For the first time since entering into Noble Team, Six felt alone. Dust caked his visor and was whipped around all sides of him as the Pillar of Autumn disappeared into space. The last sounds of rocket engines reverberated through the air and rang in his ears until all that remained was silence and sand. Comm was down. His HUD displayed no objective. No names or call signs filled the lower left portion of his Visor. Carter, Kat, Jun, Jorge, Emile, all dead and gone. He loosened his grip on the assault rifle and took a slow, deep breath. So this was Reach. Banshees could be seen in the distance, purple gleams and splotches of color against the dismal gray of a charred world. Fires were burning from crash sites miles away, remains of once great battle cruisers that were now scattered like leaves in the fall. The moment felt all too surreal for Six, and he suppressed a shudder. Was this the end? Yes, he felt sure of it.
As the dust cleared around him he began to make out the figures of fallen soldiers in the dirt, Covenant and human. They were scattered nonchalantly like toys in a children's playroom, an Elite here, marines over there. Six looked further and could see the canyon below him. The plateau he stood on stretched and descended for about 100 yards, then abruptly ended at a sheer cliff edge that over looked hell. Six shook his head looked back at the bodies. He was able to make out at least three other Spartans; none that he had known. It didn't matter now, Six thought. He would be joining them soon. Spartans never die… The words felt as though they were spoken to him only moments ago. Halsey's soft, whispering tone drifted across him like the dust that now picked up and flowed over his armor. The death surrounding him momentarily slipped away as Six reminisced. How long ago had he stepped out of that UNSC Warthog? How long ago had he been nothing but a replacement, a prosthetic to Noble Team? Where had the time gone between being nothing, and suddenly encapsulating all that Noble Team was? Six had no answers, and now he stood alone, the single living reminder that Noble Team had ever existed. Weight dragged his shoulders and exhaustion washed over his body. As his eyelids began to shut, each Noble's death began to play through his mind. Jorge on the Corvette, that last man to man before inevitable death; Kat in the blink of an eye, gone before anyone….
Six was caught in euphoria and barley noticed the familiar, high pitched sound that began to fill his ears. It slowly built up until suddenly Six was deafened by the whining hum of the Phantom's large engines. His trance broke and his gaze shifted towards the bright, bulging, purple drop ship. It hovered momentarily about 70 yards away from Six before deciding to descend towards his location. Six's face contorted itself in rage. The filthy, uncompromising, and unthinking ruthlessness of the Covenant! Would it ever end? As Covenant began to pour out, more drop ships took notice and followed suit. Six's gaze shifted across the horizon, and he was able to count at least 37 tangos on foot and closing in. Fine, he thought.
Training kicked in and he semi consciously reloaded his weapon. The bastards can't be reasoned with…fine. He slid his pistol out and loaded the weapon. They think we won't fight to the last man? They're mistaken. He raised the pistol and squeezed off three shots into three jackals. Each dropped to the dirt and he grinned. If anything, Reach would be the worst mistake the Covenant had ever made. Six wheeled around towards a group of grunts and unloaded on them. An Elite roared and Six lobbed a grenade in the direction of the sound. He turned to face another and managed to empty an entire clip into it before a plasma beam struck his chest. Six grimaced and backed up while reloading. This was not the end. Six checked his shields and saw the depleted battery sign. Humanity would never surrender while still breathing. Six quickly dodged more fire and ducked behind a UNSC Ammo Crate to take a breather. He noticed cracks appearing in his visor and swore. Reach was not meant to be humanity's last stand, but for Six, this was end. Grabbing a shotgun, He fired at the Covenant until the trigger clicked, and then heaved it at a Grunt. More plasma burst across his armor and knocked him to the dirt. With a final burst of energy, Six dove towards a locked turret. Squinting through sweat he grasped the handles and ripped the machine gun off the tripod. The only way I'll die, thought Six, is by drowning in alien blood. Six smiled and leaped outward.