UNSC Infinity in orbit over Requiem
February 12, 2558
The air was thick with a noxious green mist. Visibility was reduced to just a few meters.
The mission was still the utmost importance.
At the top of a large compound, four UNSC Spartans dressed in their MJOLNIR GEN2 armor continued to scan the outskirts for enemy movement. A pelican was en route to extract them and bring them back to a safe zone. The timer counted down to indicate the first sign of their arrival.
"I got movement. West side, half a klick."
Six eyeballs swung to the large opening of the compound where two walkways had ramps leading to the building's utilitarian interior.
"Brace yourselves Eon," A smooth deep voice said over the comms, "We got more incoming."
"Let's do it."
Several figures came out of the mist. They had mottled brownish gray skin and long tentacles growing out the sides of their arms. Many of their other arms ended in a sharp scythelike blade. The growls they made sounded like wet gurgles, followed by ear-piercing eerie screeches.
The first wave of flood combat forms leaped onto the platform and were greeted with a hail of machine gun fire. One of the Spartans stood in the center with a Chaingun turret and he let loose the barrage. The storm of bullets easily cut down the attackers, however more were arriving and some had taken an alternate route to their left.
"They're flanking!"
Two of the Spartans turned their attention from the front and turned left. Immediately a pair of flood jumped to meet them.
Armed with shotguns, the duo blasted them to pieces before one of them turned to assist the other two. The Spartan kept an eye on that ramp to make sure other flood were not using the same path.
"Tighten formation," The lead Spartan ordered, "We've got thirty seconds left."
A shape caught all of their attention.
"Carriers!"
The bulbous flood carrier forms landed on the platform just in front before swelling up to nearly double their original size and violently exploding. One of the Spartans had been too close to a couple and he disappeared in the green gases that blanketed the platform.
Every Spartan had their shields dropped and continued pounding away at the assault. The chaingun turret had run out of ammo so the Spartan originally wielding it had a submachine gun out, spraying bullets to tear down the flood attackers. Many of them let out dying squeals as more ran up to replace their dead brothers.
"Shit," The Spartan leader ran out of ammo himself and drew his knife. Two flood forms converged on him, swiping their tentacles at his exposed armor. Their action sliced through the protection and he slumped over. His vitals cut out a moment later.
At the same time the final two Spartans were ten seconds from extraction and faced with a horde of flood. Infection forms ran ahead of their bipedal counterparts and many of them burst apart from intense fire from the two survivors. However more of the balloon like creatures broke through the quarantine and leaped onto the two humans.
"Damn it!"
"Fuck!"
The two Spartans were forced to the ground as the flood began their infection process.
SIMULATION CONCLUDED - DEACTIVATING FLOOD WARGAME SIMULATION
The four Spartans blinked and looked around. In an instant, the flood and the dank atmosphere had vanished, followed by the deck of the War Games simulations.
"Congratulations Fireteam Eon," A female voice came over the speakers from above, "You broke Fireteam Crimson's record by seven seconds although you still did not make the extract in time."
A chorus of applause came from Spartans of several other fireteams who were playing as the flood in the simulation.
Fireteam Eon gave casual waves in response.
"Welcome to the Infinity."
"And that is the rest of the grand tour of Infinity." Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer concluded, standing at the top of the massive S-Deck, a room that had multiple levels of the armor assemblers. It was a hive of activity as lifts, bays and techs worked around the clock to keep the contingent of more than a hundred and fifty Spartans in operation.
The briefing area was U shaped, with a large holotank in the center and surrounding it were other Spartans that were the handlers of the fireteams planetside. Three rows of chairs were situated just behind the display and looked sturdy enough to fit the bulk of the heavy MJOLNIR armor.
"Any questions before I fill you in on your briefing?"
"Two actually." The leader of Fireteam Eon, a Spartan by the name of Lusana stepped forward, "We have our own agenda here. It overrides all parameters you might have for us."
Palmer's face turned to confusion as well as frustration that this was not a variable she didn't control, "What do you mean own agenda? I am in command of every fireteam aboard this ship and its sub-vessels! All Spartan operations go through me and there are no exceptions."
"Every fireteam except us," Lusana replied coolly, his dark features wrinkled with irritation, "I have orders from the 37th to take direct commands from codename: Cardinal to conduct our own string of operations under the joint Navy and ONI guise. Now you can continue to defy it and take it back to HIGHCOM, or you can oblige and we'll be on our way and out of your hair."
It was obvious that Sarah Palmer didn't like being challenged, especially from a Spartan that held the rank of Captain, one that was lower than her Commander. So she stepped forward, silently thanking that her height was equal to that of the men standing before her.
"Do you have any idea who you are talking to Spartan Lusana?"
"Do you?"
"Hey," Another Spartan, one with lighter skin, brown hair and eyes stepped in between the two of them, "This is not the time to settle a squabble like this. Commander, we were informed that our accommodations aboard Infinity were granted by Captain Lasky as soon as we stepped aboard and he has approved for us to conduct our missions from the 37th's command here."
"Fair enough Spartan Pine," Palmer relented, still taking the time to shoot Lusana a glare, "You're going to also need a nickel Spartan."
All except Lusana rolled their eyes.
The term was derived from old currency back in the twenty-first and twenty second century. Most Spartan-IV teams including the 37th Special Shock Division, operated in four man groups, hence the name quarters. Sometimes squads had five members, which the fifth member would be the "nickel" Spartan and six where it was nicknamed "dime" Each type of team had different formations for different tactics. More Spartans were always helpful as the individual's skillsets would broaden their capabilities, but mission parameters sometimes needed fewer personnel.
"I will be making that selection and consider it as a liaison between your little secret Spartan division and myself. We clear?"
"So our new member's a spy?"
"No," Palmer's eyes narrowed at the Spartan Fowler, "The nickel Spartan will not inform me of your operations unless they directly compromise ours. That is the purpose. You may be all full of secrets, but you do as I say as long as you're aboard my ship."
"We understand that," Lusana replied, "Just send them to our quarters when they're ready to be briefed."
"I will do that."
As Eon exited the bridge, Spartan Brett Fowler let out a low whistle.
"She's damn attractive for sure, but I think I was quite offset by her control-freak nature and the fact she's pretty much obsessed with herself."
The fourth Spartan make a scoffing sound, "You know she actually got a job offer with us but turned it down because it didn't sound so lucrative?"
"Where'd you learn that Austal?" Ross Pine asked.
Spartan Marcus Austal shrugged, "Ever ask why Cardinal took the job and who he initially replaced? Besides, I wouldn't want to deal with that shit all day."
Eon's quarters were similar to most other Spartans. It was a large room that separated into three different ones with a main central area that had a holo-screen, coffee table and desk. The entire bunk area was large enough to fit an entire fireteam Each of the bedrooms had a bathroom with a toilet and sink. There was also a cabinet for toiletries.
Fowler wished the Spartans would get the same treatment as officers. Unlike the rest of the grunts, Captains and higher-ups' personal quarters came with an entire cabin to themselves, nearly unlimited hot showers, extremely comfortable beds and access to Infinity's premium food options. A lot of space was granted to their quarters too.
That was the problem with the wimpy officers, having the lesser men and women do the dirty work while they sat at their air conditioned office directing everything. Most of them used to be more concerned with promotions than protection.
Nowadays, the war against the genocidal Covenant had ended and a healthy amount of the former enlisted personnel had been given promotions. Some of them made damn good officers too.
Lusana was a Captain, but in essence, they were guests on Infinity, so they were regulated to standard Spartan quarters.
It was quick for the team to set up and make themselves at comfortable. They each brought a large duffel bag that contained their essentials while their hardware, weapons and MJOLNIR suits were shipped onboard separately.
"Gather around Eon," Lusana called from the main room as the rest of the team began to unpack.
Pine, Fowler and Austal finished up and joined their leader.
He had set up a datapad onto the holotank and established a connection back to Cardinal, back at the 37th SSD control in their new headquarters in Alto Valeur, New Corsica.
Cardinal's Enforcer armor minus his helmet came onto the screen a minute later. His features were striking and his jawline was strong. A Spartan-IV in the initial class, he took the job as the leader of the elite secret division of Spartans designed for operations pursuing the most dangerous threats to the UNSC.
The 37th Special Shock Division was maintained by a joint staff of UNSC Navy, Spartan and ONI personnel with each branch having an equal say in what the unit did.
Teams operated both on the frontlines and in areas far into enemy controlled territory. What was unique about the unit was that Spartans had to be in a significant healthy personal relationship with someone that was either outside or stationed elsewhere in the military. Psychologists that were consulted by the officers that made up the concept concluded that while it was contradictory to regulations the UNSC established, fraternization with both their squadmates and partners potentially yielded greater results. It also led to the team taking much fewer risks and the capability to return to base to embark on additional missions.
Since then, the rule was readdressed by the UNSC Security Council and ultimately terminated, although it did incite new research and experimentation on how relationships between teams and others outside their circle were done.
Eon was one of the four fireteams that made up the unit and it was the only one selected to head to Requiem to perform joint operations with the Spartans.
"Eon," Cardinal greeted them, "Good to see you arrived onboard Infinity. Make yourselves at home yet?"
"Affirmative. It's definitely an impressive vessel."
"Good. Your first mission is in and I'm sending the data to your terminal now."
On the big tank, a hologram of an elite popped up. He wore the insectoid armor of the zealot that had a conical head and an odd symbol above his helmet.
"You are all familiar with Jul 'Mdama. He's been responsible for gathering a large number of assets from former Covenant warlords and uniting them. This is the most dangerous remnant group the UNSC has dealt with and over the years it's been a considerable match for our forces. Now ONI has a spy within their ranks and on your initial deployment, you are to sabotage his primary motor pool. It's located deep within enemy lines behind a large valley that only a few paths are accessible. Those areas are heavily defended by wraiths and artillery."
"This seems like a job for an armored battalion," Lusana replied.
"For this job, we need a scalpel, not a sword Spartan Lusana. The place has partially been converted into a fast manufacturing plant with local power being drawn to keep the plant functional and its work has caused the Covenant to get new armor rapidly. We need to shut it down. The area is being under the command of Parg Vol and once we eliminate him, we believe the remainder of the Covenant leadership will buckle and potentially lead us to 'Mdama's location. If we get a lead on him, we're going to strike quick and hard to take the bastard out."
Cardinal looked around at his men, "Additional details are going to be on your OB tablets. Any other questions?"
"Yes sir," Lusana said again, "We received a lukewarm welcome aboard and Commander Palmer is likely wanting to keep eyes on us."
Cardinal chuckled, "I suspected that, although I've been in contact with her about the arrangement. She wants all Spartans teams, even you out of her jurisdiction to have a nickel Spartan. It's nothing personal against you guys, but she just wants minimal casualties and knots while you're there for the next two months."
"I have a feeling those feelings are going to just get colder the longer we're here." Fowler added.
"A new Spartan means they have to be trained in 37th procedures and all."
"There's not much of a learning curve. I've already looked into your potential squadmate and it seems from what's available that you'll only have to babysit for a brief time."
"Understood Commander," Eon saluted, "We'll deploy within the hour."
As Cardinal winked off the team was interrupted by a knock on the bunk's door.
Fowler moved to open it.
On the other side was a girl in a Spartan undersuit. She had long flowing dirty blonde hair that fell behind her shoulders, something unusual for women as Spartans. She looked rather young and her eyes displayed an unusual amount of enthusiasm, but her face remained stoic and unsmiling.
"You boys must be Eon," She said in a silky soft voice, before raising her right hand in a sharp salute, "Spartan Blake Bailey at your service. I'm your new nickel."
Hello everyone and welcome to the third Eon installment! Eon is back again and they're off to Requiem! This story will begin as Old Wounds' ending has been written and just needs to be edited and such. Crazy to think that this is the third story as it seems like yesterday it was just a loosely created idea, but it's so far evolved into a successful storyline that I personally enjoy writing.
For those of you who are familiar to the series; welcome back and for those new readers; glad you could join us. I cannot thank all of you enough for your support, comments and critiques. You give my writing purpose.
MWIM