Now you readers tell me if this is good now, because this is a story I've been deliberating doing for a long time, me and a friend just started throwing Ideas at one another one night and this came out of it.
Written with help from: Fireoftheawsome thank him for some of these ideas. If you are wondering what happened to Rise Of Reach. Well it is undergoing extensive rewriting and fleshing out for I feel in my heart that I can do better than that and I took it down so none of my readers had to experience such trash, I also felt the chapters were too short for such an extensive story in the Mass Effect universe. Anyways remember people please read and review I won't be writing more if you don't…...seriously I will hold this story hostage if you don't and I won't let you see it again if you don't pay the ransom. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. also I do believe we will be seeing a Spec ops: The line crossover with GATE if any of you are into that.
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Review responses go here
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"Thought's."
"Speech."
"GATE language."
Noble six SPARTAN B312 aka Jason stood on the cliff, looking at the Pillar of Autumn slowly disappear into the clouds. His shotgun slung over his shoulder as he watched Reach burn in front of him, the flames of the hundreds of fires burning in the field in front of him reflecting off of his grey visor as he watched.
"This is the way the world end's huh." Jason B312 thought to himself as he watched the Covenant burn the world, Jorge's dog tags still wrapped around his wrist as he slung his shot gun onto his back, the magnetic holster clicking it into place as he held his assault rifle in his right hand as he walked, glass and rubble crumbling under his boots as he walked. Explosions rocked through the surface of Reach as Jason walked up the metal stairs towards the top of the man made plateau.
"Might as well head to the remains of Sword base, there might be something left there maybe a shuttle to get off this rock." He thought to himself as he walked along, looking for a vehicle he could use to make it back to base. Most of what he found was either missing parts that he could not replace or was completely destroyed by covenant plasma fire, stepping over the bodies of dead marines and ODST's who had failed to make it to the Pillar Of Autumn on time, they had fought to the bitter end which Jason could respect, they had fought like Spartan's refusing to give any ground until they were cut down by the covenant forces, they had given their lives to make sure the Autumn made it off planet and further the cause of humanity.
finding an abandoned troop-transport warthog that had received only a bit of plasma fire from the covenant forces and reaching in Jason turned on the engine. Checking to see if it had died or not, his efforts were rewarded by the warthogs lights lighting up and the engine letting out a deep purr as the hydrogen engine powered the slightly damaged vehicle. Smiling a bit under his helmet Jason hoisted himself and his one ton armor up into the burnt out driver seat, he pressed down on the brake and pedal slightly to rev the engine slightly, the jerking forward slightly as it tried to take off into the wall in front of it, satisfied that the transport would not die out on him Jason backed up the vehicle before making his way onto the dirt road out of the shipyard, dust being kicked up by the vehicle's tires behind him as he drove down the ruined highway to the remnants of Sword base, the Warthog's suspension taking the force of the jumps as he made his way to the base. The Warthogs engine letting out a high pitch whine as it made its way down the desert road as in the background covenant ships blasted the landscape with high intensity plasma beams, effectively turning the surface to glass as the remains of the road seemed to crumble and crack under the weight as a thought entered Jason's head. He knew that many marines and civilians had not made it off planet, they would be leaderless and scrambling around for a way to get off this burning rock. 'You could save them.' A small voice in the back off his mind said as Jason visibly shook his head.
It would be a major breach of the UNSC command structure which was the doctrine that Jason had lived with almost his whole life and breaching it would most likely lead to a severe penalty or at the very worst a dishonorable discharge from the UNSC. Jason felt conflicted as he drove along the long empty road in front of him, the Warthogs suspension bouncing once again as he drove over a blast crater. His mind finally made up Jason reached down and turned on the Warthog's transmitter he began to broadcast a message on long range as he drove, picking it up as he pressed the button on the side of the device. "This is Spartan B312 to any and all remaining UNSC forces left on the planet Reach, I am taking command of the remaining forces left on planet, any remaining marines report to surface grid nineteen by twenty-two sector one authorization code Papa-Delta five five niner two, this message shall repeat."
Jason sat back in the Warthog as the message played over the radio, feeling satisfied as he heard marine squads radio back in the affirmative as he continued to drive along the highway towards sword base. Passing by burnt out Scorpion tanks, Warthogs and civilian vehicles as he made his way towards the ONI base, scattered weapons and dead bodies littered the landscape as he got closer, it was the remainders of the marines who tried to defend the base from the covenant before they took it over they had protected the ONI spooks as the evacuated the planet.
"HEY WAIT STOP!" Jason was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard a voice yell at him, looking over in the direction of the voice as the warthog came to a screeching hault. He saw a squad of 5 ODST's waving their arms, their black armor contrasting with the burnt landscape, the trooper who had called was carrying an MA37 assault rifle as he walked towards the Spartan's Warthog.
"Was that your radio broadcast Lieutenant." Jason nodded as he looked at the lead ODST as he cut the engine to save the Warthog's fuel reserves as he looked over the squad at the side of the road "Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, Alpha-nine, we heard you over the radio and were heading to Sword base." The Gunnery Sergeant rambled on as he looked at Jason before slowly walking up to the Warthog as he took his helmet off. "Mind if we catch a ride Spartan?"
Jason nodded before pointing at the passenger seats of the Warthog "Mount up Gunnery Sergeant Buck we are getting out of here." Jason said as he pointed to the back seats of the warthog, the ODST nodded as he motioned for his squad to get in, they all seemed to groan as they leaned back on their seats as Jason turned the Warthog back on, revving the engine before speeding off down the highway again as the troopers began scanning their surroundings as they sped by the Warthog, looking for any hostiles that might try to pick them off before they reached the relative safety of the ONI base.
"Where's the rest of your squad lieutenant." Buck asked as he looked over at Jason, his assault rifle in his lap as he leaned back in the seat of the warthog, his helmet in his lap as he rubbed the top of his head his eyes sunken in as he looked into the distance, watching the light show of plasma.
"Dead Sergeant, I'm the last Spartan I know of on this planet." replied Jason as he kept his eyes locked on the road ahead, they were about 10 kilometers away from sword base. Jason pressed the warthog's peddle to the floor trying speed it up as the world burned around them, the sight of crumbling structures and burning hulks of frigates in the distance reminding the Spartan and ODST's that they were on borrowed time today as they sped towards their last hope of survival, the radio in the Warthog continuing the repeat Jason's message as marine squads continued to radio back.
"you're the only thing standing between the marines on this planet and a grizzly death, huh?" Dutch mumbled from the back as the tired squad caught their breath, the ODST setting his spartan laser down as he looked up at the sky, mumbling some sort of prayer as they sped along.
Running into a few Warthogs packed full of marines as they sped along the highway, soon they had a small convoy of four warthogs as they got closer and closer to ONI Sword base, the smoke caused by the explosive the ODST's used could be seen as they got closer and Jason could only hope that some of the base was still intact.
They reached sword and were met by a lot of dead elites and grunts as they entered it, the doors to the base turning green as they recognized the UNSC ID tags that were embedded in their bodies, the base was still burning in places as they drove into the still intact underground motor pool, Jason exiting his Warthog as the rest of the convoy joined them inside their makeshift bunker for the time being, locking the doors behind them but leaving the smaller doors unlocked for any marine squads that wished to join them Jason finally looked around he was greeted by by several squads of marines and even police officers that had managed to survive the invasion and make it here either on foot or by vehicle, they were a sad bunch all of them were covered in dust and most were wounded in some way. but all of them looked to the Spartan as he walked towards them a mixture of hope and determination to survive still deep in their eyes as those who could got up from what they were doing and saluted as he walked past, looking over the men he had assembled, a couple of them were gathered around a terminal trying to make it open the door to the base itself. He walked over to the console, the men letting him through as Jason entered his access code, the door beeped before unsealing the magnetic locks that held it in place.
"Welcome Noble six." the console said as the door opened in front of him, red emergency lights dotting the hallway in front of him.
"Good to see your still active DOT." Jason smiled under his visor as he walked into the base glad to see Noble teams dumb A.I. hadn't been purged by the ONI spooks just yet, His MA37 at the ready as he motioned for the marines to follow him before turning on his helmet spotlamp, the emergency lights of the base illuminating them in a red glow as they made their way through the remnants of sword base, only the heavy breathing of a few injured marines and the repetitive thumping of covenant glassing plasma beams could be heard as they made their way through the bases sub level tunnels, passing by several collapsed tunnels as they made their way to the backup command center of the base.
Jason held up his hand, halting the men in their tracks as they made it, to the door of the backup command center, entering his access code into the panel next to it Jason was happy to see the blast door begin to open for him, inside was a wreck panels were burnt and falling off, computers were cracked and smashed, bodies littered the ground as he stepped over the corpse of an ONI officer, the marines following close behind as they shined their flashlights every which way, checking for remaining covenant forces, moving towards the center of the room, Jason held out his palm on a slightly cracked screen. The generators in the lower portion of the base sparked with life as the lights that weren't damaged slowly flickered on, allowing the marines to see better as Jason turned around and looked over them.
Looking over the men Jason couldn't help but sigh, they only had about 10 understrength squads inside the base right now and the wounded would need to be moved inside for medical treatment. They were far from an effective fighting force and if they needed to push back an attack, they would lose unless they employed guerilla tactics. Still the base's comm system might still be operational and with that type of range they might be able to pull in and save more people. "Alright I want to split us into two groups, group alpha you are in charge of getting the comm system back online and getting our message to as many people still out there as possible, group bravo you are in charge of gathering as much supplies as well as guiding the wounded and newcomers inside, Tools, Food, Weapons anything is useful." Jason explained, slinging his rifle over his shoulder as he tapped the side of his helmet signaling DOT. "DOT give these marines access to anything they need."
"Of course noble six, be advised though the lower levels are controlled by another Smart A.I. so you will have to ask her to give you acesse." DOT said in his usual monotone voice.
"Very well DOT i'll deal with it." Jason sighed as he looked back to the marine's "Alright Gunnery Sergeant Buck, you are in charge until I get back but I want the Rookie and Mickey with me." Jason said as he motioned for the other two to follow him. "And get the cops in marine uniforms, they are officially drafted into the marines," Buck nodded to the spartan before leading the marine's to the comm room and armory of Sword Base.
The two ODST's that Jason had requested join him stood in front of him now, giving him a salute. Jason nodded as he motioned for them to follow, the two troopers taking out their M7 submachine guns as they took up Jason's rear. The Spartan uncoupled his MA37 from the magnetic holster on his back as they fire team made their way towards the elevator, the metal letting out a groan as Jason stepped in the Rookie and Mickey following close behind as he pressed the button for the bottom floor, the elevator protested before slowly lowering the three men down to the lower floor, the elevators doors grinding open as the two ODST's moved out of the elevator, turning on their VISIR's as Jason did the same.
They walked through the dark hallways of the Sword base Sub-level their feet crushing the broken glass and plastic that littered the floor, wires were hanging from the ceiling some of them sparking as they made their way through passing several scientists bodies as Jason made his way to his goal, checking each corner as they came up to a locked blast door, Jason enter his code into the panel but the door still refused to budge as they stood in front of it. Jason motioned for the Rookie and Mickey to cover him as he began to work on the console. "Unknown A.I. this is Spartan B312 please acknowledge." The two ODST's continued scanning the hallways behind them, their Su
"Unkown, I'm hurt you don't know me Noble Six." A female voice said with a giggle as a holographic image of a woman decked out in UNSC ODST scout armor, her hands on her hips as she looked up at the Spartan.
"You know it's rude to stare at a girl like that." The A.I. giggled lightly, her avatar lighting up as she smiled at him. "Name's Rose-144534 UNSC Smart A.I. and what do you required my knight in shining armor." Rose said with another giggle, smiling up at Jason as she winked at him.
"Rose, I need access to the lower levels and then i need you to transfer into a chip." Jason said in a serious tone as he looked at the A.I. slightly annoyed with her behaviour given their current situation.
"Ohhhhh serious guy, very well lower levels are unlocked for you and your marine's and the chip is in the slot of this console, yank me." she said with a smile as she stuck her virtual tongue out at Jason. before he took out her chip, reaching to the back of his helmet he inserted the A.I. data chip into his helmet. letting out a grunt as he tasted copper in his mouth as the A.I. accessed his neural interface, his HUD flickering red as his vitals peaked before returning to normal levels as the A.I. fully integrated with his suits systems.
"Hehe, you got a lot of stuff in here big guy maybe you should see someone." The spartan slapped the back of his helmet as she said that.
"Ok, ok shutting up now." she said with a giggle before going silent, leaving Jason feeling conflicted on whether he should allow her to access his interface or not. "Awwww now that's not fair." She pouted as her avatar showed up on his HUD.
Jason couldn't help but grin as he walked along, his face concealed by his helmet as he motioned for the other two to follow again. Jason and the two ODST's making their way through the lower levels of Sword base, towards his next goal.
"It's got to be here somewhere I hope it didn't collapse." Jason thought as he clutched his assault rifle in his hands, making sure to check his corners as he and the ODST's made their way through the base. Jason motion for them to stop as they came to a heavy door, with the words DOT core written on the top of the door.
Jason kicked the door twice, before slamming his entire weight into the door, the metal screeching as the door fell down. revealing a room filled with monitors and keyboards, most of them smash except for one lone core and a holotube.
"What is this place sir." Mickey asked as they walked through the room to the holotube at the end of room, the trooper visibly flinching as sparks went off close by.
"This is DOT, Noble teams A.I." Explained Jason as he began fiddling with the console, motioning for the two troopers to guard the door as he worked.
"So what are we doing here." Mickey asked again as he pointed his gun at the door, the room lighting up with more sparks as Jason continued working before being rewarded with a burst of life from the computer in front of them.
"We are making sure the covenant don't find her." Jason replied as he finished the download before yanking her chip out, clipping it to his dog tags as he took his MA37 off his back.
"Noble six." A voice came over Jason's helmet radio, recognizing the voice as Gunnery Sergeant Buck Jason tapped the side of his helmet as he replied. "Go ahead Gunnery Sergeant."
"You better come up here we got something on comms."
Jason motioned for the two ODST's to follow him back upstairs, the elevator letting out a few more groans as it took the weight of a spartan and two ODST's. Stepping out of the elevator Jason was met by Buck and two other marines, they saluted to him. "What's going on Sergeant." Jason asked as he motioned for them to be at ease, the two men resuming their duties as Buck stood in front of the Spartan his hands clasped behind his back as Mickey and the Rookie went off the help get the base operational.
"We got a distress signal over what remains of our comm net sir it's patchy as hell but you better hear it." Buck said as he lead Jason to the comm room, they passed by injured marines lying in the hallway, their injuries covered with bandages as they rested the base still shaking as the world above was glassed, they arrived at the comm room were two comm officers were working on the radio
The two men moved out of the way as Buck and Jason walked up to the radio "The signal is on channel, 56.89 it's the UNSC backup channel." Said Buck as he handed the radio mic to Jason, the Spartan took the small device and tuned the radio to the correct channel, the radio letting out some static but in the background one could here the small echo of a man's voice. "Let's clean this up." Jason said as the comm officers went to work fiddling with the device the message slowly but surely coming in with less static as they did their jobs, before moving out of the way as the message came in.
"This is Colonel Marcus Taylor to Noble Six, my platoon and I are hold up in a fallout shelter outside of New Alexandria, if you're hearing this we are in need of immediate assistance we have civilians with us." The transmission repeated as Jason put the radio down, the message repeating as a plan began to form in his head. "Anyone know the status of the city." Jason asked the marines in the room. "Completely destroyed sir, the covvies blasted it into sand in the first wave of glassing." said a marine sitting in the corner, his arm bandaged up as he looked at the Spartan.
"Gunnery Sergeant how many squads have shown up so far." Jason asked as he looked forward a plan slowly forming in his mind.
"About 12 sir, marines, some ODST's and a few police officers." The Gunnery Sergeant reported as he looked at the Spartan, his helmet held under his arm as he spoke.
"Any vehicles left." Jason asked as his plan became more and more clear in his mind's eye.
"4 Pelicans, 5 Falcons, 2 tanks and some warthogs sir." The Gunnery Sergeant replied as he set his helmet down. "Wait you're not thinking?"
Jason nodded.
Buck sighed before laughing half heartedly. "Well let it never be said that you Spartan aren't an insane bunch."
"Alright Gunnery Sergeant, I'm taking your squad and two pelicans, you're in charge while I'm gone, anyone else shows up you get them organized." Jason ordered as he walked out of the room the trooper giving him a mock salute as he sat down before adding "I'll contact you over the comm if we find anything else as Jason motioned for Mickey, Dutch, Romeo and the Rookie who had been waiting outside for orders to follow him as he made his way to the intact hangar bay, the soldiers following him silently as they walked past the bodies of the fallen soldiers who had died defending the base when it was first attacked, their bodies mangled from the attack the smell of plasma burnt flesh could still be smelled wafting through the air as they walked through the hall in silence the groans of the injured reminding them of why they needed to get off this planet. Jason put his hand on the door scanner to the hanger, the computer letting out an affirmative beep as the heavy doors opened to reveal the pelicans.
"Alright Mickey take that pelican, the Rookie, Romeo and Dutch will take a falcon and give us covering fire, I'll be in the second pelican." Jason ordered as he began walking towards his pelican, his boots crunching against the concrete floor of the hangar bay, jumping up into the pelican as the troopers made their way to their respective vehicles.
"Rules of engagement, Sir." Dutch asked as he jumped onto the falcons turret, pulling back the large machine guns bolt as he sat in the gunner seat. Romeo sitting in the other gunner seat as he chuckled. "You even need to ask Dutch."
"Keep the civilians out of harm's way and shoot anything not human." Jason responded ignoring the troopers comment as he entered the pelican, linking his comm with the ODST squad as he sat down in the pilot's chair. The pelican coughed a bit as it started up, the engine's letting out a groan as Jason brought it into a take off position, the hangar bays reinforced titanium A doors grinding open as sand began blasting into the large room.
"Sword Base tower this is Noble Six, ready for take off, over." Jason said as he waited for the affirmative from the marine in the hangars control tower, flipping the engines into the takeoff position as the ODST's did the same.
"Affirmative Noble Six, Happy hunting and bring our boys back sir." The tower officer replied as the take off light turned green.
"Let's give em some." Romeo yelled over the comms as the falcon lifted off beside the two pelicans.
Jason lifted the pelican off the ground as the hangar bay doors opened and he flew out of the base, Mickey was on his six with Dutch not far behind in the flacon. They flew low to the ground to avoid detection from covenant forces as Jason gunned the engines, the air around the pelican letting out a crack as it went super sonic.
"Mickey, you know the canyon near by." Jason asked over the comm as he banked his pelican towards the mountains as he slowed down, the vertical jets stabilized the craft before rocketing off towards the shortcut Jason was thinking about.
"Oddball canyon? Yeah I have heard of it, it's a deathtrap for pilots." Mickey replied, his tone turning a bit worried as he thought about what Jason seemed to be planning as the trooper continued to follow the Spartan, the falcon following close behind as they made their way to the canyon.
"You think you can make it through there corporal." Jason asked in a serious tone, making it clear that he was not joking as he continued to speed towards the canyon, looking down at Jorge's dog tags as he sped towards what could be his imminent demise.
"Y-yes sir." Mickey replied as he banked his pelican to follow Jason's, Dutch following them as they gunned it towards the canyon.
"Are you two insane, those rocks shred through armor." Dutch yelled over the comm, continuing to follow the two pelicans despite his objections.
"It's the only way we can make it in time before the covenant start glassing the rest of the planet." Jason said as he pushed his pelican to full throttle, the engines groaning in protest as the pelican shot forward towards the canyon's mouth, Jason had to react fast as they came to the first turn, jerking the controls to the left as the pelican skimmed the canyon walls, barely missing the razor sharp rock formations as Jason continued on at full throttle, jerking right as the ventral engines blasted the wall with heat preventing Jason from a sudden meeting with his maker as they continued onward through a straight away before making another sharp turn to the left as the canyon began to zigzag back and forth. The two pelicans banking hard at the next turn as the falcon followed them close behind, the three aircraft rocketing forwards as they tried to make it to the ruins of New Alexandria in time. The aircraft were groaning as they took turns they were not designed for, Jason's pelican was skimming along the canyon wall as they made their way through, having a few close calls as the troopers followed as close as they could. After hours of tight turns and near misses with rocks, the three aircraft came rocketing out of the canyon's mouth. Jason and the 4 other ODST's were greeted by a sight not many had ever seen or will see. New Alexandria was gone, from the smallest building to the largest tower the city was just gone, a smoking hulk of glass was all that remained of the capital city of Reach.
Jason couldn't help but look down at Jorge's dog tags again his friends home was burning before him and while he knew Jorge had not been born on Reach, he also knew the big man thought of the place as his one and only home and he gave everything to protect it, the regret filled his voice as Jason muttered. "I'm sorry Jorge." he pushed the feeling out of his head, focusing on the task at hand. they had to find that bunker.
"I don't think we are going to find them, sir." Romeo said over the comms, the sound of his voice hinting at his obvious shock at seeing the city gone as the trooper continued to scan the ground for covenant contacts.
"We are going to find them Romeo, the signal came from about 3 klicks north-east grid 11-18." Jason replied as he gunned his pelican to the source of the signal, the beeps from the tac-pad getting stronger as the approached the source of the signal, the glassed ruins of the once magnificent city passing by below them as they made their way towards the signal.
"Hey uhhhh Rose, how many people in New Alexandria alone?" Mickey asked as he stared as the glassed remains of the city.
The A.I. came over the comm as she responded, the usually joking tone to her voice was gone as she answered. "5.2 Million." The troopers stayed silent as they looked over the city.
"It's here." Jason said as he pulled his pelican in for a landing the engines kicking up a cloud of dust as Mickey landed beside his pelican, Jason killed the engine and walked out of the cockpit, through the blood tray and out the cargo door. "Alright squad, you stay here I'll check out the bunker." The ODST's nodded and spread out, securing the perimeter around the aircraft as Jason pulled his tac-pad off his hip, looking down at it as he pulled up the distress signal.
"Rose you there." Jason asked as he tapped the side of his helmet, but there was only silence as he stood there.
"Rose code 14553 acknowledge and respond." Jason sighed as he stood there, the ground crunching beneath the weight of his armor as he looked around, refusing to let his emotions
"Yes Noble Six what is it." The A.I. responded in a annoyed tone, the image of her standing and her arms crossed flashing in Jason's mind as he began walking.
"I need you to pinpoint the source of this signal." Jason said as he walked, MA37 rifle in his other hand.
"HA, child's play. Ok the entrance to the bunker should be about two meters forwards and 5 meters to your left." A blue diamond appeared on the military tablet as he began walking towards it. Glass crunching beneath his boots as he walks towards the point, stopping as he reaches the waypoint, before taking out his combat knife and stabbing the glass covered ground and was rewarded with the sound of metal hitting the knife blade. "Dutch, give me your shovel." The trooper walked over and handed his small standard issue shovel to the Spartan. Jason began to dig, and after around one foot he saw the hatch, setting down the shovel the Spartan slammed his fist into the hatch breaking through it with his augmented strength. The door hitting the concrete floor with a resounding clang as Jason began to go down the ladder inside. The bunker inside was a simple staircase with a blast door at the end, his rifle at the ready as he walked forwards entering his code into the pad on the door he grunted as the red light blinked, denying him access. Letting out another grunt Jason slammed his fist against the door, before reeling back and throwing his entire weight into a body slam against the door. the heavy metal began to give way as he slammed his weight against the door again and again. the door gave a heavy screech as it gave way under his armor, Jason let out a grunt as he fell with the door, landing on his shoulder.
His armor taking the impact Jason stood up fast only to be greeted by MA37 assault rifles and mounted machine guns pointed at his head by marines and police officers alike. "Stand down!." A voice yelled from behind the group of frightened marines. a tall man coming to the front of the group carrying a M6G pistol, his grey hair and hard expression standing out among the frightened marines and police officers, Jason knew this man was one to be respected if the scar that ran down the side of his face was anything to go by.
"Noble Six?" The man who Jason assumed was Colonel Miller asked as Jason nodded before continuing. "Colonel Miller, I understand you have taken personal command of the remaining UNSC forces on Reach."
"Yes, sir." Jason nodded.
"And you know that this is a major breach of the chain of command Spartan." The Colonel continued as Jason flinched, the movement was barely noticeable as Jason spoke again. "Yes sir I understand, but I am just trying to get as many as I can off this planet, so will you help me sir."
The Colonel seemed to chuckle as he looked back at his marines. "Don't worry kid, I ain't that attached to the doctrine, I won't get in your way." He said to Jason before speaking to his marines. "Alright Marines, we are leaving pack up as much as you can, weapons and ammo are going to be the key to our survival out there, any questions." The Colonel paused for a second before continuing, motioning at Jason as he spoke "This is Noble Six, he is our commanding officer now and you are to follow his orders to the letter. AM I UNDERSTOOD!" Miller yelled the last part of the sentence, getting a resounding "Yes sir!" from the marines assembled in front of them, Miller looked at Jason. "Please tell me you got a fast way out of here."
"Yes sir, I have a squad up top and some pelicans to take you and your men to sword base." Jason explained as he stood rock still, his MA37 assault rifle at his side.
"Dispense with the formalities lieutenant you're in charge here and as far as I'm concerned you would outrank me, so what's your plan?" Miller said as he motioned for the marines to stand down.
"Get the civilians into the pelican first and then the marines, then find a way off reach." Jason replied. "I have a few theories about where we can find a ship."
"Good plan." The Colonel replied as he turned to the marines and civilians. "I'm trusting you with my men Spartan, now don't let me down." Miller said before rubbing the top of his head.
"You take it from here noble." Miller said as he stepped into the line of marines, standing at attention in front of Jason as he looked over the marines and civilians, hope seemed to gleam for the first time in their eyes as they stood in front of him.
"Alright, I want 3 groups of civilians and two marines for each, the rest of you gather your equipment and load it onto the second pelican." Noble said as the marines nodded to him.
"Sir Yes, Sir." they all said as they began organizing the civilians into their separate groups, the other marines began packing up the machine guns and other heavy weapons for transport. The wounded marines who could no longer fight were grouped in with the civilians.
"We have about 50 civilians Noble, it's gonna be tight." Miller said as he approached the Spartan, his uniform in tatters from the weeks of combat they had gone through, as he hefted a M392 DMR on his shoulder with one hand as he spoke.
Jason nodded as they packed up shop, the civilians began to file out one group at a time to the pelicans as Jason helped the marines carry their heavy weapons. Loading the weapons into the pelicans compartments as the civilians packed themselves in tightly. Grunting as they loaded the last machine gun onto the pelican before shutting the compartment. "Ok marines get in, we are leaving."
The marines all nodded silently as they looked over the devastation of Reach some of them had tears in their eyes as they saw their home reduced to glass and ashes as Jason made his way to the pilot's seat as the last of the marines got in. "Everyone in." He called back as he prepared the pelican for takeoff.
"Yes sir." Replied Miller as he joined Jason in the Co-Pilots seat as they took off, leaving the burnt city behind them.
4 hours later….
It had taken careful planning but they managed to reach Sword base without being detected, the hangar bay quickly closing behind them as the civilians got out and were lead by some marines to the intact barracks.
Gunnery Sergeant Buck was there to meet Jason as he got out of the pelican, Colonel Miller beside him as they stepped off the ramp, the pelicans engines slowly powering down as they did.
"Sir." Buck saluted them both as they walked into the base proper, most of the bodies had been cleaned up and groups of marines walked passed him as they walked towards the backup command center. Jason was impressed with their ability to focus on one task without breaking down, the marines seemed to have settled into a routine of trying to get the base operational and get as many as they can to the base, some of them were even attempting to clear out the rubble in some of the tunnels to make room in case more people showed up, though in the back of his mind Jason doubted they would be able to fill the base that much but he allowed them to continue, knowing that the tasks they did kept their hopes up.
"Gunnery Sergeant, how many have shown up." Asked Jason as he made his way passed the injured marines that had been lined up for triage in the hallway, medics were treating as many of the wounded as they could.
"About 400 or give or take. Marines, ODST's and Local Militia mostly with a local cop here or there." The Gunnery Sergeant replied as he walked with the Colonel "Some have been coming in on falcons, warthogs, pelicans and in scorpion tanks so we have some heavy armor should the covenant find us in our little haven here."
"Quite a motley bunch of soldiers Gunnery Sergeant, good work." the Colonel said with a slight smile as he walked with the two soldiers.
"Thank you sir, I assume you will be taking command of the marines here, Sir." The Gunnery Sergeant said as they stopped in front of the door to their makeshift meeting room, it was really just a mess hall with a projector screen.
"No Gunnery Sergeant, Noble Six is in charge here I'm just one of you now." The Colonel said with a small chuckle as they made their way into the room, The ODST nodding as he sat down on one of the benches.
"So what's our current situation Gunnery Sergeant." Jason asked as he sat down on the bench, the metal creaking under his weight a bit as he looked over the Gunnery Sergeant.
"Well sir, I did some digging and I found an underground shipyard, strictly kept off the books so it might have something left for us to take out of here." Gunnery Sergeant Buck said as he leaned back on the bench, the project showing images of the shipyard.
"Those are classified ONI files you are accessing Gunnery Sergeant." A female voice said as Rose appeared on the table in front of them, looking very cross as she stared at the Gunnery Sergeant.
"Calm down Rose, Those files may save our life." Jason said as he "picked" her up in his hands, the A.I. looking at him angrily as she crossed her arms.
"The Man is right Rose, we need to get out of here no matter the cost." Miller said as he looked at the A.I. in Jason's hand.
"I could have you all thrown into the brig for what you're doing here Colonel, you are letting insurgents into a classified ONI base and accessing our files, when we get back to UNSC space ONI will have your jobs." The A.I. replied with venom in her voice as she pointed a finger at Miller.
"THAT'S ENOUGH ROSE!" Jason yelled as he slammed his fist into the table, leaving a large
dent that caused the A.I. to flinch a little.
"This is war and protocol be damned we are getting off this planet with every human soul we have." Jason said in a stern voice as he looked down at the A.I. even through his visor she could feel his eyes burning into her.
"We are all humans here Rose, protocol doesn't matter when so many lives are hanging on this information, we all need to work together to get through this." Miller said in a calm voice as the A.I. looked at him.
The A.I. nodded and disappeared from sight, leaving Jason, Miller and Buck alone to begin working out a plan.
"Ok we can't get the civilians to the ships, that's out of the question." Miller said as he looked at the distance between Sword Base and the Hidden shipyard, stroking his stubble as he thought to himself.
Jason began to form a plan in his head. "So what if we bring the ships to the civilian's, have them hide in the lower levels and we will have Rose and DOT pilot them back here, it will attract a lot of attention so we will need to move quickly and go into slipspace in orbit."
"Slipspace in orbit, isn't that dangerous." Buck said as he looked at the map in front of them, studying it closely as the building shook again, dust falling from the ceiling as the planet's tectonic plates rocked from the glassing.
"Only if the planet was inhabited, now we don't have to worry." Miller said as they felt the building shake again, the screams from the civilians coming down the hallway.
"If we are going to do this we better do it now, the covenant won't wait while we sit on our asses." Miller said as he stood up.
Jason nodded as he got up as well. "I'll go myself, DOT and Rose can pilot any ships we may find there." he said as he cocked his rifle.
Miller nodded."Buck and I will get everything ready and orientate any stragglers we find."
Jason nodded. "Get it done Miller."
Jason made his way out of the room, staggering slightly as the base was rocked by another quake and he couldn't help but thank ONI for making the sublevels of Sword base out of titanium A, walking towards the motorpool, Jason heard the screams of the civilians again as they were overwhelmed by their world collapsing around them, Several marines passed by Jason, each of them focused on gathering any materials they could find from the rest of the base.
Jason opened the door to the motorpool, finding two marines talking by a warthog as he walked towards them. "You know I still don't see why we have to call it a fucking warthog." Complained one marine as he leaned against the vehicle. "I mean it looks more like a big cat right."
The second marine looked annoyed as he spoke to the other man. "I said shut the fuck up griff and help me get this gear ready, the Colonel just said we are packing up shop."
"ehhh but still, I mean it looks like a cat to….." the marine never got to finish his sentence as Jason got into the vehicle, starting up the warthog rocketing out of the garage as he left one confused marine on the floor. Jason let out a grunt as it landed on the ground the motor pool doors closing behind him and sealing, speeding out of the Base and towards the Shipyards coordinates.
"well fuck, the sarge is going to be pissed, that one was his favorite." Said the marine who was still standing as he watched the warthog disappear.
12 hours later - ONI Shipyard Alpha Base.
Jason crawled forward on his belly, MA37 assault rifle in hand as he surveyed the entrance to the shipyard, watching for any covenant that could have found the entrance.
"Rose, any data on the shipyard." Jason asked as he looked through his built in bino's, the sounds of a plasma glassing beam could be heard in the background as he watched the entrance for a few more minutes, a layer of dust forming over his armor as he watched for movement.
"Negative Noble Six, Any other data on the shipyard was destroyed." The A.I. replied as Jason slowly began to crawl to the entrance, standing up only when he knew it was clear as he boots crunched against the rocks and sand on the ground before pressing his hand against the door console, he felt Rose move through his neural interface accessing the console and then a second later the door opened as an alarm sounded, seconds later to reveal guns.
"Not this again, mother fucker." Muttered Jason as he looked at the ONI marines in front of him. their weapons aimed at his head.
"Get in here Spartan, You have a lot of explaining to do." A female voice said from behind the marines. the source of the voice coming forward Jason was shocked to say the least.
"Dr. Halsey." He said in a neutral voice as he walked into the shipyard, the door closing behind him, the ONI marines still pointing their weapons at him as the Dr. stared at him.
"And what the hell do you think you're doing Spartan, accessing Classified ONI files and how the hell did you find this base." Halsey said as she stared at him with cold eyes and when he refused to answer she continued. "Did you atleast get the package to the Autumn?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Jason replied as he stared back at the Doctor unmoving as he let his eyes bore into her, he knew it would be a war of words and he did not want to kill the marines, but if they forced his hand he would respond with deadly force.
"Well, at least there is some good news." Halsey said, her voice softening a bit as she motion for the marines to stand down, the men lowered their weapons as Jason did with his but he kept his rifle clasped in his right hand.
"If you don't mind Ma'am I have soldiers hold up in the remains of sword base and civilians and I'm getting them out of here." Jason said as he began moving towards the hangar door. Halsey stepped in front of him before he could make it though looking at him coldly as she spoke. "you will do no such thing Spartan, their lives do not matter what matters is getting back to UNSC space now."
"I'm sorry ma'am but I have people counting on me and these ships are the only transport left on Reach." Jason said as he stepped past the Doctor opening the door and slowly stepping inside.
"Stop right there spartan, this is a direct order do not move." Halsey yelled as she motioned for the marines to get ready to fire on him. "You don't think I heard your little transmission, you are in direct violation of UNSC protocol soldier." She said as she crossed her arms.
Jason sighed as he looked back at the Doctor "It's the end of the world Ma'am protocol or not I'm getting my people out of here now are you and your marines coming or not."
Halsey looked at him coldly, her eyes staring into his as he stared back before she finally relented. "Jorge rubbed off on you it seems, whether that is good or bad I guess time will tell…...very well Noble six take the ships and save your "people" but you will get no protection from me when HIGHCOM finds out about this ." She said coldly nodding to the marines as they stood down again. "Follow him marines, I'll go get Jun." she said as she walked off into the base.
Jason smiled as he heard that name, happy to hear at least someone from Noble team was still alive. motioning for the marines to follow Jason walked into the hangar bay. "Alright what do we have here." Jason muttered as he looked over the three frigates in front of him one was a Charon-class light frigate named the Freelancer she wouldn't be good in a stand up fight, but she would be able to fit the most people on board, the other was a Paris-class heavy frigate named Grafton she would fair much better in a stand up fight and would be good if they needed to keep the covenant ships off the Freelancer and the last frigate was a Stalwart-class light frigate named Spirit Of Dusk she would be good for fitting any extra supplies that they couldn't pack on the Freelancer all in all Jason had to admit their luck had changed for the better for the first time in a few weeks.
"Noble six, do you copy over." Came a voice over the comm.
"I'm here Sergeant Buck."
"Please tell me you found something, sir." The Gunnery Sergeant replied his voice shaking slightly, hoping for good news.
"I found three ships Gunnery Sergeant, I want you ready as soon as I get there."
"Yes sir, I'll get the men organized." Replied the Gunnery Sergeant before cutting the comm link.
Walking towards the ships Six spoke again this time to the Smart A.I. is his helmet "Can you fly these things Rose." He asked the A.I. as he walked to the first frigate the loaded ramp extending as the marines began loading equipment onto the frigates, using forklifts and trucks to load what they couldn't carry themselves.
"Affirmative Noble, I should be able to handle two of them and I believe my counterpart will be able to fly the other." she said as she flashed an image of her grinning into Jason's head as he clasped DOT's A.I. Chip in his hand.
Jason couldn't help but smile as he and the marines made their way into the frigates. "alright men, this is a rescue opp." Jason explained as he stood on the loading ramp to the Freelancer, his rifle in hand as the marines assembled saluted before they split up into three teams per ship, Jason handed DOT's A.I. chip the the sergeant in charge of the Dusk.
"Plug her in when you get on, she'll fly the ship for you." Jason explained to the confused marine, who nodded and made his way towards the Grafton.
Jason and the other marines began to work fast, loading the Frigates with ammo and any weapons and vehicles they could find. It would be a tight fit with the marines in sword base and the civvies but Jason was sure they could all make it off this rock in one piece. They were soon joined by Dr. Halsey and Jun, the second surviving member of Noble team smiled at Jason and saluted him. before going to help Hasely get situated on the ship. The ammo for the point defense guns were loaded to the maximum, they were carrying as many vehicles as they could find and crates were stacked high in both the cargo holds of the Spirit Of Dusk and the Grafton. There was an air of urgency amongst the marines as they worked on loading the frigates, many of them had the look of hard determination on their faces, Jason smirked a bit knowing that they would need that determination and courage for the next part of his plan to get them off Reach, he walked towards the bridge, passing by more than a few marines coming from one of the ships many small storage areas as they went back out into the hangar bay for more supplies, they seemed to be taking anything and everything that wasn't bolted to the ground as they rushed to beat time itself. A few of them were carrying medical crates, while others stacked the ships armories high with weapons and ammo, the galley was overstocked with food and what couldn't fit in their was put into the storage area, most of the military rations were dried anyway so there was no chance of it going bad anytime soon, slowly but surely making his way to the frigates bridge Jason was happy to see a few marines working on the terminals, prepping the Freelancer for take off as Jason reached to the back of his helmet, pulling the A.I. chip out of his neural interface before plugging it into the holotube beside him, the frigate rocked a bit as hatches were closed, hangar bay doors were sealed and cargo bay doors were locked behind their blast doors. Jason couldn't help but smile as he took off his helmet, revealing his blue eyes, pale face and black hair to the world as he sat down in the Captains chair, his fingers sinking into the hard leather as he leaned back surprised it was able to take his weight as the other two frigates prepared for lift off.
"all stations report ready Noble six." Rose said as the last hatch closed smiling at the spartan from her holotube. Her avatar glowing bright as the ship's engines started up, letting out a deep hum as the nuclear fusion reactors were brought to life, the hangar bay doors grinding open as the dust from the newly created dester was let inside, coating the frigates in a lay of sand as they began final take off procedures.
"The is Grafton reporting all green and the Dusk is also reporting all systems ready." Rose said as she clasped her virtual hands behind her back. "You look good in the Captain's chair Noble." She said with a giggle as the frigate began to take off, shaking the dust from it's grey hull as the fusion engines pushed her forward.
Jason grunted as they took off, pressing the comm button on the chair. "All hands prepare for slipspace." He said as the ship's drive began spinning up, opening a portal in front of them the three ships entered it as fast as they could, the Freelancer went first, the Grafton was second and the Dusk was last as the portal closed behind the three ships, sending out an EMP burst that covered more than a few kilometers of glassed land in hawking radiation, the covenant would take notice of the slipspace rupture, they would need to act fast now because the hiding was over. Jason felt the ship lurch forward, holding onto his seat as the frigate appeared above Sword base he almost swore he heard the marines letting out cheers on the ground through the armored hull as they watched their hopes appear from the portal over the ONI base. Marines were waving their arms up at them as the Freelancer and Dusk landed on the deserted strip of land outside of Sword base, it was a race against the clock now.
"Rose, tell the Grafton to stay in the air and provide cover fire incase any covenant decide to show up." Jason ordered as he got up from his chair, sealing his helmet to the rest of his armor.
"Yes sir."
"Alright people let's move, we got a bunch of civilians that need to get on board ASAP as well as supplies, I want this done before the covenant notice what's going on here, now move it!" Jason ordered.
"Yes sir." The marines said before getting to work at a frantic pace, this would all be over if they were discovered before they could get everyone on.
Jason made his way outside as the marines worked, his boots thumping against the floor as he made his way outside of the Freelancer and into the winds of Reach as he walked down the loading ramp, passing by frightened civilians as their marine guards led them onto the frigate, some of them looked close to tears as for the first time in the weeks since Reach was attacked they had a glimmer of hope for survival. Many of them began thanking Jason as he walked past them and he replied with. "It's my duty." Before stepping off the ramp, the whine of pelican engines and the repetitive thumping of falcon engines could be heard over the wind as the marines loaded all that they had scavenged onto the Frigates, Jason was even surprised to see two longsword fighter craft appear from Sword base and land in the Dusk's hangar bays, a few pelicans flew upwards towards the Grafton as she circled around the base, landing in the Paris-class frigates hangar bays as the marines on the ground continued to load the ground vehicles into the Charon and Stalwart-class frigates.
Jason spotted Buck directing civilian traffic with another marine, walking over to him. The sound of his boots against the ground alerting the Gunnery Sergeant to his presence. "How many have made it Sergeant?"
Buck sighed. "around 4, 000 civilians and 8,500 marines, more than I had hoped for but less than I wanted." Buck sighed again. "It just feels like we are leaving more people behind."
"It can't be help Gunnery Sergeant, the covenant could be on top of us any minute, we need to leave as soon as everyone is onboard."
Buck nodded before saluting. "Yes sir."
Jason continued to watch as the marines guided the civilians to the ships, the wind picking up as the glassing of the planet continued, it would take the covenant weeks to cover the whole planet in glass, maybe more but when they were done Sword base and any structure still left standing would be wiped out in an instant. Watching as the small hangar bay doors of the Freelancer finally sealed on both sides of the ship, it was stocked to the brim with pelicans and longsword fighters as many as she could carry as the last of the warthogs were loaded on, the cargo elevator finally retracting upwards before locking in place, he spotted Colonel Miller helping the marines load the last of the ammo into the Dusk the man nodded at him with a grin letting him know he did a good job silently before continuing his work as the last of the civvies boarded.
"We have finished loading all the civilians, equipment and supplies Noble six." Rose said over the comm as he looked over the remains of Sword base, before turning and heading up the loading ramp with the remaining marines.
"All systems green Noble six, we are at the maximum weight for a vessel of this size to break atmo." Rose reported as the last of the marines joined them on the ship with Jason the exit sealing behind them as the proximity alarm suddenly went off.
"Rose get us out of here!" Jason yelled over the comm as what he feared would happen slowly approached them.
"Noble six, incoming Covenant Corvette may I recommend an immediate slipspace jump." DOT said in her usual monotone voice as the ship's alarm blared throughout the hallways as Jason began sprinting towards the bridge at full speed.
"Roger that DOT see if you can keep us covered with the Grafton, Punch it rose." Jason ordered as he ran, the ship's nuclear fusion engines powering up one more time as the Freelancer began her take off sequence, the frigate slowly lifting off the ground as the engines fired up the Dusk was not far behind.
"Get us into slipspace Rose, DOT follow us in." Jason ordered, they had just alerted every covenant fighter in the area to their presence, they needed to leave Reach now if they didn't then all of them would die and then all they had done would be for nothing, the ship moved forward through the atmosphere towards the black and blue portal that was opening up in front of it.
"Destination Noble six." Rose asked as the slipspace portal fully opened in front of the three frigates as they entered, the Freelancer going in first as the other two followed close behind, the Grafton's 50mm point defense guns pouring ammo into the corvette as they made their escape.
"Anywhere but here, jump blind." Jason ordered his voice turning a bit frantic as the proximity alarms began to blare, the engines blasting them forward as the ship began to enter the portal in front of them, they were so close to escaping now.
"Come on, Come on." He muttered as he finally made it to the bridge, taking a seat in the Captains's chair as they were halfway in the portal.
"Roger that Noble, Executing jump in 5….4….3...2..1, jump." The world turned white for Jason as the Freelancer, Grafton and Dusk entered the portal, narrowly avoiding the plasma torpedo's the covenant ships had launched.
So good bad, you decide. Also anyone here notice in Halo: CE the longsword are god damn huge.
