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When John was lonely, Cortana was there for him.
When Cortana was lonely, John was there for her.
When the Covenant were found on Reach, his distress was… readily apparent.
And when it finally fell, she eased his mind.
That was all he could really ask for.
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Her guidance helped him organize scattered forces on an alien ringworld.
This force would eventually defeat the Covenant present, at the cost of its near-total destruction.
But this was only the beginning.
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He was looking forward to a break and testing his new Mark VI armor.
The Prophet of Regret had different ideas.
Cortana didn’t have a physical body.
Yet, he thought, whatever she was connected to could be considered her “body”.
And right now, she was in the systems of Cairo Station.
She was also being boarded.
He fought to defend the station.
She fought to defend Earth.
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Another ringworld.
As they fell to its surface in a drop pod surrounded by a dozen others, he couldn’t help but think: How many of these were built?
It didn’t matter. The results would be the same.
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Why did he leave her behind?
In the span of only five seconds, the time it took him to get aboard the dreadnought, he thought of a million different ways he could have gotten her to stay.
In that same time, he’d begun to miss her already, though he didn’t know it.
And now, as he fought through the infested High Charity, he sorely wished he could pull off the impossible and change the past like he’d done many times before.
But he had to settle for what he had.
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Four years later, he knew that what he had was too little.
Faced with her imminent death, he allowed himself to think about what he felt deep in his chest when she told him her fate.
Even still, he was determined to make it back home, and save Cortana.
It wasn’t quite enough.
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Just like five years ago, he was in distress.
But this time was different.
There was no comforting voice to ease his mind…
And there never would be again.
Which one of us is the machine?
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Her pained words from her time with the Gravemind and her cries of pain as she slowly broke down still echoed through his mind over a year later.
He’d been issued a new set of armor, but he’d chosen to keep the AI chip slot.
As his thumb ran over it now, he thought of what witty comments Cortana would have had for him if she were with him now.
It’s you, John. And you’re feeling the proof right now.
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He didn’t know how, but she was alive and calling for him.
He’d gone AWOL without a second thought to find her.
Now, as he sat on the bridge of the prowler Acrisius, he began to realize that something was wrong with her.
Again, it didn’t matter. He’d fix it.
No, Cortana. You were always more human than me.
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The Cortana he knew no longer existed. She was an enemy now…
And he was going to take her down.
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The once-soft voice of his closest friend had hardened. Her attempts at replicating her past self were honestly pitiful and could never match the true Cortana, the one that he knew.
But he couldn’t help trying to get her to come back to him.
Please. Not like this.
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Halsey had called him down to her lab, saying that the weapon who would finish Cortana was almost complete.
She also wanted him to meet her.
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As he walked into Halsey’s lab, he noticed a female AI floating above a holotank, and Halsey next to her…
…and that said AI looked just like Cortana.
And so he stood there, stunned somewhat, as Halsey explained the plan: get to Cortana at Installation 07, upload this AI, known simply as “the Weapon”, who would lock her down for John to retrieve for deletion.
She would be completed shortly after their predicted arrival at Zeta Halo.
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The INF-101 UNSC Infinity, flagship of the UNSC Navy and lead ship of Expeditionary Strike Group 1, was defeated above Zeta Halo by the Banished in only four minutes. Her crew of seven thousand, one hundred and fifty souls, the Master Chief included, fought to defend her against the waves of Banished boarders, but ultimately failed when the Chief was taken down by Atriox. To the rest of the UNSC, her crew’s status is unknown. But to the thousands of UNSC personnel on the Halo, they are battered and bruised, but alive. For six months they have been constantly hunted by the Banished…
Until the 28th of May 2560.
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The Master Chief had just effectively beheaded the Banished, having killed Escharum and the Harbinger.
On his way to the Silent Auditorium, him and the Weapon caught glimpses of Cortana’s last days.
The Cortana he knew was not quite as gone as he thought.
And she had sacrificed herself, again.
You know, I think both of you are human.
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Three months on, and UNSC forces on what was now being called the “Infinity Islands” thanks to a certain AI had since retaken them entirely.
The Forerunner submonitor Adjutant Resolution had also allied himself with the UNSC after learning the true intentions of the Banished and used what little control he had of Zeta Halo to equip UNSC forces with upgraded equipment and armor. One such upgrade was a new chip for the Weapon, granting her greater processing power and an unlimited lifespan.
On November 7, 2561, an old friend was awakened by the AI that had tended to her…
…with the gift of new life.
Submonitor Adjutant Resolution "raised" his "eyebrow" at the actions of the ancilla who bore the designation 08-145.
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When a UNSC fleet, led by the Infinity’s sister ship, the Eternity, dropped out of Slipspace in the space outside of Installation 07 in July of 2565, the news of what had happened shocked the whole fleet, and indeed the entire UNSC. But that wasn’t all.
The Pelican that held the Master Chief, one of the last to leave the Halo, was welcomed aboard by a party that was simply massive. The ramp opened, revealing the Spartan…
And Cortana, who stepped out from behind him. As she looked to the Chief, nervously, the crowd fell silent. He nodded, she smiled, and they stepped out together, unafraid.
We are supposed to take care of each other, and that’s what we’ll do.
Thirty years later, a photo of the Master Chief and Cortana walking out of a Pelican towards Lord Hood rested on a table next to over a dozen photos typical of a retired veteran now living a normal life: award ceremonies, the medals themselves, vacation photos, some wedding pictures, and a family photo all containing a man who dwarfed the woman who was permanently at his side. He had fair skin, a strong jaw, auburn hair, and ice blue eyes. The woman’s face was soft and joyful, with dark hair surrounding her face. Her two most defining features was her sapphire blue left eye and vibrant violet right eye. There’s a knock at the door, and a second later John opens it.
“Sam,” he says. “I heard you’re getting married.”
“You heard right, Dad,” says his daughter.
John smiles, unrestrained, as Cortana screeches in delight over her daughter’s latest development.