.
"Can you clarify doctor?"
Milo nodded, fidgeting with the hem of his white coat.
"I-i mean, i-i think we should consider the possibility o-of mimicry, perhaps it's trying to look like u-us."
Anders gaze sharpened.
"Implying observation or contact preparation.."
Isabel looked up to Anders gaze, her own expression shifting.
"I don't believe contact preparation is their goal here, they did engage our and banished forces."
Silence fell across the bridge, agent Finch, having been silent for the conversation approached.
"They did engage us, which means In my opinion, we should focus, not on their biology or the why they have a suit with exoskeletal filaments. But rather.."
She gestured to the wrist and forearm mounted weaponry, the holographic table beeping, highlighting the weaponry.
"These... gauntlet mounted, wrist mounted, forearm mounted. That's a very unique choice of armament."
Cutter's eyes darkened.
"I would prefer we didn't suffer through another Covenant. Agent."
Finch merely shed a glance.
"Neither do I, but should push come to shove, we should be prepared for the worst."
Isabel sighed.
"I'm inclined to agree, there is too much unknown about these aliens, and until we know more, we should consider them hostile until proven otherwise."
All eyes turned to Cutter, his silence momentarily becoming unusual.
"Captain?"
Isabel asked, Cutter would respond after.
"I'll make my decision at the end of the hour, in the meantime I want a heavy unsc presence on the surface and I want Hornet and Nightingale reconnaissance, dismissed."
He took a breath as everyone excused themselves, their steps inaudible in Cutter's mind.
"I do not want another Harvest, we should refrain from starting another war."
He took another breath and straightened his back.
"Isabel, establish a encrypted channel to the Dauntless."
"Yes sir."
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In the rear of the bridge, beside the holographic table, Captain Cutter, accompanied by Isabel stood before Rear Admiral Trent's live camera feed.
"Captain, your report?"
Cutter nodded taking a breath before beginning.
"Sir, yes sir. Red Team made contact with both Banished elements and an unidentified force near the wreckage of the Enduring Conviction. Engagement was short but confirmed hostile. Minimal casualties on our end, and we've pulled back to safer ground."
The Rear Admiral nodded, glancing to the side as several holographic reports and photos emerged, he paused for a few moments before glancing back.
"Noted. But I've reviewed the footage. Those things weren't Banished, and they sure as hell weren't Covenant. So what am I looking at, Captain?"
Cutter fell silent, eyes sharpening and brows furrowing, his voice lowered too.
"Unknown, sir. We're operating with limited data, but here's what we've gathered so far."
He paused to pull up the holodisplay before continuing.
"First sighting came from an ONI recon team near Theta Base. Agent Finch picked up strange bioluminescent phenomena what she described as 'curtains of light.' Initial hypothesis' blamed wildlife interference or forerunner background static. But later patrols uncovered unfamiliar tracks, circular, patterned, not matching any local fauna. At the same time, strange electronic interference started showing up. Power surges, sensor malfunctions, and what we believed were glitches in the perimeter grid."
The rear Admiral nodded, several more photos appearing in the Dauntless' bridge.
"Shortly after that, we had a eye-witness report near the Conviction's wreckage and the eye witness of major Vaughan's squad. Both described something amorphous, translucent, and more concerning, actively avoiding detection. Several doctors: Anders and Dr. Milo Finch compared it to the Flood in shape. Another described it as a floating constellation."
Trent's brow twitched, eyes's narrowing into a glare.
"Floaty metaphors aren't helpful, Cutter."
Cutter nodded in agreement, taking another breath.
"No, sir. But they were all we had until the lab team got ahold of a cellular sample near the tripped sensor. Professor Anders and Doctor Milo Finch both confirmed it's not Flood. Structurally, the cells are pluripotent possibly totipotent, or both, able to shift roles on the fly. Self-replicating under hydration, mildly acidic when threatened, and able to store neural and muscular traits simultaneously."
Cutter paused, pressing a few buttons on the holographic table, then with an electronic ping, rear Admiral Trent received more information.
"Which brings us to today's footage. Red Team encountered three of them. Visual logs confirm bipedal posture but their body shape was unstable. Elongated limbs, three fingers, no visible joints. Their posture was aided by some kind of suit, with filament structure along the spine and hips likely to mimic or stabilize a humanoid shape. The suit wasn't armor, Dr. Milo Finch believes it's structural.
Trent rose a brow, responding dryly.
"You're saying it's wearing a costume?
Cutter clarified immediately.
"I'm saying it's choosing to look like us, sir. Anders believes the shape is deliberate possibly for mimicry, observational purposes. We're not sure. Isabel and I don't think that's the whole story. These things engaged both Banished and UNSC forces. No signs of diplomacy. Just controlled aggression. Target selection was focused, clean. They could've wiped out the entire squad if they wanted to. Instead… they stopped. And they left."
Trent's brows furrowed, pausing before continuing.
"And ONI didn't know anything about this?"
Cutter hummed lowly, eyes turning to a security camera footage of Agent Finch walking with Dr. Milo Finch and professor anders. Then he continued.
"Finch claims they didn't. But she was quick to shift the conversation toward weapons systems. We're keeping eyes on her team."
Trent paused again, choosing his words carefully.
"And what do you think, Captain? Are these things another Flood waiting to happen, or something worse?"
Cutter brought his hands behind his back, straightening it.
"I don't know yet, sir. But I'll tell you what I do know, they're not mindless, they're intelligent, and they're nothing like we've faced before."