(Ceres Galliot, Interstellar Space)

Rocket Raccoon remained sleepless when his fellow teammates were sleeping at every bunk of the ship. He looked at them one by one and heard Drax's loud heavy snore when he got annoyed. Groot peacefully sat on his seat and closed his eyes. Mantis slept at the other room. Quill and Gamora shared the same room. On the other hand, Tengfei the Kree Voidwalker slept and lied down at the tatami mat in his room, also loudly snoring like Drax. Another fellow Kree, Anna-26 was lying on the other bunk and talking to her dreams.

Rocket got freaked out and saw them how they were sleeping. This time, he wondered where Chris Halsey and Rtas Vadum had gone when he continued walking at the hallway. He carefully stepped on the wall without making loud noises for his fellows in deep slumber. Finally, he saw the Sangheili man staring at the window and the Spartan-II who leaned himself on the wall and sat down on the floor. The furry animal felt sorry for the two men who had lost their fellow soldiers in the midst of chaos. He deeply thought in what to say and cleared his throat. The two looked at him with their sullen faces.

" Is this the right time to talk to you guys? " he asked.

" Do tell, " Chris sadly answered.

" We are listening, " R'tas emotionlessly added, still looking at the window.

" Okay, how should I start, " Rocket scratched his head and rolled his eyes which it took a long time for him to compose his thoughts. Chris and R'tas waited for him to speak up. Rocket became more tensed when they turned their attention to him and shrugged. " Okay, okay, you are waiting for me to say anything. Honestly, I'm not even used to do this. That's why I took a thousand light years to confess. Guys, I'm sorry I have been acting like a complete jerk these days. It's just that something's wrong with me when I came here. "

" Don't tell me, you and Drax had a big argument with your gambling and greed issues, " Chris blandly answered.

" I got carried away with it, like I was struggling how to keep up with you guys. I just didn't know how to adjust myself despite of my sudden outbursts of anger. "

" You have been so angry, haven't you? " R'tas asked.

" Yeah..." Rocket embarrassingly spoke. " I was so angry at my friend who's kinder and more considerate than me. I became so jealous and envious at him. Then, I dragged the whole team to my damn misery. Look, I dragged all of you into this. That's why some of you got annoyed at me. I realized that this situation is very hopeless and I have made it even worse. I'm supposed to be an intelligent one in the team, but I have become absurd and selfish because of greed. "

The Sangheili man looked curious and turned to the Spartan-II when Chris had understood what the talking furry one meant. Rocket Raccoon sadly sighed and bowed his head in shame when the two opposite beings turned their attention to him. It was the first time they heard the rascal raccoon turned out to be sincere.

" You know I completely understood how you guys were once enemies. You have fought each other to deaths, just like in my days. You lost your important loved ones, but you just admitted to yourselves that you have one common enemy which you and I are looking after. "

" The Covenant, " the two men spoke in unison.

" It's not just them, but the one who destroyed the human's home world in his single act. Quill just found out the truth from this timeline. Then, you made a lot of chaos. I'm sorry if you lost them because of your wars, " he continued. " I don't know if you're gonna help us or what, but I hope you have heard enough from me."

R'tas and Chris-77 remained silent and turned to each other after the talking furry animal had ended his confession. Suddenly, they all heard a sudden explosion behind the ship when the three covered their ears.

" What the hell is that?! " Rocket loudly yelled.

" I'd better take a look, " Chris replied and checked the window. There were three groups of the Covenant fleets. " They're here! "

" It can't be! " R'tas angrily gritted his teeth.

" I'm gonna pilot the ship whatever it takes, " the raccoon determinedly answered and turned to the two men. " Chris, Mr. Half-Jaw, wake up our team and warn them what's going on!"

" Rocket, you don't know how to fly this ship, " the Spartan-II reminded.

" I don't give a damn! I'm gonna do it to save you from those Covenant freaks! Now, go! "

The human and the Sangheili nodded no furiously when they followed the instruction from Rocket. They instantly went to every room, waking the people up. On the other hand, Rocket became more confused and tensed than ever when he was unfamiliar with the Kree letterings. He anxiously turned his head to and fro, trying to figure out what switch, levers, and knobs to use. As the time went running, he heard another bombarding and never did anything. The other Guardians woke up and returned to their positions.

" Rocket, what on Hala are you doing?! " Tengfei raised his voice in shock. " You're not supposed to control my ship! "

" Teng, I just need your help in piloting this ship! Please! "

The Kree Voidwalker heavily sighed, took his seat, and said, " Fine, you'll be my co-pilot. But make sure you have to do the right thing! Got it? "

" Yeah, yeah, sure, sure..."

" Okay, people, buckle-up and prepare for another wild goose chase! "

" Yeah, Hurry-up! " Quill raised his voice.

The Kree and the talking raccoon instantly maneuvered the ship after everyone took their seats and buckled up. The Ceres Galliot quickly rushed itself faster than speed of light. The enemy fleets were chasing the Kree Voidwalker's sophisticated space vehicle and continuing to fire it. The rest were anxious and disoriented for they heard such a loud exploding noise from the Covenant's targeting.

" Is there another planet that we could stay? " Mantis asked.

" I'm trying to search it in my locator, " Tengfei answered and quickly tapped a holographic keyboard to search for another destination from his astronomical map.

" Cortana, please assist Tengfei to navigate, " Chris ordered.

" Ceres Galliot's navigating systems connecting..." his female AI answered.

" How long does it take to find another planet? " Drax queried. " Like seriously, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere and full of danger! "

" Blame technology, Drax..." Gamora sternly answered.

" Shoot..." the Kree angrily muttered and got pissed when he and Cortana couldn't find another nearby planet within the area. Then, another loud explosion had occured behind them.

" What's wrong guys? " Anna asked.

" This is so insane! Cortana and I couldn't find a temporary world we could hide for the meantime! Now, how are we gonna escape from these f#(king @$$holes?! "

" Language, Kree..." Cortana overheard the blue-skinned man's profanity and warned him.

" Sorry, " he said and felt embarrassed when everyone turned to his attention and chuckled at him.

" Hey, the large ring can resolve your damn rant, Teng, " Rocket reminded and pointed at the large Halo ring infront of them.

R'tas widened his eyes in shock and angrily exclaimed to his warning, " Don't you dare to enter that ring! I am warning you! "

" Why? " the raccoon asked.

" This is not a teleporting device, but a trap from the Covenant! You don't understand what's inside there! You might die in a matter of seconds! "

Everyone got surprised to hear what the Sangheili had said. Tengfei was contemplating to go into the Halo ring. On the other hand, Rocket never followed the instruction from R'tas and completely maneuvered the fleet. They didn't expect to see his sudden act of disobedience, since he was very stubborn in nature.

" Sorry, I have to do this! " the furry one sighed.

" Rocket, No! " everyone cried.

Anna-26 sensed some danger within the Halo ring when she knew there was something inside. Groot was thinking he could help to stop the Covenant and divert the ship's direction. The plant being instantly opened the hatch when Drax dragged him away.

" What the hell's with you, Groot?! " he angrily yelled.

" I am Groot! " Groot used his tendrils to leave the hatch.

" Groot, come back here! " Quill yelled. " This is suicide, Groot! Groot! GROOT! "

The plant being ignored his teammates cry when he was leaving the ship. Groot widened his eyes in shock and realized he couldn't breathe in space, however he had to stop the ship from entering the Halo Ring and the Covenant fleets from attacking them. He slowly walked and hovered within Zero Gravity when he reached the cockpit's window. Groot was tapping and calling Tengfei and Rocket's attention, not to continue to enter the ring.

" Guys, he's just warning us not to penetrate " Tengfei said.

" What?! " Rocket exclaimed.

" Is he willing to risk his life for this? " R'tas asked.

" He's used to do this, " Gamora answered.

As the Ceres Galliot was approaching to the Halo Ring, Groot slowly grew his wooden tendrils and attempted to cover the entire ship and protect his teammates from being exploded. The Covenant fleets were still shooting it, however the plant being's energy attracted the mysterious object contained inside the Halo Ring and immediately escaped from containment. Without being noticed, Groot's face grimaced in pain and felt something had entered to his body. The people from the Covenant began to flee when they detected a flood had penetrated into the wooden being's body. Minutes later, the Guardians were safe from the attacks. Anna-26 quickly rushed into the hatch when she found Groot becoming unconscious.

" Oh, no! No! No! " the Kree Spartan-IV woman anxiously muttered and instantly carried him into safety.

Seeing her coming, Chris-77 and Drax quickly approached and assisted her to retrieve Groot into the other room. Anna removed her helmet and flickered her hands in ultraviolet light to scan the plant being. She narrowed her eyes and found something's growing within him.

" Anna? " Chris called her.

" Groot's infected, " she turned to her companions and sternly replied. " We have to take him into the UNSC cruiser's emergency bay, STAT! "

" Oh, crud..." the tall muscular man sadly muttered and asked. " Is there a way we could fix him? "

" That remains uncertain if there's a cure for the Flood contamination. Some of the UNSC soldiers,I have heard, could not survive it. "

" Oh, no. "

" I'm really sorry about that Drax, " Chris gently patted his new friend's back. " There's nothing we can do about it. "

" Guys, maybe we could find a cure for it! Please, you have to save our friend! He just risked his life in saving us! I can't allow him to die! Even, Rocket will be sad to hear this! " Drax wept and cried.

" Within ten days, Groot will be controlled by the Gravemind. We can't allow that to happen, " Chris continued and assured. " If my mother Dr. Halsey were with us, maybe she could help to stop the infection. "

Quill overheard the conversation, entered the room, and asked, " Is that true? Groot is infected. "

" Yes, " Anna firmly replied. " I'm sorry. The first sign of infection will happen within 24 hours. "

The red-headed Terran sadly sighed and said, scratching his chin, " Well, we have to call them right away before reaching Installation 00. We can't waste our time. "

" Yes, sir. "

Quill walked away when he saw Rocket coming from the hallway and nodded at him. The raccoon nodded him back and peered at the doorway when he saw Drax watching over Groot along with the two Spartans.

" Now, this is all my fault, " he sadly thought. " I almost put anyone into big trouble again. Now, anyone will be very angry at me for putting my best friend into peril. What a wretched guy I am! "

(Covenant Holy City, High Charity
Ninth Age of Reclamation)

The Prophet of Truth was satisfied when he looked at the tall giant blue object contained inside the glass. Septimus the younger Mad Titan entered the room and walked over to him.

" My Great Prophet, you seemed sleepless tonight, " he called the worm's attention.

" I am very grateful for such cause you have made in the entire congregation, " Truth smiled. " You surely have inherited your ancestor's determination. "

" Surely, it runs in the family. Great Thanos and I had manipulated the Composer using our Infinity Stones's power along with your weaponry. As you have noticed, the invasion and glassing of planet Reach was a great success, thanks to your plans! "

" Surely, it is a prophecy that needs to be fulfilled, young man, " Truth nodded. " Speaking of that, we have to go to the Didact himself before destroying every human colony throughout the Galaxy. Oh, I forgot to mention, you have done such a great work that you made with the Sangheili. "

" Decimating half of the population is just a beginning. You might be looking for the other survivors or should I say traitors. You might consider the Jiralhanae and the Unggoy in assigning them to the killing spree. "

" Great idea, my child, " Truth nodded and curiously asked." Do you have another plan to search those demons? "

" Of course, there's another world within the Solar System where the humans have settled. "

" Where? What is it, Septimus? "

" Mars. You might consider going there aside from roaming around the galaxy and hunting for any vermins."

" That would be splendid, my child, " Truth intently grinned and crossed his arms as he got intrigued. " I would like to see how they suffer from our wrath. "