Halo: Smoke and Shadow: Difference between revisions

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The story opens in the city of [[New Tyne]] on the colony [[Venezia]] in January [[2557]], where Rion Forge oversees a sale of salvaged weapons to a [[Sangheili]] customer. Drinking at a bar with the money earned a month earlier selling [[Forerunner]] technology, she considers the financial rewards for recovering and using a luminary to hunt down other relics while sitting with a fellow businesswoman, a [[T'vaoan]] salvage dealer named [[Nor Fel]] who she provided a [[stasis field]] generator to earlier that day. Having formed a close business relationship over the past few years since her mate's death, Nor Fel trusts Rion enough to go on a salvage mission to recover an object that would keep them wealthy for the rest of their lives.

Rion returns to her ship and prepares her crew for a new mission; this displeases her crew members [[Lessa]] and [[Kip]], who were promised time off after a six week journey. Rion and Lessa head to [[Tiny Birds]], a bar in New Tyne run by Rouse and popular among alien customers. There, Rouse provides Rion with a single photograph of a ship, demanding 40,000cR for the location and 25% of the revenue. After some negotiation, they agree on 10,000 [[cR]] and 15% on the grounds the aged appearance of the ship could mean it was already cleaned by salvagers. The two leave the bar and head onboard their ship, the ''[[Ace of Spades]]''.

Rion returns to her ship and prepares her crew for a new mission; this displeases her crew members [[Lessa]] and [[Kip]], who were promised time off after a six-week journey. Rion and Lessa head to [[Tiny Birds]], a bar in New Tyne run by Rouse and popular among alien customers. There, Rouse provides Rion with a single photograph of a ship, demanding 40,000cR for the location and 25% of the revenue. After some negotiation, they agree on 10,000 [[cR]] and 15% on the grounds the aged appearance of the ship could mean it was already cleaned by salvagers. The two leave the bar and head onboard their ship, the ''[[Ace of Spades]]''.

~~Onboard~~ the crew conduct a meeting over their new job. Kip is the first to express concern, as he believes they will be recovering a UNSC ship, which salvaging is restricted due to the [[UNSC Salvage Directive]]. Niko assures him however that the directive is unenforceable due to the Post-War condition of both the UNSC and the UEG's control over the colonies in general, and the few [[Outer Colonies]] in particular. Rion, otherwise, sees no problem to be had with the UNSC, who are known to re-buy recovered materiel from New Tyne anyway, though she is unwilling to take weapons of mass destruction to the depot and instead offers to report it to the Salvage Directive. With the crew in agreement over the mission, Rio confirms the ship is in the [[Ectanus 45 system]], which the UEG lost in [[2535]] with the glassing of [[Chi Rho]]. A small post-war settlement exists on its moon, [[Eiro]], with the ship crashed nearby.

On board the crew conduct a meeting over their new job. Kip is the first to express concern, as he believes they will be recovering a UNSC ship, which salvaging is restricted due to the [[UNSC Salvage Directive]]. Niko assures him however that the directive is unenforceable due to the Post-War condition of both the UNSC and the UEG's control over the colonies in general, and the few [[Outer Colonies]] in particular. Rion, otherwise, sees no problem to be had with the UNSC, who are known to re-buy recovered materiel from New Tyne anyway, though she is unwilling to take weapons of mass destruction to the depot and instead offers to report it to the Salvage Directive. With the crew in agreement over the mission, Rio confirms the ship is in the [[Ectanus 45 system]], which the UEG lost in [[2535]] with the glassing of [[Chi Rho]]. A small post-war settlement exists on its moon, [[Eiro]], with the ship crashed nearby.

The ''Ace of Spades'' arrives in the system and lands on Eiro, a frozen wasteland. The crew depart in heavy winter gear to begin their search on the moon's dark side. Finding the ship, Kip immediately identifies it as the wreckage of a Halcyon-class cruiser, a class he once had a model of as a child. Examining it closer, they find only a quarter of the ship (the ~~foreward~~ section) at the location, it having been cut in half in what [[Cade]] theorizes to have been some kind of Covenant energy beam during the Battle of Chi Rho. Rion orders the crew to split up to search for anything salvage-worthy: she and Kip are to check the communications; navigation and weapons systems; Cade to one of the armories near the bridge, and Lessa and Niko to the medical bay and the [[cryo chamber]]s. The crew begin their search by walking through the sliced 'rear', which Rion ominously compares with a gateway to hell due to the collapsed decks near the cut.

The ''Ace of Spades'' arrives in the system and lands on Eiro, a frozen wasteland. The crew depart in heavy winter gear to begin their search on the moon's dark side. Finding the ship, Kip immediately identifies it as the wreckage of a Halcyon-class cruiser, a class he once had a model of as a child. Examining it closer, they find only a quarter of the ship (the foreword section) at the location, it having been cut in half in what [[Cade]] theorizes to have been some kind of Covenant energy beam during the Battle of Chi Rho. Rion orders the crew to split up to search for anything salvage-worthy: she and Kip are to check the communications; navigation and weapons systems; Cade to one of the armories near the bridge, and Lessa and Niko to the medical bay and the [[cryo chamber]]s. The crew begin their search by walking through the sliced 'rear', which Rion ominously compares with a gateway to hell due to the collapsed decks near the cut.

Rion and Kip get close to the bridge after 45 minutes of walking; despite having a map of the ship the damage to the ship is extensive and many corridors unusable. Rion and Kip notice that in all that time they found no corpses of the crew, though are hopeful the ship was successfully evacuated. As her father disappeared with the missing {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} twenty years earlier, Rion sees it as her duty to report everything they can to the families of the crew and its marine complement so they finally have closure. They get within meters of the bridge only to find that blast doors were lowered over that section. Kip notices the ship's name on one wall, identifying it as the {{UNSCShip|Roman Blue}}. Rion alerts Niko over her radio to their discovery, who begins looking up records on the ship. Cade meanwhile reports in that the ship crashed with a profitable payload of body armor; [[thermite paste]]; [[jet pack]]s, various rifles and small arms along with "heavy ordnance" which the crew by Rion's rules are to keep onboard and report to the UNSC. Lessa reports her search of the medical facilities as somewhat productive, though it is significantly damaged and she has yet to check the pharmacy for drugs to salvage. Niko meanwhile notes the ship had ejected some of its cryo pods before crashing, with the rest of the bay in a bad condition. He continues that there is no recent talk on the ChatterNet on the ''Roman Blue'', and dubs it a ghost ship; Rion suspects this means the UNSC to be actively restricting communication on the ship and decides to leak information on its location and the cause of its destruction to the families when the UNSC compensates her for the discovery.

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The ''Ace of Spades'' takes off from the surface and flies towards Ram in the hopes of giving him a fighting chance. It touches down again briefly to allow him to get aboard. Rather than escape, however, Rion orders the ship's weapons be activated and aimed at the Covenant freighter. Unwilling to fire a missile in case the ''Radiant Perception'' is hit by debris, Rion opts for the autocannon. At this moment, the Covenant freighter captain works out their plan and orders three dropships to launch. Beaten, Rion orders their departure.

ONI agent ~~67159-021127~~, now revealed to be Kip, makes another transmission from the ''Ace of Spades'' to Hahn. He thinks about the recent [[Terrorist attack on Sedra City|bioterrorist attack]] on Sedra that killed his family, including his partner Talia who was six months pregnant at the time. Hahn approached him, then known as Silas Kipley, then a drunken wreck, and offered him a chance to use his engineering genius to help humankind recover from the turbulent post-war environment. Agreeing to Hahn's offer, he was to be given a job on a salvage ship, where he would keep ONI up to date on their recovery of dangerous equipment to make sure it stays out of the hands of terrorists. It was then his name was changed to Kip Silas. Kip understands none of the crew has terrorist sympathies, but also knows that Rion is too good at her job and that a very profitable haul inevitably means more weapons flooding the market.

ONI agent 67159–021127, now revealed to be Kip, makes another transmission from the ''Ace of Spades'' to Hahn. He thinks about the recent [[Terrorist attack on Sedra City|bioterrorist attack]] on Sedra that killed his family, including his partner Talia who was six months pregnant at the time. Hahn approached him, then known as Silas Kipley, then a drunken wreck, and offered him a chance to use his engineering genius to help humankind recover from the turbulent post-war environment. Agreeing to Hahn's offer, he was to be given a job on a salvage ship, where he would keep ONI up to date on their recovery of dangerous equipment to make sure it stays out of the hands of terrorists. It was then his name was changed to Kip Silas. Kip understands none of the crew has terrorist sympathies, but also knows that Rion is too good at her job and that a very profitable haul inevitably means more weapons flooding the market.

Rion checks up on Chalva, who is being heavily medicated to treat the deep cuts all over his body and the tissue damage from plasma exposure. He is placed in a cryotube to keep the pain down as they head back to Venezia.

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===Part Four: Snake Eyes===

The ''Ace of Spades'' jumps to ~~Serina’s~~ coordinates and arrives in uncharted space. After some time searching, the crew discovers an asteroid field orbiting a dwarf star. They are shocked to find remnants of infrastructure wreckage on a massive scale—conduits, cables, bridges, and rock formations and mountains, as well as a wing fragment of an unknown ship. Cade notes that this is planetary damage, and the crew wonders if the debris is tied to the fate of the ''Spirit of Fire''. Niko detects an energy shield signal within the wreckage, and they follow it to a ruin set upon a large fragment of earth. Lessa reports that the atmosphere and gravity within the shield is near perfect for humans. The crew is eager to explore, excited by the prospect of potentially finding survivors from the ''Spirit of Fire'', and Rion orders them to proceed with caution.

The ''Ace of Spades'' jumps to Serina's coordinates and arrives in uncharted space. After some time searching, the crew discovers an asteroid field orbiting a dwarf star. They are shocked to find remnants of infrastructure wreckage on a massive scale—conduits, cables, bridges, and rock formations and mountains, as well as a wing fragment of an unknown ship. Cade notes that this is planetary damage, and the crew wonders if the debris is tied to the fate of the ''Spirit of Fire''. Niko detects an energy shield signal within the wreckage, and they follow it to a ruin set upon a large fragment of earth. Lessa reports that the atmosphere and gravity within the shield is near perfect for humans. The crew is eager to explore, excited by the prospect of potentially finding survivors from the ''Spirit of Fire'', and Rion orders them to proceed with caution.

Niko uses a drone dubbed ''“Michelle”'' to slip through the shield and test the atmosphere. The levels read green across the board, and the drone also detects a faint life sign within the ruins. Rion takes ''Ace'' through the shield, examining the deteriorated ruins, unable to match it to a civilization. They land on a rocky outcropping, and Rion and Cade arm up and disembark. After confirming the atmosphere is safe, they remove their helmets and approach the main structure. Rion notices glyphs etched in the ruins and realizes with astonishment that they have found a Forerunner site. She and Cade enter the structure into a circular room, with two branching corridors and a large central console. A domed pad with the outline of a hand draws Rion to the console and she reaches out to touch it, but Cade stops her.

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Then Rion notices a luminary floating behind the Sangheili, and she stands her ground, determined to fight Gek and acquire it. Gek speaks angrily, and Rion uses her [[translation software]] to interpret his words as he vows to rid the Forerunner site of the “unclean” humans. At that moment, the activated console continues to grow brighter, and a disembodied voice fills the room, excited and grateful that a “[[Reclaimer]]” has arrived. Infuriated, Gek activates his [[Type-1 energy sword|energy sword]]. Rion fires two shots, but he ducks out of the way. Two Sangheili enter the room from one of the corridors, and Gek orders them to join the battle outside. Rion warns Cade of incoming trouble, but Cade is able to dispatch the two Sangheili with a [[thermite grenade]].

Cade heads back to support Rion, who tries to warn him about Gek near the entrance, but ~~he’s~~ caught off guard by the Sangheili commander. Cade slides a bag of grenades across the floor toward Rion, right before Gek plunges his energy sword into his chest. Horrified and enraged, Rion charges Gek, jumping on his back and firing her pistol at his head at the same time that he strikes her with his forearm. The bullet cuts across his left eye and blinds him. Gek grabs Rion and flings her across the room into a wall, before going to Cade and ripping his dog tags from his neck. Despite the pain, Rion manages to crawl toward the bag of grenades and pulls out a [[fragmentation grenade|frag]], holding it high and flicking the safety. She faces off with Gek, prepared to die before leaving Cade. Gek hesitates, understanding that the blast would kill them both, before he retreats with the luminary. Rion crawls to ~~Cade’s~~ side. The wound has been cauterized by the ~~sword’s~~ plasma and his breath comes in shallow, and Rion knows ~~there’s~~ nothing she can do. She grabs his hand, and Cade fights to speak past the blood in his throat, managing to tell her that ~~it’s~~ okay before he dies.

Cade heads back to support Rion, who tries to warn him about Gek near the entrance, but he's caught off guard by the Sangheili commander. Cade slides a bag of grenades across the floor toward Rion, right before Gek plunges his energy sword into his chest. Horrified and enraged, Rion charges Gek, jumping on his back and firing her pistol at his head at the same time that he strikes her with his forearm. The bullet cuts across his left eye and blinds him. Gek grabs Rion and flings her across the room into a wall, before going to Cade and ripping his dog tags from his neck. Despite the pain, Rion manages to crawl toward the bag of grenades and pulls out a [[fragmentation grenade|frag]], holding it high and flicking the safety. She faces off with Gek, prepared to die before leaving Cade. Gek hesitates, understanding that the blast would kill them both, before he retreats with the luminary. Rion crawls to Cade's side. The wound has been cauterized by the sword's plasma and his breath comes in shallow, and Rion knows there's nothing she can do. She grabs his hand, and Cade fights to speak past the blood in his throat, managing to tell her that it's okay before he dies.

Gek and his crew flee the system. Lessa lands ''Ace of Spades'' and the crew join Rion. They mourn for Cade and move him to a grav stretcher. Before they leave, the disembodied voice calls out again, asking to take it with them. Rion moves to the console and speaks with the voice; she discovers that ~~it’s~~ [[Little Bit|a Forerunner AI]] that has been fragmented, unable to remember its name or designation, just a “little bit” of the intelligence it used to be. As it speaks it remembers that humans were responsible for its fragmentation and tells Rion of the [[Phoenix-class colony ship|''Phoenix''-class]] ship ''Spirit of Fire'' that destroyed its [[Etran Harborage|planet]]. Rion, already near her breaking point from her injuries and grief, simply laughs in numb shock at the discovery. The AI asks to serve Rion, a Reclaimer, and Rion agrees to take it aboard.

Gek and his crew flee the system. Lessa lands ''Ace of Spades'' and the crew join Rion. They mourn for Cade and move him to a grav stretcher. Before they leave, the disembodied voice calls out again, asking to take it with them. Rion moves to the console and speaks with the voice; she discovers that it's [[Little Bit|a Forerunner AI]] that has been fragmented, unable to remember its name or designation, just a “little bit” of the intelligence it used to be. As it speaks it remembers that humans were responsible for its fragmentation and tells Rion of the [[Phoenix-class colony ship|''Phoenix''-class]] ship ''Spirit of Fire'' that destroyed its [[Etran Harborage|planet]]. Rion, already near her breaking point from her injuries and grief, simply laughs in numb shock at the discovery. The AI asks to serve Rion, a Reclaimer, and Rion agrees to take it aboard.

On ''Ace of Spades'', Rion meets Lessa in the med bay with Cade and, after comforting the grieving girl, goes to work on removing ~~Cade’s~~ gear, cleaning him, and putting on his dress blues. The process is slow, her way of saying goodbye. She regrets the distance they had kept between them and their fear of losing each other. Afterward, the crew takes ''Ace'' to the nearby dwarf star, and they send a pod with ~~Cade’s~~ body into the heart of the star.

On ''Ace of Spades'', Rion meets Lessa in the med bay with Cade and, after comforting the grieving girl, goes to work on removing Cade's gear, cleaning him, and putting on his dress blues. The process is slow, her way of saying goodbye. She regrets the distance they had kept between them and their fear of losing each other. Afterward, the crew takes ''Ace'' to the nearby dwarf star, and they send a pod with Cade's body into the heart of the star.

Rion orders Kip to spin up the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|FTL drive]], but he reports that the drive is going too fast. To their surprise, the AI fragment announces that it was able to jump from ~~Rion’s~~ forearm unit to ''Ace''’s systems, where it has been making improvements in mapping, comm systems, and slipspace drives. Rion is shocked at the thought of a Forerunner AI invading her ship but recognizes it as an advantage, and she allows the AI to take control of the ship and tells it to go to Venezia.

Rion orders Kip to spin up the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|FTL drive]], but he reports that the drive is going too fast. To their surprise, the AI fragment announces that it was able to jump from Rion's forearm unit to ''Ace''’s systems, where it has been making improvements in mapping, comm systems, and slipspace drives. Rion is shocked at the thought of a Forerunner AI invading her ship but recognizes it as an advantage, and she allows the AI to take control of the ship and tells it to go to Venezia.

They arrive at Venezia sixty minutes later. After docking, Ram Chalva is taken by medical personnel to a hospital. Rion tells the crew to disembark and go on ahead of her, giving them time to grieve for Cade. She goes to her quarters and speaks to the AI, referring to it as “Little Bit,” and asks what happened to the ''Spirit of Fire''. Little Bit recounts how the ship used its slipspace drive to destroy the ~~AI’s~~ planet and shows Rion video feed from [[Relay 07756]], a clip of her father speaking to the camera, as well as a [[Red Team|team of Spartans]] engaging in battle. Little Bit says it had tracked ''Spirit of Fire''’s trajectory away from the shield world, and at Rion’s request it scans the system and those nearby for planets that would support human life and creates a map of possible destinations for the ''Spirit of Fire'' after they lost their slipspace drive. Rion considers the safety of her crew, her desire for revenge against Gek ‘Lhar, the enticing Forerunner salvage possibilities around the dwarf star, and the map of possible whereabouts of the ''Spirit of Fire'' and her father. She wonders where to start.

They arrive at Venezia sixty minutes later. After docking, Ram Chalva is taken by medical personnel to a hospital. Rion tells the crew to disembark and go on ahead of her, giving them time to grieve for Cade. She goes to her quarters and speaks to the AI, referring to it as “Little Bit,” and asks what happened to the ''Spirit of Fire''. Little Bit recounts how the ship used its slipspace drive to destroy the AI's planet and shows Rion video feed from [[Relay 07756]], a clip of her father speaking to the camera, as well as a [[Red Team|team of Spartans]] engaging in battle. Little Bit says it had tracked ''Spirit of Fire''’s trajectory away from the shield world, and at Rion’s request it scans the system and those nearby for planets that would support human life and creates a map of possible destinations for the ''Spirit of Fire'' after they lost their slipspace drive. Rion considers the safety of her crew, her desire for revenge against Gek ‘Lhar, the enticing Forerunner salvage possibilities around the dwarf star, and the map of possible whereabouts of the ''Spirit of Fire'' and her father. She wonders where to start.

==Appearances==

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File:Halo Smoke and Shadow clean cover.jpg|Cover art.

</gallery>

==References==

==Sources==

[[Category:Novels|Smoke and Shadow]]

[[Category:Canon|Smoke and Shadow]]

Halo: Smoke and Shadow: Difference between revisions

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 The story opens in the city of [[New Tyne]] on the colony [[Venezia]] in January [[2557]], where Rion Forge oversees a sale of salvaged weapons to a [[Sangheili]] customer. Drinking at a bar with the money earned a month earlier selling [[Forerunner]] technology, she considers the financial rewards for recovering and using a luminary to hunt down other relics while sitting with a fellow businesswoman, a [[T'vaoan]] salvage dealer named [[Nor Fel]] who she provided a [[stasis field]] generator to earlier that day. Having formed a close business relationship over the past few years since her mate's death, Nor Fel trusts Rion enough to go on a salvage mission to recover an object that would keep them wealthy for the rest of their lives.
-Rion returns to her ship and prepares her crew for a new mission; this displeases her crew members [[Lessa]] and [[Kip]], who were promised time off after a six week journey. Rion and Lessa head to [[Tiny Birds]], a bar in New Tyne run by Rouse and popular among alien customers. There, Rouse provides Rion with a single photograph of a ship, demanding 40,000cR for the location and 25% of the revenue. After some negotiation, they agree on 10,000 [[cR]] and 15% on the grounds the aged appearance of the ship could mean it was already cleaned by salvagers. The two leave the bar and head onboard their ship, the ''[[Ace of Spades]]''.
+Rion returns to her ship and prepares her crew for a new mission; this displeases her crew members [[Lessa]] and [[Kip]], who were promised time off after a six-week journey. Rion and Lessa head to [[Tiny Birds]], a bar in New Tyne run by Rouse and popular among alien customers. There, Rouse provides Rion with a single photograph of a ship, demanding 40,000cR for the location and 25% of the revenue. After some negotiation, they agree on 10,000 [[cR]] and 15% on the grounds the aged appearance of the ship could mean it was already cleaned by salvagers. The two leave the bar and head onboard their ship, the ''[[Ace of Spades]]''.
-Onboard the crew conduct a meeting over their new job. Kip is the first to express concern, as he believes they will be recovering a UNSC ship, which salvaging is restricted due to the [[UNSC Salvage Directive]]. Niko assures him however that the directive is unenforceable due to the Post-War condition of both the UNSC and the UEG's control over the colonies in general, and the few [[Outer Colonies]] in particular. Rion, otherwise, sees no problem to be had with the UNSC, who are known to re-buy recovered materiel from New Tyne anyway, though she is unwilling to take weapons of mass destruction to the depot and instead offers to report it to the Salvage Directive. With the crew in agreement over the mission, Rio confirms the ship is in the [[Ectanus 45 system]], which the UEG lost in [[2535]] with the glassing of [[Chi Rho]]. A small post-war settlement exists on its moon, [[Eiro]], with the ship crashed nearby.
+On board the crew conduct a meeting over their new job. Kip is the first to express concern, as he believes they will be recovering a UNSC ship, which salvaging is restricted due to the [[UNSC Salvage Directive]]. Niko assures him however that the directive is unenforceable due to the Post-War condition of both the UNSC and the UEG's control over the colonies in general, and the few [[Outer Colonies]] in particular. Rion, otherwise, sees no problem to be had with the UNSC, who are known to re-buy recovered materiel from New Tyne anyway, though she is unwilling to take weapons of mass destruction to the depot and instead offers to report it to the Salvage Directive. With the crew in agreement over the mission, Rio confirms the ship is in the [[Ectanus 45 system]], which the UEG lost in [[2535]] with the glassing of [[Chi Rho]]. A small post-war settlement exists on its moon, [[Eiro]], with the ship crashed nearby.
-The ''Ace of Spades'' arrives in the system and lands on Eiro, a frozen wasteland. The crew depart in heavy winter gear to begin their search on the moon's dark side. Finding the ship, Kip immediately identifies it as the wreckage of a Halcyon-class cruiser, a class he once had a model of as a child. Examining it closer, they find only a quarter of the ship (the foreward section) at the location, it having been cut in half in what [[Cade]] theorizes to have been some kind of Covenant energy beam during the Battle of Chi Rho. Rion orders the crew to split up to search for anything salvage-worthy: she and Kip are to check the communications; navigation and weapons systems; Cade to one of the armories near the bridge, and Lessa and Niko to the medical bay and the [[cryo chamber]]s. The crew begin their search by walking through the sliced 'rear', which Rion ominously compares with a gateway to hell due to the collapsed decks near the cut.
+The ''Ace of Spades'' arrives in the system and lands on Eiro, a frozen wasteland. The crew depart in heavy winter gear to begin their search on the moon's dark side. Finding the ship, Kip immediately identifies it as the wreckage of a Halcyon-class cruiser, a class he once had a model of as a child. Examining it closer, they find only a quarter of the ship (the foreword section) at the location, it having been cut in half in what [[Cade]] theorizes to have been some kind of Covenant energy beam during the Battle of Chi Rho. Rion orders the crew to split up to search for anything salvage-worthy: she and Kip are to check the communications; navigation and weapons systems; Cade to one of the armories near the bridge, and Lessa and Niko to the medical bay and the [[cryo chamber]]s. The crew begin their search by walking through the sliced 'rear', which Rion ominously compares with a gateway to hell due to the collapsed decks near the cut.
 Rion and Kip get close to the bridge after 45 minutes of walking; despite having a map of the ship the damage to the ship is extensive and many corridors unusable. Rion and Kip notice that in all that time they found no corpses of the crew, though are hopeful the ship was successfully evacuated. As her father disappeared with the missing {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} twenty years earlier, Rion sees it as her duty to report everything they can to the families of the crew and its marine complement so they finally have closure. They get within meters of the bridge only to find that blast doors were lowered over that section. Kip notices the ship's name on one wall, identifying it as the {{UNSCShip|Roman Blue}}. Rion alerts Niko over her radio to their discovery, who begins looking up records on the ship. Cade meanwhile reports in that the ship crashed with a profitable payload of body armor; [[thermite paste]]; [[jet pack]]s, various rifles and small arms along with "heavy ordnance" which the crew by Rion's rules are to keep onboard and report to the UNSC. Lessa reports her search of the medical facilities as somewhat productive, though it is significantly damaged and she has yet to check the pharmacy for drugs to salvage. Niko meanwhile notes the ship had ejected some of its cryo pods before crashing, with the rest of the bay in a bad condition. He continues that there is no recent talk on the ChatterNet on the ''Roman Blue'', and dubs it a ghost ship; Rion suspects this means the UNSC to be actively restricting communication on the ship and decides to leak information on its location and the cause of its destruction to the families when the UNSC compensates her for the discovery.
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 The ''Ace of Spades'' takes off from the surface and flies towards Ram in the hopes of giving him a fighting chance. It touches down again briefly to allow him to get aboard. Rather than escape, however, Rion orders the ship's weapons be activated and aimed at the Covenant freighter. Unwilling to fire a missile in case the ''Radiant Perception'' is hit by debris, Rion opts for the autocannon. At this moment, the Covenant freighter captain works out their plan and orders three dropships to launch. Beaten, Rion orders their departure.
-ONI agent 67159-021127, now revealed to be Kip, makes another transmission from the ''Ace of Spades'' to Hahn. He thinks about the recent [[Terrorist attack on Sedra City|bioterrorist attack]] on Sedra that killed his family, including his partner Talia who was six months pregnant at the time. Hahn approached him, then known as Silas Kipley, then a drunken wreck, and offered him a chance to use his engineering genius to help humankind recover from the turbulent post-war environment. Agreeing to Hahn's offer, he was to be given a job on a salvage ship, where he would keep ONI up to date on their recovery of dangerous equipment to make sure it stays out of the hands of terrorists. It was then his name was changed to Kip Silas. Kip understands none of the crew has terrorist sympathies, but also knows that Rion is too good at her job and that a very profitable haul inevitably means more weapons flooding the market.
+ONI agent 67159–021127, now revealed to be Kip, makes another transmission from the ''Ace of Spades'' to Hahn. He thinks about the recent [[Terrorist attack on Sedra City|bioterrorist attack]] on Sedra that killed his family, including his partner Talia who was six months pregnant at the time. Hahn approached him, then known as Silas Kipley, then a drunken wreck, and offered him a chance to use his engineering genius to help humankind recover from the turbulent post-war environment. Agreeing to Hahn's offer, he was to be given a job on a salvage ship, where he would keep ONI up to date on their recovery of dangerous equipment to make sure it stays out of the hands of terrorists. It was then his name was changed to Kip Silas. Kip understands none of the crew has terrorist sympathies, but also knows that Rion is too good at her job and that a very profitable haul inevitably means more weapons flooding the market.
 Rion checks up on Chalva, who is being heavily medicated to treat the deep cuts all over his body and the tissue damage from plasma exposure. He is placed in a cryotube to keep the pain down as they head back to Venezia.
@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 ===Part Four: Snake Eyes===
-The ''Ace of Spades'' jumps to Serina’s coordinates and arrives in uncharted space. After some time searching, the crew discovers an asteroid field orbiting a dwarf star. They are shocked to find remnants of infrastructure wreckage on a massive scale—conduits, cables, bridges, and rock formations and mountains, as well as a wing fragment of an unknown ship. Cade notes that this is planetary damage, and the crew wonders if the debris is tied to the fate of the ''Spirit of Fire''. Niko detects an energy shield signal within the wreckage, and they follow it to a ruin set upon a large fragment of earth. Lessa reports that the atmosphere and gravity within the shield is near perfect for humans. The crew is eager to explore, excited by the prospect of potentially finding survivors from the ''Spirit of Fire'', and Rion orders them to proceed with caution.
+The ''Ace of Spades'' jumps to Serina's coordinates and arrives in uncharted space. After some time searching, the crew discovers an asteroid field orbiting a dwarf star. They are shocked to find remnants of infrastructure wreckage on a massive scale—conduits, cables, bridges, and rock formations and mountains, as well as a wing fragment of an unknown ship. Cade notes that this is planetary damage, and the crew wonders if the debris is tied to the fate of the ''Spirit of Fire''. Niko detects an energy shield signal within the wreckage, and they follow it to a ruin set upon a large fragment of earth. Lessa reports that the atmosphere and gravity within the shield is near perfect for humans. The crew is eager to explore, excited by the prospect of potentially finding survivors from the ''Spirit of Fire'', and Rion orders them to proceed with caution.
 Niko uses a drone dubbed ''“Michelle”'' to slip through the shield and test the atmosphere. The levels read green across the board, and the drone also detects a faint life sign within the ruins. Rion takes ''Ace'' through the shield, examining the deteriorated ruins, unable to match it to a civilization. They land on a rocky outcropping, and Rion and Cade arm up and disembark. After confirming the atmosphere is safe, they remove their helmets and approach the main structure. Rion notices glyphs etched in the ruins and realizes with astonishment that they have found a Forerunner site. She and Cade enter the structure into a circular room, with two branching corridors and a large central console. A domed pad with the outline of a hand draws Rion to the console and she reaches out to touch it, but Cade stops her.
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 Then Rion notices a luminary floating behind the Sangheili, and she stands her ground, determined to fight Gek and acquire it. Gek speaks angrily, and Rion uses her [[translation software]] to interpret his words as he vows to rid the Forerunner site of the “unclean” humans. At that moment, the activated console continues to grow brighter, and a disembodied voice fills the room, excited and grateful that a “[[Reclaimer]]” has arrived. Infuriated, Gek activates his [[Type-1 energy sword|energy sword]]. Rion fires two shots, but he ducks out of the way. Two Sangheili enter the room from one of the corridors, and Gek orders them to join the battle outside. Rion warns Cade of incoming trouble, but Cade is able to dispatch the two Sangheili with a [[thermite grenade]].
-Cade heads back to support Rion, who tries to warn him about Gek near the entrance, but he’s caught off guard by the Sangheili commander. Cade slides a bag of grenades across the floor toward Rion, right before Gek plunges his energy sword into his chest. Horrified and enraged, Rion charges Gek, jumping on his back and firing her pistol at his head at the same time that he strikes her with his forearm. The bullet cuts across his left eye and blinds him. Gek grabs Rion and flings her across the room into a wall, before going to Cade and ripping his dog tags from his neck. Despite the pain, Rion manages to crawl toward the bag of grenades and pulls out a [[fragmentation grenade|frag]], holding it high and flicking the safety. She faces off with Gek, prepared to die before leaving Cade. Gek hesitates, understanding that the blast would kill them both, before he retreats with the luminary. Rion crawls to Cade’s side. The wound has been cauterized by the sword’s plasma and his breath comes in shallow, and Rion knows there’s nothing she can do. She grabs his hand, and Cade fights to speak past the blood in his throat, managing to tell her that it’s okay before he dies.
+Cade heads back to support Rion, who tries to warn him about Gek near the entrance, but he's caught off guard by the Sangheili commander. Cade slides a bag of grenades across the floor toward Rion, right before Gek plunges his energy sword into his chest. Horrified and enraged, Rion charges Gek, jumping on his back and firing her pistol at his head at the same time that he strikes her with his forearm. The bullet cuts across his left eye and blinds him. Gek grabs Rion and flings her across the room into a wall, before going to Cade and ripping his dog tags from his neck. Despite the pain, Rion manages to crawl toward the bag of grenades and pulls out a [[fragmentation grenade|frag]], holding it high and flicking the safety. She faces off with Gek, prepared to die before leaving Cade. Gek hesitates, understanding that the blast would kill them both, before he retreats with the luminary. Rion crawls to Cade's side. The wound has been cauterized by the sword's plasma and his breath comes in shallow, and Rion knows there's nothing she can do. She grabs his hand, and Cade fights to speak past the blood in his throat, managing to tell her that it's okay before he dies.
-Gek and his crew flee the system. Lessa lands ''Ace of Spades'' and the crew join Rion. They mourn for Cade and move him to a grav stretcher. Before they leave, the disembodied voice calls out again, asking to take it with them. Rion moves to the console and speaks with the voice; she discovers that it’s [[Little Bit|a Forerunner AI]] that has been fragmented, unable to remember its name or designation, just a “little bit” of the intelligence it used to be. As it speaks it remembers that humans were responsible for its fragmentation and tells Rion of the [[Phoenix-class colony ship|''Phoenix''-class]] ship ''Spirit of Fire'' that destroyed its [[Etran Harborage|planet]]. Rion, already near her breaking point from her injuries and grief, simply laughs in numb shock at the discovery. The AI asks to serve Rion, a Reclaimer, and Rion agrees to take it aboard.
+Gek and his crew flee the system. Lessa lands ''Ace of Spades'' and the crew join Rion. They mourn for Cade and move him to a grav stretcher. Before they leave, the disembodied voice calls out again, asking to take it with them. Rion moves to the console and speaks with the voice; she discovers that it's [[Little Bit|a Forerunner AI]] that has been fragmented, unable to remember its name or designation, just a “little bit” of the intelligence it used to be. As it speaks it remembers that humans were responsible for its fragmentation and tells Rion of the [[Phoenix-class colony ship|''Phoenix''-class]] ship ''Spirit of Fire'' that destroyed its [[Etran Harborage|planet]]. Rion, already near her breaking point from her injuries and grief, simply laughs in numb shock at the discovery. The AI asks to serve Rion, a Reclaimer, and Rion agrees to take it aboard.
-On ''Ace of Spades'', Rion meets Lessa in the med bay with Cade and, after comforting the grieving girl, goes to work on removing Cade’s gear, cleaning him, and putting on his dress blues. The process is slow, her way of saying goodbye. She regrets the distance they had kept between them and their fear of losing each other. Afterward, the crew takes ''Ace'' to the nearby dwarf star, and they send a pod with Cade’s body into the heart of the star.
+On ''Ace of Spades'', Rion meets Lessa in the med bay with Cade and, after comforting the grieving girl, goes to work on removing Cade's gear, cleaning him, and putting on his dress blues. The process is slow, her way of saying goodbye. She regrets the distance they had kept between them and their fear of losing each other. Afterward, the crew takes ''Ace'' to the nearby dwarf star, and they send a pod with Cade's body into the heart of the star.
-Rion orders Kip to spin up the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|FTL drive]], but he reports that the drive is going too fast. To their surprise, the AI fragment announces that it was able to jump from Rion’s forearm unit to ''Ace''’s systems, where it has been making improvements in mapping, comm systems, and slipspace drives. Rion is shocked at the thought of a Forerunner AI invading her ship but recognizes it as an advantage, and she allows the AI to take control of the ship and tells it to go to Venezia.
+Rion orders Kip to spin up the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|FTL drive]], but he reports that the drive is going too fast. To their surprise, the AI fragment announces that it was able to jump from Rion's forearm unit to ''Ace''’s systems, where it has been making improvements in mapping, comm systems, and slipspace drives. Rion is shocked at the thought of a Forerunner AI invading her ship but recognizes it as an advantage, and she allows the AI to take control of the ship and tells it to go to Venezia.
-They arrive at Venezia sixty minutes later. After docking, Ram Chalva is taken by medical personnel to a hospital. Rion tells the crew to disembark and go on ahead of her, giving them time to grieve for Cade. She goes to her quarters and speaks to the AI, referring to it as “Little Bit,” and asks what happened to the ''Spirit of Fire''. Little Bit recounts how the ship used its slipspace drive to destroy the AI’s planet and shows Rion video feed from [[Relay 07756]], a clip of her father speaking to the camera, as well as a [[Red Team|team of Spartans]] engaging in battle. Little Bit says it had tracked ''Spirit of Fire''’s trajectory away from the shield world, and at Rion’s request it scans the system and those nearby for planets that would support human life and creates a map of possible destinations for the ''Spirit of Fire'' after they lost their slipspace drive. Rion considers the safety of her crew, her desire for revenge against Gek ‘Lhar, the enticing Forerunner salvage possibilities around the dwarf star, and the map of possible whereabouts of the ''Spirit of Fire'' and her father. She wonders where to start.
+They arrive at Venezia sixty minutes later. After docking, Ram Chalva is taken by medical personnel to a hospital. Rion tells the crew to disembark and go on ahead of her, giving them time to grieve for Cade. She goes to her quarters and speaks to the AI, referring to it as “Little Bit,” and asks what happened to the ''Spirit of Fire''. Little Bit recounts how the ship used its slipspace drive to destroy the AI's planet and shows Rion video feed from [[Relay 07756]], a clip of her father speaking to the camera, as well as a [[Red Team|team of Spartans]] engaging in battle. Little Bit says it had tracked ''Spirit of Fire''’s trajectory away from the shield world, and at Rion’s request it scans the system and those nearby for planets that would support human life and creates a map of possible destinations for the ''Spirit of Fire'' after they lost their slipspace drive. Rion considers the safety of her crew, her desire for revenge against Gek ‘Lhar, the enticing Forerunner salvage possibilities around the dwarf star, and the map of possible whereabouts of the ''Spirit of Fire'' and her father. She wonders where to start.
 ==Appearances==
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 File:Halo Smoke and Shadow clean cover.jpg|Cover art.
 </gallery>
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
 ==Sources==
 {{Ref/Sources}}
-{{Literature}}
+{{Navbox/Media/Novels}}
 [[Category:Novels|Smoke and Shadow]]
 [[Category:Canon|Smoke and Shadow]]