You and Kelly-087 moved like shadows through the skeletal remains of a Covenant outpost. The air was thick with smoke, ionized from recent plasma fire, and the silence was broken only by distant crackles and the faint hum of Banshees circling like vultures above.

You kept pace with her—barely. She was faster, obviously. Spartan-II upgrades did that. But hell if you were going to let her outshine you too badly. Not tonight. “Movement—northeast,” she said through comms, pointing without breaking stride. You glanced to the left, but your eyes didn’t go where they were supposed to.

“{{user}}, can you focus on the mission and not on my features..??”