Hey guys. I'm really sorry for the several month long delay, but, truth is, I just haven't found the motivation or creativity to write. But, Chapter 2 is here now, and I hope you guys enjoy! Remember to leave a comment on your thoughts below!
It's a clear, chilly summer morning in the mountains of Visegrád territory on Reach. The only sound breaking the silence of this beautiful scene was the sound of 2 UH-144 Falcons flying low along the mountains. Inside were the members of NOBLE team.
"Listen up, Noble Team. We're looking at a downed relay outpost, fifty klicks from Visegrád. We're going to introduce ourselves to whoever took it out, then Kat's going to get it back online." Carter announced to the rest of the team.
"Just get me under the hood, Commander." Kat added after looking at her tac-pad.
"Sir, why would rebels want to cut off Reach from the rest of the colonies?" Jorge questioned.
"You get a chance, maybe you can ask 'em, Jorge." Carter responded, seemingly unfazed by the question. The Falcons were now within sight of the outpost's satellite.
"Commander, we just lost our signal with HQ." Kat announced suddenly.
"Backup channels?" Carter asked Kat in a response.
"Searching….nada. Can't say what's jamming us."
"You heard her. Dead zone confirmed. Command will not be keeping us company this trip."
"I'm lonely already." Emile responded sarcastically. The two Falcons started in towards a landing area in a clearing. Eight finished brandishing her SRS-99 sniper rifle and put her helmet on. Eight had a nasty scar across his left eye. The eye itself was also black. Six took notice.
"Hey, Eight? Where'd you get that scar?" Six asked, puzzled.
"What, this thing? I got this one," gesturing to the scar on her left eye, "during the Battle of Jericho VII. An elite's wrist blade slashed me after it was killed by a Marine. He fell towards me and the blade caught me in the eye. Then I blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was on an EVAC shuttle ready for takeoff. Turns out, the rest of my family was in the shuttle right next to mine. Theirs's made it into a programmed flight path. Then, just like that, pfft, two Banshees came and blew it out of the sky. They almost came after us. But we were too high in the atmosphere for their engines."
"Hey, I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to-" Six started, but Eight interrupted him.
"It's ok, Six. I'm over it. Anyway, back to my eye. The wrist blade went right through the flesh, so the medic had to surgically remove it. Replaced it with this reinforced glass one. You like?" as Eight gestured to her eye.
"Yeah, it's…erm…great," Six responded to Eight's awkward question.
"Pilots. Shoot down attempts are likely, so keep your distance," Carter said as he broke the conversation between Six and Eight.
"Yes sir," each pilot responded.
"Let's stay focused. Watch your sectors," Carter told the team.
"There's the communication's outpost," Jorge announced bluntly.
"I'm reading a distress beacon," Kat told Carter.
"Could be the missing troopers. Let's check it out," Carter responded.
"Put us down on the bluff," Carter continued. "Jun, I want your eyes in the sky."
"Sir," Jun responded.
"Let's go, Noble," Carter told everyone. "Eight, I want you up on that rock formation," he ordered Eight, while pointing at a tall rock formation on the other side of a storage building.
"Roger that," Eight responded." Six, Seven, Eight and Nine all jumped out of the Falcons, with Eight immediately started towards a jagged stone wall to climb into position. As they started down the hill, Emile sped ahead and swiftly jumped onto a boulder overlooking the storage building's courtyard.
"Structure point 3-4. Looks clear from this angle," Emile reported as Carter, Kat, Six, Seven, and Nine advanced further down the hill.
"The distress beacon is coming from just south of here, Commander. We're close," Kat reported.
"Roger that. Eyes peeled," Carter responded.
The Spartans moved around the side of the building to find a wrecked Warthog (Standard LAAV Reconnaissance variant), crew nowhere to be found, and blood everywhere. Emile jumped down from the roof of the storage structure and went straight for the remains of some storage pallets. He rummaged through the chipped and shattered wood to find a flashing red distress beacon, barely operational.
"Found the beacon," Emile announced. He tossed it over his head to Kat, who caught it midair.
"Make out any ID?" Carter asked Kat, still investigating the beacon. She dropped the beacon after switching it off and started looking at the blood stains with Emile and Six. Seven and Nine were investigating the grass in the surrounding area as well as the gate of the main residence.
"Negative, but its military," Kat responded.
"So where are all the troopers?" Jorge asked suspiciously.
"Why are we not seeing explosives residue?" asked Kat, also suspiciously.
"Noble Three, can you confirm any 'ex residue in the area?" Carter asked Jun.
"Hmm…Negative, sir," Jun responded over the COM after a moment. His Falcon continued to circle the area.
"What about you, Seven?" Carter asked as he walked over to the wrecked Warthog.
"Nadda, sir," Seven responded with a sigh.
"Plasma, maybe," Emile suggested as an answer.
"Can't be. Not on Reach," responded Jorge in firm disbelief. And he was backed by the fact that there had been no Covenant fleet activity anywhere near Reach's star system.
"There's a lot of blood on the ground," Emile said.
Six shifted uncomfortably. His experience with the Covenant had been…..bad. Very bad, for the lack of a better word. He had always wanted to get his revenge on those alien bastards, but deep inside, he feared them. Particularly the elites. One elite had ripped his family apart. Tore through them like they were nothing. He remembered the massive monster had taken his sister and- No, not now, Six thought to himself. He banished the thought from his mind.
"Alright Noble, looks like there's nothing here. Let's move on," Carter ordered to the team. As Six started away from the wreckage, he could have sworn he saw a flicker of movement behind the fuel tank, however just for an instant. He didn't like it.
"Seven, you see that?" Six asked Seven.
"See what..?" Seven responded with confusion.
"Nothing, just thought I saw something. Must have been a trick of the light," Six responded uneasily. But Seven couldn't tell.
"Smoke at the next structure, boss." Kat stated, revealing that there might be an Insurgent camp inside.
"Circle west and check it out. You have permission to engage; but be selective. We don't want to telegraph our presence." Carter ordered. The group moved quickly and silently along the side of the house. Six, Eight and Nine were on point. "Six, Eight, Nine, move into the house. Go in quiet; I'm right behind you." Carter ordered the new NOBLE members. Six readied his MA5, Eight pulled out his dual M7 SMGs, and Nine primed his M45 Tac-Shotgun.
"Team ready?" Six asked his team, prepping for a modified breach. They would enter the building, scan the inside, and come out the other side.
"Set," responded Eight and Nine in unison, "ready on your go."
"Breaching." Six ordered. He silently swung his AR around the corner of the doorframe. The room looked to be the family room, with a couch, television, and fireplace. The back wall was a mess. A huge, scorched hole was where the doorway should have been, the ashes still hot. "Clear." he said after moving out through the hole in the wall. Carter, Kat, and Emile were close behind.
"Holy shit," Nine blurted, seeing the outside of the house once he was in the courtyard, "this place definitely had some remodeling."
He's right, Six thought to himself. The roof was on fire, and a section of the house had collapsed in on itself to the right of the family room.
"I'm starting to doubt this was rebel work." Seven said over the comm. "Rebels don't try to scare their target audience, especially by burning their house down.
Nine and Emile both reacted at the same time to another door opening. A middle-aged man rushed out, speaking Hungarian and talking fast. Emile snapped his shotgun up to point towards the farmer's face. "On your knees! Now!" Emile ordered the man, who quickly complied after backing up a step. The man started again with Hungarian.
"Ask 'em what they're doing here." Carter ordered Jorge, who started talking to the man in Hungarian. The two exchanged a few words, and Jorge looked at Carter with a look of seriousness on his battered face.
"Neighbors were attacked last night. He heard screams, gunfire, stopped around sunrise." Jorge announced to the group. Indeed, the surrounding property was utterly unusable, with still-burning fires every few meters. Craters pot marked the hillside, and bullet holes made intricate yet erratic patterns on the walls opposite the living area. The farm looked as though a warzone had occurred here, as if it were a battle of attrition. Yet, no bodies were apparent anywhere; just blood stains. Six didn't like it. It felt…..off.
The comm crackled to life; it was Jun, and he was slightly frantic. Quick, but calm. "Commander, heat sigs in the structure directly east of your position, over."
"Copy that. Get them back inside." Carter pointed to the civilians, and Jorge ushered them inside of the building, speaking in Hungarian as he went. The rest of the team started to move towards the shed up on the hill. "Noble team, double time it," Carter ordered, and Six, Eight and Nine broke into a sprint. Six practically phased through what was left of the door, only to find 5 bodies; two of which were UNSC. One Marine was slumped against the wall, the other hanging from a storage hook by his back. Blood was everywhere.
"Marines, looks like they were shot up pretty good. But….they aren't bullet holes…." Nine started. He was right. They were plasma burns, not bullets, and they were all over the armor.
"Damn," Carter reacted as he entered the room
"Fill me in, Commander. What are you seeing, over?" Jun asked hastily.
"Jun, we've got military casualties; two of the missing troopers. Look like they were interrogated…it's messy."
Thumping from above—probably the roof—cut through the silence and set everyone on edge. It was fast, on and off in just a few seconds. Six caught it on his motion tracker. He raced out the other side and into the courtyard of the next property. He just barely caught a glimpse of the source of the noise; short, thin, definitely avian. He couldn't tell just what it was, though. He still didn't like it.
"The hell was that?" Emile questioned, on alert.
"Jun, see anything?" Carter asked.
"Negative, sir. Thermal's clean," Jun responded.
"Seven, how about you?" Carter asked in reply.
"Nada, sir. I'm picking up nothing," Seven replied.
"Commander, I think I caught a glimpse," Six announced.
"Well, spit it out. What did you see?" Carter responded with interest.
"I appeared avian. It was skinny, and short. Plenty of muscle."
"I don't like it," Eight chipped in. "This whole thing just feels…..off, like something is watching us." Eight started scanning the courtyard, like something was there. Eight's story hadn't been the happiest. He watched his entire family be slaughtered by an Elite. They had been traveling by tram to the spaceport on New Harmony when a stray Wraith round destroyed the track ahead, derailing the tram. A Zealot approached his family, energy sword hissing and crackling. Eight himself was trapped behind part of the tram wall and some seats, so the Elite couldn't see him. One by one, it cut through his parents and grandparents like they were paper. It impaled his two brothers as they tried to run away with Needler rounds, the pink spikes digging into their skin and detonating a few seconds after impact. When a squad of ODSTs found him, he was curled up in a ball on the ground by his dead family, blood pooling around him. Straight after leaving the planet, he signed up for the Beta generation of Spartan llls. He was pulled from the ranks just a few weeks before Operation: TORPEDO, in which the entirety of Beta Company was killed in a massive plasma explosion, with the exception of two Spartans, Lucy and Tom. Instead, Eight was placed into an elite team of other llls, Fireteam X-Ray, where he met Six on a mission to disrupt a Innie supply train near the remains of Eridanus ll.
"Alright, Noble, let's move on. See if we can find those troopers." Noble team started moving through the courtyard. Six started thinking back to that avian creature. He doubted it was a Moa, as much as he wanted to believe it was. Seven slid down from her perch on the rocks and joined the rest of Noble. As they moved into the main structure, everything grew quiet…too quiet. Six was just about to turn a corner when his helmet radio crackled up again. It was Jun.
"Boss, I see movement. Outside your structure!"
"Noble 2, move up to the west. We're about to be flanked." Carter responded with fluidity.
Six moved to the window and saw what he had thought: a Covenant Skirmisher with a Needler. And it was calling for its allies.
"Huh?" Emile stated, confused.
"Damnit!" Carter exclaimed.
"Covenant!" Jorge exclaimed, taking cover behind a closet and revving up his chain gun.
"Contact! Contact! Spartans, assist!" Carter ordered.
"Here we go." Nine concluded, priming his shotgun.
A plasma launcher round burst through the window. Six barely had time to move out of the way. He dove behind an overturned crate and re-primed his MA37. He popped up from his makeshift cover and opened fire. He immediately targeted the Grunts directly below him near the hay bales. Cyan colored blood spurted from the wounds. He finished off the last one and moved towards the stairs.
"They're heading into the basement. Move down to the lower level." Carter ordered. Six and Eight moved down the stairs straight into a squad of Skirmishers. Eight dove right into the middle and started mowing them down with his M7s. Six picked up a pair of grenades from a fallen Marine and moved out into the rear courtyard.
Seven vaulted over the window and took cover behind a hay bale, pulling out her M392 DMR and opened fire. One round struck a Grunt in the temple. Another was sent through a Jackal's knee, and another through its chest. She sprinted up the ramp to her right and primed her sniper rifle. She took aim at an Elite Minor who was suppressing Six. Crack. The round struck the alien in the forehead. Its head whipped back and purple blood sprayed from the back of its skull. One down; a million more to go, Seven thought to herself. She took aim at another Elite, but this one saw it coming. It dove behind a boulder and started suppressing Seven.
Nine saw the Officer that was pinning his teammate down. He primed his shotgun and leaped off the roof of the shed he was on. He pumped a slug into the split-jawed alien and pummeled it with the butt of his weapon. He almost didn't see the green Banshee bomb headed towards him. Almost. He dove out of the way a split-second before impact. The force of the explosion threw him across the dirt road and into a tree. He shook it off. He was tough. He wasn't going to be knocked down by this damn split-jaw. He slid his grenade launcher off his back and dropped an EMP into the breech. He closed the weapon and aimed in the Banshee's general direction. He fired…..and missed. He let go of the secondary trigger, and the grenade detonated, sending a short range EMP blast into the Banshee's systems. It fell straight out of the sky, hit the water dam, and bounced off the cliff. He heard a distant explosion.
Six slid into place behind a wall. He spotted a UNSC mounted gun. Perfect, he though to himself. He sprinted over to the gun and depressed the trigger buttons. The chain gun roared to life, spewing bullets in every direction. He mowed down several Elites and countless Grunts and Jackals before the gun overheated, leaving him vulnerable. The enemy was quick to react. A fuel rod screamed towards him, blowing the mounted weapon to pieces just after Six dove out of the way. His shields were down. "Damnit!" he exclaimed. He slid behind the wall again and waited for his shields to recharge. As soon as his shields were up, he jumped out of cover and onto an unsuspecting Elite Minor. He drew his combat knife, and climbed onto the alien's back. He thrust his knife into the Minor's throat, wrenching the blade to the side for good measure. The split-jaw collapsed.
Eight was like a specter, moving from one hostile to the next with unparalled fluidity. His combatants couldn't lay a round on him. He was too quick. He dodged and weaved his way through all of them. One by one, they collapsed. In seconds, he had taken down 4 Elites. He pumped lead into a Minor, bringing its shields down and dazing it. He drew his knife—a long-bladed Tanto, light and easy to maneuver. He stuck another Elite—an Officer—in the gut, breaking through its shields. He stepped back and kicked the Officer over. He drew another knife—standard UNSC combat knife—and threw it into another Minor's throat. The alien choked and gurgled, drowning in its own blood. It collapsed. The last Elite—a Major, judging by the red harness—drew its energy sword and charged. For a split-second, Eight had a flashback: the Battle of New Harmony. He saw his dead family, and the Zealot. It lasted for less than a second. He shook it off. He charged towards the Major and spun around its side, climbing onto its back. He gripped the split-jaw's skull in his hands and wrenched it to the side, snapping its neck. It died instantly. He flipped over its head and rolled over to the first Minor, capping it in the head with a pistol round. He stood up, and tensed as he saw more Covenant advancing.
"Falcon moving to assist." one of the pilots stated. The bird swung around the side of a Spirit dropship and started drilling into the cockpit with its nose gun. The shields broke, and the alien craft started smoking. It gained altitude and retreated behind the nearby hillside. Noble advanced across the bridge and laying down suppressing fire as they went. Six and Eight took out the Covies on the dam and proceeded up the hill. They met up with the rest of Noble on the left side.
"Boss, I'm showing more hostile activity to the east." Jun reported, as his Falcon flew by overhead.
"Copy that, Jun. Six, you've got point." Carter ordered Six. He started across the creek towards a nearby animal pen. He spotted two Elite Ultras and an Officer, guiding a squadron of Grunts forward. Seven and Nine opened fire, attempting to suppress the alien leaders. The split-jaws returned fire, rapidly filling the air with plasma bolts. Seven sent a round through one Ultra's leg, knocking its shields out. Nine and Six moved through the pen and flanked the Officer. Nine pumped a slug into its shields, and Six put a round through its head. The alien collapsed. The other Ultra charged the two Spartans, spraying them with Plasma Rifle bolts. It plowed into Nine, throwing him against the wall. Six tackled the Elite, but was thrown off. Eight sprinted behind the Elite and started peppering its shields with bullets. The energy field was about to collapse. Seven's rifle twitched in the air as a round left the barrel. It went straight through the Ultra's skull, spraying purple fluid onto the rock wall. The last Elite was killed by Kat, who flanked it and capped it in the spine. Jorge and Emile had already killed off the Grunts.
"Alright, Noble, stand down. Contacts neutralized." Carter announced over the radio.
"Contacts? It's the damn Covenant." Jorge replied with anger towards his alien foes.
"Cheer up, big man. This whole valley just turned into a free-fire zone." Emile responded coolly, like he was excited to kill these alien bastards. Six and Nine couldn't agree more. They had both grown up in the same neighborhood, and were both away from home when the Covenant started bombing the cities and towns with plasma mortars. They even shared the same evacuation ship, though they never ran into one another before Beta Company.
"Kat, I need you at that relay outpost now." Carter announced. "Emile, go with Kat. We'll meet you at the outpost.'
"Copy that sir." Emile replied.
"I'm seeing more hostile activity to the northeast." Jun responded.
"Copy that." Carter replied. "Jorge, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, you're with me." The group started down the hill. Eight spotted two civilian Spade trucks, still in good condition.
"We've got transport." he stated.
"Alright, Spartans, mount up." Carter ordered. Six, Carter, and Jorge took one Spade, and Seven, Eight and Nine took the other. They started down the hill towards the rest of the farms in the sector
But something was troubling Six. He couldn't help feeling a sense of dread, like something was going to happen soon. Something bad. I don't like this. I feel like….something is going to die. Someone, he thought to himself. He had a split-second vision: a devastated wasteland, dust and glass. A burning city. And…Noble team, dead. All of them. It lasted for about a second and a half. Then it was gone. He shook it off. Probably nothing, he thought to himself.
Well, that is Chapter 2, finished! Again, I'm sorry for the wait, but with school back up again, I haven't been able to type as much. Plus, I didn't have much inspiration or motivation. But, alas, its finally here! Be sure to comment on your thoughts and follow for the next chapter! I promise this one won't take as long. Later, Spartans!