Event 1: Halcyon Days Gone


"Alright, pass down the last one," said Maxwell, Spartan-A257 over the comms. He was hanging over and under a reinforced catwalk of sorts, thick cables attached to hard-points on his GUNGNIR armor. Up above and out of sight, his other five team members prepared a large pipe with similar wires and started lowering it.

"Wanna remind me why we can't use machinery here!?" said Jak, Spartan-B121. He, like everyone else, had a death-grip on a cable and was slowly letting it slip out of his grasp to lower it.

"It's not 'cause the power's out or anything, Jak," said Halt, Spartan-A138.

Below, Maxwell swung up some momentum, grabbed the grate which the pipe would rest behind, and leveraged himself to grab the replacement.

"Left side a bit lower," he instructed, reaching out for it.

Tristan, Spartan-A316, growled in frustration. "Would you hurry up!? This thing isn't exactly light!"

"Ahh, quit complaining," said Spartan-B219, Gabriel. He was a bit taller than the others, and a fair measure stronger. As a Spartan, even a Spartan III, that was saying something.

"Got it! Get ready!" said Maxwell, starting to guide the pipe in. It had to make it into the gap, but not fall. Both required more of the cable.

"Ok, go!" yelled Maxwell, pulling hard. His team let the cable slide, letting him swing the pipe behind the grate, horizontal like it needed to be.

"Perfect! I'm disconnecting the cables," said Maxwell.

"We should check in as soon as we're done here," said Spartan-B314, Sean.

"Agreed. Eggheads might have busted something else," said Tristan.

"Wish something would bust them every once and a while," said Halt, stretching out his strained arms and back.

Maxwell pushed the pipe into place and started fixing the fist-sized screws. Inside the pipe were prearranged conductors which carried power to their current tunnel and the entire tram system that lead in and out of the dig site. All the screws in place, Maxwell kicked the pipe once, to see if it would move. Nothing.

"Alright, Sean, check power and check outside comms," said Max, bundling the cables he was attached to and climbing back up.

Sean, a Beta-company Spartan III, was the team's electrical and computer specialist. Not many Spartans knew their way around machines aside from driving them and using them for combat. Artifex team was comprised of rare Spartans with the training for fixing as well as breaking, and each of them had a specialized skill. Normally, Spartan III's were for nothing but combat. Here at ONI Sword Base, half-buried on Reach, Artifex team was a team of Spartans who fought cold, ice, and every tiny mechanical issue the local science teams could think up. Human engineering teams had suffered too many injuries and deaths to continue maintaining the base efficiently and safely, so Spartans had been called in out of sheer necessity.


"One, you're not gonna like this," said Sean, talking to Artifex 1, Maxwell.

"What now?" asked Maxwell, disconnecting the cables from his armor.

"Covenant," said Sean, as if that answered everything.

For the team, it did. No Covenant had been close to Sword Base. Apparently, that had changed since they'd lost and restored power to the tunnel.

"Damn it!" said Jak and Tristan, letting the rest of the team listen in stereo.

"Have we received any new orders?!" said Maxwell, throwing his cables into the service cart they'd been using.

"Nothing yet, other than standing orders. Noble's been dispatched," said Sean, his small, heavily reinforced laptop casting a glow on his Commando helmet's visor and up-armored cap.

"Noble? Didn't they just get a new team member?" asked Jak.

"They did. He's a pilot, like you, One."

"Yeah, that's all great, but do they expect us to hang out down here and splice wires until we light the Covies on fire while they do all the fighting?!" said Tristan.

"Hey, look on the bright side," said Gabriel, "If they come down here looking for anything at the dig site, we get to say 'hello.'"

"Pray that doesn't happen. Sean, keep an ear out, but pack it up. We gotta get moving," said Maxwell.

"Should we at least start carrying our weapons?" asked Halt.

"Depends on where we work down here. Do you want to be the one lugging around a case or weapons while we work, especially down at the base of the ruins?" asked Maxwell.

"If it means being ready, yes," answered Halt.

"Nah, if we got permission, I'd carry 'em," volunteered Gabriel.

"While I agree we should, I just don't like the idea of carrying weapons and ammo everywhere with us. If we work near the dig site and we lose that case, not only would we lose custom weapons and ammo, we'd get chewed up and spit out by the CO," explained Maxwell.

"So we leave the case somewhere close and safe. It locks, remember?" said Tristan.

Maxwell shook his head. He sighed into the comm and nodded.

"Let's get moving, then. We need to ask for permission before some new job comes up."


While the rest of the team returned the service cart, Maxwell split off after they exited the tram system and headed for the main research building. It took some explaining, but he got permission to pack up his team's gear in a lock-box and bring it with them in case of a surprise attack. If Sword Base was digging up fossils or resources, it probably wouldn't have worked. But a Forerunner structure was bound to draw Covenant attention sooner rather than later. Maxwell radioed his team to meet at the munitions building. He told them to bring a lock-box from the engineering building...

"Every time I see that thing I debate with myself if you're a genius or crazy," said Jak, staring at Halt's weapon.

"It is pretty stupid," said Halt, admiring it. "'Spartan Model 001, Azure Instant.'"

Halt held in his hands a frankensteined sniper rifle unlike anything the other Spartans had ever seen. Taking the idea of a rotating twin barrel from the M41 SSR MAV/AW, a modern rocket launcher, the SM001 had a barrel that handled normal 14.5mm rounds and high-power rounds like the SRS99 it was made from. The other barrel, currently on the bottom, was able to hold even larger bullets, and had to be connected to a Spartan's MJOLNIR armor just to have enough power to fire. By rotating the barrels, separate from the scope, trigger and stock, Halt could change from blowing holes in Sangheili armor to blowing holes in Phantom drop-ships. Halt had to order rounds custom for the larger barrel and chamber, since no other weapon used them. The first barrel was standard enough, but the second barrel was much longer. To carry the weapon, Halt had to place it dead center on his back's magnetic grips just to keep the longer barrel from hitting the floor.

"I like it," said Tristan. "That thing's got character, even if it does look like it'd make a better hammer than a sniper rifle. Plus, I've seen you practice with that thing. Gotta fix the walls when you're done on the range with that thing."

"Not even those damned Hunters appreciate this thing. Well, until they've got worm guts spraying from the front and back of their armor," said Halt, placing the rifle securely in the lock-box on the far right.

"You can keep your freak rifle," said Gabriel, walking over. "I'll keep my rocket launcher."

With that he secured his M41 and a few cases holding the rockets.

"You two are just overdoing it," said Jak, putting his MA37 Assault Rifle and M45 Tactical Shotgun in the lock-box. His ammo cases didn't even take up the space of one of Gabriel's.

"I think you all need to shut up!" said Tristan, laughing. He had spec-ops gear from working with ODSTs. Being one himself didn't help his ego, but he deserved it. He placed an M7S Suppressed SMG and an M6C/SOCOM silenced pistol and their ammo into the case.

Sean and Maxwell had standard issue stuff, just an MA37 and M6G Magnum sidearm. Sean had to worry about his laptop anyway, which he usually kept in a pack attached to the small of his back. Maxwell had a captured Kig-Yar arm-mounted shield unit. After hours of messing with the alien thing, he'd gotten it to interface with his armor's power system. He wouldn't risk anything more than charging the unit out of combat, however, since overuse might mess with his armor's standard shield system.


"Got anything Sean?" asked Maxwell, closing the lock-box and fitting it with a few durable straps. A service cart would be needed to carry it, or two Spartans.

"Just a few reports of shorts from melting ice, a ventilation duct not responding, and some computer failures. Usual stuff," reported Sean, looking at his laptop again.

"We should deal with the vent first, then the shorts. The scientists won't die without basic computers while they wait. Besides, their work's backed up automatically anyway, so they can just find a different computer."

"Please tell me the vent is somewhere away from the dig site," said Jak.

"It's actually up in the main base. Looks like the vent that cools the base A.I.," said Sean.

"Well, then let's go pay Auntie Dot a visit! I'm sure she misses us!" said Halt.

"I got the cart," said Gabriel, grabbing the hand-bar and starting to push.

"Can I have a ride," said Halt, tilting his up-armored Pilot helmet like a little kid begging for candy.

"You can... If you want to carry that case on your back," said Gabriel, unpolarizing his Hazop helmet and showing his bored expression.

Halt straightened, turned around, and started walking.

"Thought so," said Gabriel, polarizing his visor again.

The team headed up to the elevator system that would take them all the way up to Sword Base. It was a long ride, and the team was getting edgy from the news Sean passed on. He was monitoring open communications, and it sounded like the fighting was close to Sword Base. Edgy turned to combat-readiness when the entire base shook just as Artifex Team reached the ramp to the vent they needed to service.

"The hell was that?!" said Tristan.

"The window!" said Jak, pointing.

Everyone looked out the massive window in the main room of Sword Base. There, floating in the clouds and bearing down on the base, was a Covenant heavy-class corvette.

"Gabe, get that weapon case to the A.I. room and pop it, now! Tristan and Jak, go with him! Sean, I want an update on Dot's status! Halt, get all the scientists to the tram and send them to the dig site, then shut down the system until it's safe. We don't have much time! Move!"

Artifex team splintered and hurried to their tasks. Sean went to a nearby computer and used it to begin interface with the base A.I. instead of using his laptop. A direct line was faster than wireless.

"Everyone run a check on suit integrity and get your shields online! We won't be doing any more electrical work. I don't want to see anyone underestimating the situation. If that corvette's inbound, so are ground troops, and our armor won't stop plasma from boiling us alive," said Maxwell over the comms.

"Dot's green, One," reported Sean.

"Good. How's the heat level? Do we need to fix the vent right away?"

"No, the heat's fine. Actually, the vent was stuck open. The caution was about the temperature getting too low. But Dot's going hot now, so that vent needs to stay that way."

"Right, so secondary. Now comms, what's going on?"

"We won't have comms for long. Covenant ground forces are pushing really hard on the anti-air guns and the comm relay. Noble's on the way here, but at this rate we'll be dark for a while."

"What about ground lines?"

"We should be able to keep in touch with local facilities with directional laser communications, and the dig site is hard-wired so we'll stay green with them too."

"Good enough, considering wireless with the outside will go out. Our primary objective right now needs to be protecting the scientists and locking down the dig site. Covies are probably here for whatever we've found down there and I don't feel like explaining why they didn't run into technical difficulties."

"Weapons popped, One!" said Gabriel.

"Send Tristan with Four's gear and mine," said Maxwell.

He heard a shotgun being pumped, the sound labeled as coming from Jak's comm.

"Roger that, Artifex Five."

"Scientists are away. Waiting for them to arrive before shutting down the system, then I'll regroup," reported Halt.

"You won't be here long, Three. You and Tristan'll be heading outside on the ridge to report on troop advancements. First contact's on you two while we get this place locked down."

"Yes, sir."

"Gabe, Jak, you stick to that A.I. until I can fix that vent. Once Dot's fully functional we're moving her down to the dig site too. Make sure her transport rig is good to go."

"On it," said Jak.

Auntie Dot had her own transit track down to the dig site for emergencies. Whoever thought up that one, Maxwell wanted to shake their hand. Once the A.I. was moved, Artifex team could worry about just defending the way to the dig site.

The base shook again, hard enough to put Maxwell on one knee for balance.

"That corvette isn't gonna wait much longer! Let's move it, Artifex!"

"Quit your yelling, we're moving!" said Tristan, appearing with his and Sean's gear.

"Thanks. Now meet up with Halt. You heard what I said earlier," said Max, splitting the ammo between himself and Sean.

"Yeah, yeah, Halt's gonna squash some heads while I play killer shadow, I heard."

"Comms down," said Sean.

"How's anti-air?" asked Maxwell.

"Going down any second. There's an Elite general-class out there."

"Covies aren't messing around, are they?" said Jak.

"Neither are we," said Gabriel.

"Hey, watch where you point that!" yelled Jak.

"Sorry," said Gabriel, probably already shouldering his rocket launcher.

"Quit the jokes. Halt?"

"Still waiting on the scientists to arrive," said Halt.

"We might have to keep the system active in case survivors fall back to the base. The scientists here on base aren't the only ones at local facilities. We've got Marines and Army unbound too," said Sean.

"I'm willing to bet this fight's coming right to us," said Maxwell.


Soon, as expected, Marines and fleeing personnel were requesting to enter the base. Artifex team let them in and did their best to find them places to hide or defend. In less than an hour, Covenant ground forces were on their doorstep, invading with full force. Whatever they wanted, they wanted it fast. From Sean's reports, there weren't enough for it to be a planet-wide invasion, so Sword Base was important. With the Covenant corvette ready to melt them all to the ground and two Hunter pairs knocking on the door, Artifex team bunkered down for the assault on Sword Base...


Event 2: Noble Sweep coming soon...


Author Note: The Spartans depicted are based on some of my friends from Xbox Live. We might not be engineers, but otherwise, this is accurate to our play-style, and will remain that way. I won't be stretching much in this fic, but I will explain the happenings of The Fall Of Reach related to Sword Base and the surrounding area that Halo Reach didn't address. If you've got suggestions, or an opinion you don't want in a review, PM me. Next chapter will be up after my Dark Souls and SAO fics are updated.