Aboard FTV(Freelance Transport Vessel) Jormungand. 2549. Inside UNSC Space.
A boy clad in heavy power armor stood ahead of 9 of the UNSC's biggest weapons haulers/suppliers/vendors, a criminal bunch known as the Jormungand Crew, all of which stared, with eyes wide, at the Spartan. His armor was colored pale white, with black stripes running across his thickly armored CQC Helmet, one with a T-Shaped Visor. The boy's eyes, hidden behind the golden tinted visor of the helmet, moved from person to person, officially stopping at the captain of the ship and the commander of the crew. A young woman with long, straight white hair and bangs up front, reaching to her hips stood beside him, a strange grin on her face and cobalt-blue eyes staring at the lot. She smirked, placing a hand on the Spartan's BASE-SEC Pauldron with a smile, then said "Guess what, folks? ONI decided not to play the bullshit game anymore! They gave us a real bodyguard to watch our backs!" And she looked to the boy, then asked "Introduce yourself to the crew."
The man stepped up, removing his helmet to reveal pale white skin, amber eyes and black hair, as well as a bayonet scar on his right cheek, then placed his helmet on the table and a hand upon his SCOUT armor's chestplate and started to speak, a fairly formal voice and a very calm one at that. "I am Spartan-B312. My current rank within the UNSC's armed forces and, more specifically, the ONI Naval Special Weapons branch is that of Lieutenant. I've read the files on each and every one of you arms dealers. Former Insurgents or UNSC Soldiers, simple guns-for-hire or petty criminals... All lead by a Weapons Dealer that agrees to the UNSC's and ONI's requests."
"That's correct, Spartan Cole." The girl beside him, Koko Hekmatiyar, smirked, then looked to everyone and added "He's killed several hundred Insurgent soldiers across all theaters of counter-espionage and warfare and his file, or the non-inked bits mention how this guy could make entire cells of the Insurgency disappear. I know some of you are or were formerly Innies, but trust me, the Spartan bodes well for us!"
"Lest you start firing on me in the middle of a firefight" B312 added promptly "In which case, don't expect mercy. Also..." He continued, making everyone look at him, even Koko. The boy nodded to them, then said "Alas. If things go from bad to worse and the UNSC Military catches us and either impounds you, or you start shooting at them to deliver your goods, since this ship is registered as 'unknown' within Navy data bases, I will be forced to open fire on you as well. From the UNSC's stand-point, I don't even exist aboard this ship. And I would like to be treated as such until the bullets start flying."
Koko smirked, then said "Aye. But trust me guys. If we fight Pirates, rouge units, Insurgents or such, Cole will be there to keep us alive. Hell, if we ever run into Covies while delivering supplies, the Spartan has our backs."
"Correct." Cole nodded, then looked to Koko and added "Miss Hekmatiyar, if you'd kindly call me by rank, not name. Mistake number one." in correction, nonchalantly placing his helmet on his head and sliding his pistol on his hip and MA5K on his back.
"M-Miss Koko... Are you sure this is a good idea?" Protested a girl with long black hair and an eyepatch, as well as an amber-colored eye. Cole eyed her, then said "Master Sergeant Sophia Velmer, commonly known as Valmet among both her soldiers and this..." He paused, furrowing a brow behind his helmet, then continued "Crew... due to her Finnish Heritage. Very unwelcoming of odd new recruits and, most importantly, very wary of Spartans." To which Valmet gave him a shocked look, then said "Well... You are an odd unit. Appearing out of thin air and vanishing just as fast..."
"A Spartan's MO is that of a Special Operations soldier, Segeant Valmet." The Spartan said, crossing his arms "Hit and Run is what we do. I find your name a bit ironic." And he saw the girl raise an eyebrow, the one above her right eye, the eyepatch eye, in surprise. He nodded, then said "Weapons selling. Valmet. Finnish. If I didn't know better I'd say the SAKO Valmet and all other weapons built by the VALMET Finnish company for your armed forces, hell, the company in itself would be named after you and dealt by your boss. Don't they produce their own variations of the Misriah Armories' weapons?"
The woman was left speechless. The Spartan babbled on, but alas, he was astute... And most of the things he said seemed to make sense. The Finnish girl nodded, then said "Yeah. The SAKO MA47 is of Finnish construction... I understand that ONI uses it too?"
"At times, yes. I've seen a few of their Black Ops wielding SAKO MAs. Very beautiful weapons." The boy stated bluntly. He looked to Koko, then finished off "I do believe I have a call I need to take in my quarters." And he nodded to everyone, then stepped out, helmet slid on his head. Valmet looked to Koko, then asked worriedly "You sure it was a good idea?"
"No." The girl sighed, crossing her arms "But ONI's shoving this down our throats so I'm trying to make the best out of it. We've got a new hand to help us as long as ONI wants him around..." She glanced toward one of her more elite soldiers. An old, tanned Caucasian man with grey hair and blue eyes, then added "Lehm may actually have someone to re-train in our tactics and... Well. You know."
"What do they even call this guy? It's clear he doesn't wanna be named Cole." A blonde boy said, running a hand through his spiky hair and looking at Koko. "So, Princess? Any idea?"
"Well, ONI did give him a nickname... But using it would be a bit below our interests." The girl said, then she leaned on the table and looked toward one of their newer arrivals and asked "Wilee. You know the nickname 'The White Devil of Shanxi'?" making the afro-american man gasp, dropping his glasses as he cleaned them. The man, Wilee, was a former explosives specialist for the Insurgency, caught, arrested and accused of attempted terrorism via bombs. That was some 10 months ago... When the kid first deployed. Shanxi was one of the colonies the Innies were operating on best, so... Figures. Koko smirked, nodded and said "Of course you do."
"The White Devil of Shanxi... Here? He's the only man who's killed 20 enemies in a hand-to-hand fight while the enemy was packing Assault Rifles." The man said, picking up his glasses and placing them on the table. "He's the best shot too... None of my pals made it alive. Command told me they found them, each with a hole drilled between their eyes by different caliber weapons..."
Fact of the matter was, Koko knew the guy's background... She was able to get those at ONI To spill the beans on him. At least part of the beans. It was how she knew his name and called him out twice. He was someone interesting to her... Relatively odd, close to her own age(She was 19 and he was... That was something she needed to learn) looking like a guy her age. The girl sighed, remembering when they got involved with ONI. A simple shipping mission for the Colonial Militia of a backwater planet got them linked to ONI via a woman by the name of Dare.
"Understood, Admiral Parangosky, ma'am." The boy saluted the TACCOM's screen as the image of a very old woman lay on it. "I will keep my eyes on the crew of the Jormungand. They seem to have a lot of former spec-ops among them... As well as quite a few Innie troops."
"It's one of the reasons you're there, Sierra-B312. To keep an eye on them." Parangosky sighed, then looked ahead at him and added "Hekmatyiar Arms Incorporated has been providing shipping and weapons dealing to all human factions for the purpose of defense since before the Covenant encounters... All of them, Insurgent and UNSC Suppliers alike. I dread to think of them supplying Insurgent forces as of late, since that'd put a major dent in our war effort at the border... So keep your eyes sharp, Spartan. Any non-loyal activity, that ship sinks with all hands. Parangosky out."
Cole sighed heavily. Parangosky had a way of messing with him and the other Spartans at times. He merely stood up, flicked off his TACCOM and slid his helmet back on his head and walked toward the door. Sliding his card to open it, he found himself face-to-face with Hekmatyiar, who was bearing her trademark smile. She nodded to him, her azure eyes staring right into his visor, then asked "May I come in?" thus making the Spartan step back and let her walk into his room. He had no personal effects to settle, aside from a set of UNSC Off-duty fatigues and his UNSC bright-white officer's uniform.
"A bit more barren than I'd expect..." The girl commented, looking about. She pushed a bit of hair over her shoulder, then looked to Cole and asked "What, no extra weapons? I'd have expected you to be hauling an Arsenal aboard my ship."
"I figure that, since you're hauling so much gear..." He started, pulling out his MA5K and settling it on the bed, then disassembling it "I could get a piece of each. Surplus is your thing, most of the time." And he looked back at her as he reassembled the rifle, without even staring at it "And I'd pay the money for it. Command allows me unlimited funds for my current operations with your unit."
"We're not military, Cole." The girl said, crossing her arms to her chest. "It's why we don't refer to each-other via ranks, numbers or other such items... You're part of my crew, get used to being called by your name."
"With all due respect, miss Hekmatyiar, it's what I dread will happen." The Spartan said, cocking the bolt of his Assault Rifle back. He let it snap back into place, then looked to her and said "I run Lone Wolf. NEVER with a crew. Your squad of mercs and paid-off Innies wants to do some good? Stay out of my way."
"Your file wasn't wrong." The girl smirked, scratching her chin. "You do get cuter when you're angry."
The Spartan scoffed, then said "Flirting much?"
She walked beside him and hugged him by the waist, then said half-mockingly, half-sensually "Can't help it, Tall Boy. I saw you without your helmet." Making the Spartan step away from her. "What is it, miss Hekmatyiar?" And the girl smirked, then said "Koko." Making the Spartan raise his brow "What?" And the girl continued "Call me Koko. Like I said. Names." And she walked toward the door, then looked to him before exiting and finished off "Your first mission. We're deploying to a planet nearby and making a deal." And she walked out of the room.
That woman was insane... Purely insane. He sighed, slung his rifle on his back, then looked out the window of his room. The stars moving past the massive cargo ship were a beauty. One that the Spartan couldn't appreciate any longer... Not since he was inducted into the Spartans...
