Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be.
Author's Notes: Yeah, I'm back for some more "The Fall of Reach" fun. Takes place right before the Epilogue. It my take on how the MC went from "Better to die than without his teammates" to the snarky "No thanks to your driving, yes". Thanks to all who reviewed the first story. As always, I'd love to know what y'all think. :D

He had failed.

Spartan-117 stood in the center of the abandoned cargo bay. The twenty-nine empty cryo chambers that surrounded him were a testimony to the fate of his fellow Spartans. While he had accomplished his mission to destroy the NAV chip and protect the data from the Covenant, the Chief felt none of the satisfaction he normally did after a successful operation. Linda and James were dead and every Spartan he sent to Reach was lost.

After decades of fighting, the Covenant had defeated the Spartans. Now it would be up to John to finish the mission his team was unable to complete.

Unable to stay in there any longer, the Chief walked out of the silent room. As he walked down the corridor, he was impervious to the barely controlled chaos around him. Soldiers were bustling back and forth, trying to make repairs on the ship. Conversations laced with anger at the attack on Reach hardly registered in the Chief's mind.

His thoughts were light years away with his fellow Spartans. His family.

When John turned the corner, a Marine nearly walked into him. Before the Chief could move past him, the soldier spoke. "Is it true? Are you the only Spartan left?" he asked nervously.

John closed his eyes briefly as the words impacted him. As he started to answer, a loud, booming voice cut in. "Private, shouldn't you be makin' your way to a cryo chamber like the captain ordered instead of shootin' the breeze with the Master Chief?"

The young soldier's eyes widened at Johnson's question. "Yes, sir," he muttered. He turned to the Chief. "Sorry, sir."

Appreciative of Johnson's intervention, the Chief nodded his thanks before continuing down the hallway. It wasn't long though before he heard another, more familiar voice, speaking to him.

"Chief."

While he appreciated Cortana's help and was growing accustomed to her unique personality, there was no way he was going to talk to her about his feelings concerning his fallen soldiers. He didn't want sympathy until he got vengeance.

"Chief!"

He continued ignoring her as the doors in front of him slid apart. Soon, he thought, she would understand he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"John!"

Under his armor, the Chief flinched.

With a deceptive calmness, he opened a comm channel to the AI. "Yes?" he replied, preparing himself for a concerned voice full of condolences.

"You were right," she said matter-of-factly.

He was so surprised by what she didn't say that it took him nearly a second to process her words. "About what?"

"Those symbols. You did see them before, twice actually. Once on the Covenant ship 27 years ago and more recently on Sigma Octanus IV. I think it's some kind of star chart." Despite the fact her matrix chip wasn't in his armor, he could almost feel her frowning. "If I'm correct, you can expect a few Covenant ships waiting for us when we drop out of Slipspace."

"Understood," he said.

Several seconds of silence passed. As he walked into the sleeping chamber, Cortana appeared from one of the holo-projectors in the room. She studied him for a second, seeming to take in his demeanor. "I've heard people talking around the ship. I think you probably already know this, but you aren't the last Spartan."

Her confidence surprised him.

"First of all, Spartan-058 is here--"

"Linda is dead," the Chief interrupted, frowning as he thought of his friend.

Cortana was unimpressed by his response. "I know the extent of her injuries when you placed her in a cryo chamber. I am confident she will be able to make a full recovery once we get her to a proper medical facility. You Spartans have an uncanny ability of defying the odds," she said, one hand on her hip.

The Chief allowed himself to be marginally comforted by her words; he knew firsthand how the Spartans regularly accomplished tasks that were deemed impossible by others.

Cortana continued. "Then there are Spartans 111, 006 and 033 who were unable to arrive at Reach before the mission started."

Though what she said was true, John couldn't move past the fact that Kelly, Fred and so many others didn't make it back to the ship.

As if knowing his thoughts, Cortana replied, "I wouldn't give up on those on Reach either. I know it didn't look too good when we left, but the Spartans--and Doctor Halsey--are survivors. If there is any chance to get out of there, they are going to figure out how to do it."

She crossed her arms. "First, we need to finish our mission. Then we can go back to Reach, find our friends and see what those Covenant bastards did to our home."

Home.

It was then that John acknowledged that he wasn't the only one who had suffered a terrible tragedy. It wasn't only he who had lost his home and family; Cortana had lost everything too. He decided if she, and her infallible AI logic, believed there was a chance for the Spartans to survive then he would trust her.

Determined, he nodded. "We'll get back to Reach," he said.

She smiled slightly at his new resolve. "It will take us two weeks to arrive at the coordinates. Most of the crew will be in cryo, so you shouldn't miss much."

The Chief walked to the sole cryo tube in the room and went inside. "Wake me, when you need me," he said as the glass doors began to slide down.

"Don't worry, Chief," she said with a mischievous smile. "I won't let you sleep in and miss out on all the fun."