(A/N) Damn, just a few minutes short of being on time with when I said I'd publish it... Oh well, better than a few hours, am I right?

Chapter Two – Force Recon

After several minutes of fast forwarding, we came upon my ride aboard a Falcon en route to Sword Base. "-urrent LZ is too hot."

"Roger that. Dot, standby to receive and respond."

"Yes commander."

"That… sounded artificial." Weiss remarked.

I nodded. "Yep, that's Auntie Dot, she's the dumb AI assigned to Noble Team."

She raised an eyebrow. "Dumb AI?"

"Yeah, pretty much just an extremely complicated computer program."

"Coordinates received, initiate immediate course correction. The Office of Naval Intelligence Sword Base is presently under siege from a corvette-class Covenant vessel. Due to the sensitive nature of this facility, use of orbital rounds has been, for the moment, prohibited. Regrettably, my efforts to obtain relevant data on enemy forces have been unsuccessful. However, current defensive forces are insufficient. ONI has requested Team Noble's direct intervention to help secure Sword Base."

The Falcon banked left over a mountain range. "Alright people," Carter addressed. "we're stuck with that ship for the time being. Let's focus on the hostile infantry, give those Troopers a hand. Kat, Six, you're out here. Jorge, Emile, you're out next, get prepped."

Kat cocked her pistol. "Let's move, Lieutenant!" She said shortly before we both jumped out of the aircraft.

"You just jumped out of a moving airship?!" My sister yelled. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Heh, relax, sis. I've done far stupider than that… actually, you'll get to see me fall from orbit later on."

"Wha-?!" I interrupted her by resuming the recording.

"Kat, Six, push back the attack on Sword Base. Find out what we're dealing with." Carter said over comms.

"Roger that!" Kat answered. "We're your strike team."

I didn't answer them, instead choosing to charge up a ramp on the left. A pair of Jackals opposed me, though they were swiftly dispatched by a grenade.

"That's another good way to deal with 'em. Those shields don't really protect against grenades all too well." I commented.

"Noted." My partner remarked.

I quickly took up a position on the battlements and began sniping with my DMR. All the Grunts fell in quick succession, their leaders wondering why they suddenly don't have cannon fodder anymore. I threw a grenade at another group of Jackals and it ricocheted off a shield…

…only to explode in the face of an Elite Minor. I quickly dropped it with one well placed shot and went back to scoop up some more grenades from a fallen marine. In the distance, I spotted a phantom disgorging more troops…

…only to be taken down by my DMR as they were falling to the ground. I switched to my assault rifle and charged an Ultra that was in my path. It fired a few concussion rounds at me, though I dodged them with ease. It threw a powerful kick at me and I sidestepped while bringing a knife into its exposed hip. It winced in pain and I used the distraction to plunge my knife into the back of its skull, killing it.

I charged forward once again, this time meeting more minors and jackals. Less than a minute later, they all lay dead and riddled with 7.62mm rounds. "AO secure, awaiting orders." I said, looking around. "Hey uhh, there's a target locator down in that ordinance box. We got any support available?"

"Limited, but we'll prioritize whatever you need, ma'am." Came the response.

I picked it up with one hand, keeping my assault rifle handy with the other. I stepped out of the base and immediately saw a Warthog get blown up by a pair of Wraiths. "Got a pair of Wraiths! Markin' 'em now!" I announced as the locator activated. Seconds later, the tanks were destroyed by orbital artillery.

Weiss jumped. "Gods! Where did that come from?!"

"Orbit." I answered curtly.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why not just use that constantly?"

"Because without a locator, orbital strikes are very imprecise. Hell, its a bad idea to even be within a mile of an undesignated orbital strike."

She deflated. "Oh. Carry on, then."

"Good shot Six, Pelican inbound with transport." She said seconds before a ship descended, depositing a Warthog before flying off again.

"Hey Spartan." A female Trooper said in a flirty voice.

"Heh, hey yourself." I said, looking at the marine.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously flirting?"

"Heh, maaaaaaybe… Why? You jealous?"

Her face reddened. "N- No, just… unusual is all…"

She blinked. "Oh, uhh… you're a woman… I uhh… I don't swing that way… sorry…"

"Well I do." I said, causing her to freeze for a moment.

Weiss facepalmed. "You're incorrigible."

I smiled and shrugged. "Eh, I try."

"Oh relax, I'm here ta shoot covvies and lots of 'em. The ladies can wait." I hopped into the driver's seat.

Suddenly, command came over the comms. "The old Farragut Station has its own comms array, that should bring us back online with command. Airview Base has an anti-air battery that'll help clear the skies."

"AA gun is to the west," Kat started. "Comms array is to the east, let's roll."

"Alright, hold on back there!" I said as I gunned it. Several twists and turns later, we arrived at Airview base. I hit a jump just right and sent the Warthog onto the roof of the base, crushing an Ultra in the process.

Yang stiffened. "Remind me to never get in a car with you."

Weiss nodded in agreement. "I did not know it was possible to be such a reckless driver." She remarked.

"Heh, 'reckless driver' is such a crude label… I prefer 'Sunday Driver'." I giggled.

I looked at Kat, who was staring at me. "That shouldn't even be possible…"

I shrugged. "Eh, I'm a super-powered super-soldier, why the hell not?" I remarked as I got out activated the AA gun. Meanwhile, the Trooper was absolutely wrecking any and all Covenant infantry with her chaingun. Soon enough, the area was clear. "Okay, now how're we gonna get this thing down?" I said right before a Pelican dropped off another Warthog. "Well, that's one solution…" I motioned for the Trooper to follow us and we mounted up in the 'Hog.

We came across a clearing in the mountain pass containing a couple of Ghosts, though they were dispatched quickly. "Hope that comms array has a working generator." Kat remarked as we approached one of the buildings. Just as I was about to stop and dismount, a Revenant peaked its head around the corner and fired off a shot.

I dodged and gunned it straight for the vehicle in question, intending to use it as a ramp. Just as the 'Hog impacted and started to go airborne, I leaped out and kicked the passenger in the head, crushing its skull. Before the driver even had time to realize its partner was dead, I had already stabbed it five times in the head.

"Why can't you just kill things like normal Human beings…"

I stared at my partner for a moment… …before bursting out laughing. "I know what cha mean, Ice Queen, but man do you have to work on your wording. And to answer your question: normal people are boring."

"Six! Where did you go?! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm good, Kat. By the way, we've got a brand-new Revenant to add to our arsenal." I said as I fired off a shot into the building that was swarming with covvies, killing a sniper team. I dismounted, leaving a plasma grenade on a console to destroy it, and dashed into the building. Inside, I saw several Elites and a few grunts, all were dispatched within a minute of me entering.

On the wall, I saw a lever connected to the generator that was also in the room with me. I quickly pulled it and breathed a sigh of relief when the machine whirred to life. I heard a Spirit pass overhead and I peaked out the window to see what we'd be dealing with. Its troop bays opened, and I picked off a number of the skirmishers and grunts that descended.

A few of them got through though, and I charged forward to meet them with a hail of assault rifle fire. Within seconds, they all lied dead or dying as I climbed the tower to activate the comms array.

"Spartans, this is Sword Control, thought you could use some mobile firepower." He said as a Gauss 'Hog was dropped from a Pelican.

"Aww yea! Christmas has come early!"

"You are way to cheery about this, Six."

"I agree with Kat." Blake remarked. I threw another can of tuna at her. "I don't agree with Kat."

"That's better."

"What? A Reaper can't enjoy her job?" I said sarcastically.

Kat audibly sighed. "Just get in the 'Hog…"

I shrugged. "Alright, whatever."

"Good work, Spartans, return to Sword Base. The rest of your team is inbound, imminent."

Carter butted in on the comms. "Noble, be advised. Covenant corvette moving into position. Kat, Six, get here quick. We'll meet you inside."

The rest of the way was paved with a few Revenants, though they were one-shotted by the gauss turret on our 'Hog.

"If that weapon is so powerful, why not equip all of these… Warthogs, I believe you called them, with their weapon?" Weiss asked.

"Production costs." I answered. "Gauss 'Hogs are well over triple the cost of a normal one. Also, not every Warthog crew is gonna find themselves up against enemy vehicles."

She shrugged. "I suppose that makes sense."

I walked up to the gate, pressing a button and opening the doors.

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, why do they have the button to open the gate on the outside?"

I blinked. "To be honest, I don't know. It kinda slipped my mind at the time."

"We're stalled in the tower atrium, Kat, where are you?" Jun asked over comms.

"Opening the gate now."

The doors opened and I drove the 'Hog through, though it was stopped by some concrete barriers. "Heh, is that the best you can do, ONI?" I gloated…

…before punching one of the barriers apart with my bare hands…

Weiss looked me straight in the eyes. "Oaf." She said. "That is all."

I got back in the 'Hog and drove it through the wreckage, splattering enemy troops along the way. We entered the lower part of the base to see a pair of-

"What are those?!" Blake yelled, her bow flat against her head.

"Hunters." I said. "Inside those suits of armor are hundreds of worms."

"Kill it with fire!" Yang practically yelled.

I shrugged. "Fire works pretty well if you can get it hot enough. Heh, maybe your semblance could come in handy there, sis."

She visibly shuddered. "Oh gods, please no…"

With the help of the Gauss 'Hog, the hunters were dispatched easily along with the rest of the troops. "Let's get to the atrium, we have to go through the security office." Kat said as we boarded an elevator.

The lights flickered as the elevator came to a stop. "Corvette's hittin' this base hard." Emile said over comms.

"Where's our orbital support? Got to be four platforms that could take it out with a single MAC round."

"ONI probably doesn't want the wreck of a covvie ship on top of their base." I responded.

"Heh, they've been scramblin' for a ship for decades now, and when one gets delivered to their doorstep, they want us to drive it away." Emile said.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "How long has this war been going on?"

I hummed. "Let's see... started in '25, so... twenty-seven years now."

"Twenty-seven years of war..." She sighed. "Gods..."

Suddenly the doors opened, and a robotic voice sounded throughout the halls. "Welcome to the Office of Naval Intelligence. An ONI representative will be with you shortly." A few Covenant infantry lined the interior…

…though we quickly made sure they lined the walls, instead.

"I doubt that very much." Kat snarkily remarked.

"Heh, you'd be surprised. There's probably a spook or two hiding in the goddamn walls."

The robotic voice boomed again. "Lieutenant, you have been cleared for access."

We came to another door, which slowly opened. "Six, head upstairs and assist Emile. Jorge, make sure she gets there." Carter commanded.

A couple minutes of rampage later, I opened the last door, this one leading to the roof. I fired into seemingly thin air…

…and hit a cloaked Elite.

The rest of my team jumped, and I offered an explanation. "If you look closely, at where I shot, you'd be able to see a slight distortion in the air around where I shot." I said before rewinding a few seconds.

"There!" Blake shouts, pointing at another cloaked Elite.

I smiled. "Good, that might come in handy one day." I sighed. "Hopefully not, but it still might…"

A few headshots later, and the cloaked Elites were dispatched. I picked up a rocket launcher and started dispatching the enemy aircraft. One by one, they were destroyed, and we finally got a good look at the corvette.

My partner gasped. "What… What is that?!"

"Covenant Corvette, SDV-class to be specific." I replied.

"That's a corvette?!"

"Yeah. Sure it's a heavy corvette, but still. Covenant ships are much bigger than UNSC ones."

"Noble Team, Longswords are inbound and ready to push. Orbital defenses standing by to take the shot." The commander said. Two fighters appear and the corvette tries to make a hasty retreat… key word being 'tries'. A couple seconds later, a MAC round pierces through its hull and sends it to the bottom of the lake it was flying over.

The team was shocked to say the least. "Heh, you guys seem surprised."

Blake blinked. "That… That's an understatement."

"HOW?!" Weiss shouted. "How did a ship that… gargantuan, be destroyed in ONE SHOT?!"

"That's a Super MAC for ya. Fires a three-thousand-ton slug at four percent the speed of light." I giggled. "Destroys one covvie ship, and the one behind it, and then cripples the one behind that one!" I tsked. "That shot was scaled down, though. Don't wanna drop a 51-gigaton bomb on ourselves, now would we?"

They all blinked. "…Let's just... continue…" Blake supplied.

"Beautiful, ain't it?" Jorge asked. "Someone should take a picture. Nice work, by the way."

"Heh, I aim to please. Not so bad yourself, old man."

He looks at me but before he could retort, Carter buts in. "Five, Six, get down to the science wing. Doctor Halsey wants a debriefing and command's saying we're all hers."

"Repeat, sounded like you said Halsey."

"I did."

"Copy that, on our way." He paused. "Don't need command to tell me, been all hers half my life."

I fast forwarded to the point where we got to the meeting, though it had already started and Halsey seemed to be chewing out Carter. "I requested your assistance, Commander, and do not need a report on events that occur on my own doorstep. What I do require is a detailed account of your previous engagement-" She paused. "Jorge, it's been too long."

"Ma'am." He responds.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Did he just call her 'mom'?"

"Nope, his accent just makes 'ma'am' sound like 'mom'."

"What have you done with my armor?"

"Just some… additions I've made." He said.

"Indeed." She turned back to Carter. "Visegrad Relay. Its datacenter was home to one of my xenoarchaeologists, professor Laszlo Sorvad. Perhaps you could shed some light on his death."

Carter stepped forward. "If he was a civilian male in his mid-to-late-sixties, he died with a Covenant energy sword through his abdomen."

"Elites then?"

"They engaged us as well." Jorge cut in. "It was just uhh… It was just after we found your scientist's daughter, ma'am. She was hiding in the-"

"Irrelevant."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Real boss of the year."

"Heh, tell me about it. That's ONI for ya. There's a reason everyone calls us spooks."

"The Elites, tell me more about them."

"Three. Zealot class. One got by us, the leader from the looks of him."

"Zealots." She said. "You're certain?"

"Their armor configuration matched."

"Shield strength too." I cut in. "Didn't save 'em from a knife, though."

She gave me a weird look before Carter continued. "I gave the order not to pursue. Our primary objective was to get the station's relay back online."

"Your primary objective? Commander, are you a puppet or a Spartan?" She said condescendingly.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "So what she's saying is that she's disappointed that someone who had no idea a target was of high value chose not to kill said target?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Ma'am?"

"There are those at ONI, myself included, who believe Elite advanced teams to hunt down artifacts of value to their religion. Survivor accounts say that they are small, nimble, and almost always Zealot-Class. No doubt they came to the station for the abundance of ONI excavation data stored there… and you let them get away."

"Data retrieval was not a command directive. Even had we known, we had other, more urgent matters to attend to."

"Like warning the planet." Kat chimed in.

Halsey paused for a moment, likely considering something. Professor Sorvad's final entry in his field notes made reference to a 'latchkey discovery'. Latchkey… Not a word he would use lightly… So lets hope that the data module your Lieutenant-Commander stole," She shot a glare at my teammate. ", contains it."

"Okay, she's starting to get on my nerves." Weiss commented.

"Heh, not even commenting on the fact that Kat stole something?"

"To be honest, she likely didn't know she was supposed to return it."

I shrugged. "Well, you got a point there."

"Kat?" Carter asked, warningly.

"Before you ask, I was alerted the moment you attempted to access its contents." Halsey said, sliding out an exchange box. "As I am with any unauthorized tap." Kat approached the drop box and proceeded to recklessly drop the data inside. "That data is classified tier one. I could send you to the brig for interfering with my work."

"Maybe you'd like to join her." Carter interjected.

This got the doctor's attention. "I'm sorry?"

"We're currently under emergency planetary directive, Winter Contingency. I'm sure you're familiar with the punishment for civilian interference with a Spartan deployment."

"Are you threating me, Commander?" Halsey asked accusingly.

"Just making a reading suggestion, ma'am." He turned to the rest of us. "Let's move, Noble Team." He ordered, and I started fast-forwarding to the next mission.

The next image that they saw was one of me overlooking a very large gorge… …while standing on an equally narrow ledge.

Yang shivered. "Woah…"

"Don't like heights, sis?"

"N- No, I'm fine with them. I just… Its weird…"

After a Phantom moved by, I looked up at the sky, finally giving them a good view of Reach's dual moons.

My companion's jaws collectively hit the floor. "Its…" Yang started.

"…Breathtaking." Weiss finished.

"Heh, just wait 'til you get to see it from orbit."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You go up there during this?"

I scoffed. "Yeah, earlier I said I fell from orbit… kinda need to get up there first before you can fall…"

"I suppose so."

"Recon Team Bravo reporting in. Three and Six in position. Its starting to get crowded up here, Kat." Jun said.

"Then we're closing in. Report any Covenant structures or devices. Direct action may be necessary."

"Copy that." He chuckled. "When Kat runs an op, direct action is always necessary." He pulled out a special magazine of sniper rounds. "Here. You may need these. High-velocity armor-piercing. They'll take the hat off an Elite at two thousand yards… And they aint cheap."

"Heh, you know just what to get a girl, don't'cha?"

He looked at me. "Don't make this weird, Six." We continued to skirt around the ledge until we came to a tree. He turned back to me. "I'll be in touch."

I nodded and started to skid down the slope, landing with a soft thud.

"Recon Bravo, sector ahead is dark to electronic surveillance." Kat said over the comms.

"Covenant can block our instruments?" Jun asked.

"So it would seem." She said. "And Command wants to know what they're hiding."

I rounded a corner and came face-to-face with an Elite minor… well… face-to-back, that is… "Elite," Jun said. "he's yours. Do it quiet." I stalked forward and readied my knife. Seconds later, the galaxy had one less Elite to worry about. "Not bad." Jun commented.

"Heh, knives are my specialty."

"I thought that was scythes, Reaper." Kat commented.

"Maybe we should start calling you that, sis." Yang said with a grin.

I shrugged. "Ya can if ya want, I've got nicknames for all of you, it'd be kinda bad if I said you couldn't have one for me."

"Oh har-de-har-de-har, Tech Girl." I commented as I mercilessly slaughtered several sleeping grunts.

I continued forward for a few seconds before Jun spoke up again. "Recon Bravo to Noble Two, stand by for contact report."

"Standing by to copy, over."

"We have eyes on multiple hostiles patrolling a settlement. Is this what we're looking for, Kat?"

"Negative, too small. You're not in the dark zone yet. Engage at your own discretion but keep moving."

"You heard her, Six, drop those tangos."

"Heh, with pleasure." I put a bullet in the brain of an important-looking Elite, alerting the rest of the compound to my presence. Three Rangers activated their jump packs. Unfortunately for them, I was very good at shooting clay pigeons. Three shots later, three dead Elites thudded onto the ground.

Just as I was finishing off with the grunts, a Phantom appeared. "Looks like we really pissed them off."

"You don't say…" Weiss remarked dryly.

"Heh, well, they really pissed me off when they set foot on this planet!" I shouted while erasing a Covenant formation from existence. "Eh, that wasn't so hard. Let's move on." I commented before finding a hidden door. I stalked through, activating my active camouflage while I was at it. When I came through, I saw an Elite Minor cluelessly looking at the sky… …and now falling to the ground with a new hole in his head.

I quickly claimed the tower he was on for myself and, skirting around it, found three more Elites to kill. One high-ranking, two Minors, and all three now dead. I jumped down into the confused mess of Grunts and flourished my knives, cleaving each one into almost unrecognizable bits.

I strode forward into an open canyon. As I reached the end, I heard a deep, guttural, growling, along with the panicked screams of Grunts. I poked my head out to see what was up, but I certainly didn't expect to see two Guta roaming around slaughtering Covenant forces.

"W- What is that?!" Blake shouted.

"I forgot the name, but its native to Reach… so they're probably extinct now. Kinda sad, these two seemed perfectly happy killing covvies."

"Wait, you said that there were no Grimm outside of Remnant, so does this… other version of Humanity possess any means to deal with such creatures?"

"Weiss… If there is anything that Humans specialize in, its killing things. Also, there are settlements in the area, meaning that they have some way to defend themselves should one of those creatures attack."

I killed everything in sight with relative ease. "Kat, you pick any of that up?" Jun asked.

"Affirmative, Recon Bravo. It's an indigenous creature called 'Guta'."

"Gweeta? Well, that's an interesting name."

Both Kat and Jun were silent for a moment before the latter spoke up. "Six, there's a path up ahead. Looks like it goes through the rocks, let's take it." I obeyed and moved through a small canyon. After a few seconds, a familiar sound erupted in the distance. "Gunfire. Magnums, security sidearms, standard issue."

I surged forwards, hoping to rescue the human forces. "Kat, I found some civilians assaulting a pump station of some kind, advise."

"Copy, move to assist, they may have the intel we need."

"Got it." I said as I took aim at an Elite and pulled the trigger. A few more shots, and all the alien leadership lay dead. I charged forward, flourishing with my knives and decimating the lesser infantry. A phantom appeared above us and started disgorging its troops, though they met the same fate as their predecessors.

With the area cleared, the civilians approached. "Little more action than we're used to. You Spartans are good in a fight."

"Heh, ya don't say…"

Jun, just joining us now, addressed them. "What are you doing here? This whole area's supposed to be evacuated."

"Didn't like leavin' it to someone else to protect our home, so we came back… For this." He motioned to a pair of ordinance boxes which opened, revealing rocket launchers, snipers, and DMRs.

"Where did they get all these military-grade weapons?" Weiss asked.

"Remember the Insurrection?" She nodded. "Best case scenario, these guys stole from them. Worst case, they are the them."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said they were the worst kind of terrorists?"

"I did. But there's one funny thing about a common enemy. It makes the fastest of friends out of the worst of enemies… And what greater motivator than your home being attacked by an infinite swarm of alien nightmares hell-bent on the extinction of your entire race?"

"I guess you have a point there."

"We have 'em hidden, all over the territory." He finished.

"You know, this stuff is stolen." Jun remarked, dryly.

"What? You gonna arrest me?"

I waved him off. "Nah. But we miiiiiiight just commandeer them." I said, hoisting a rocket launcher to my shoulder. Another Phantom soared overhead. "Alright boys, lemmie show you a little thing I call…" I took aim as the bay doors on the dropship opened. "…Spawn camping." I said as I fired off a pair of rockets into the exposed troop bay. Seconds later, they exploded within the unarmored interior of the dropship, starting a chain reaction that ended with the entire ship exploding.

Weiss facepalmed. "Seriously, I think you might have some kind of… addiction to explosions."

I giggled. "And what's wrong with that? We've all got our vices, after all."

"Oh? And what would that be?" my partner asked with a disbelieving smirk.

I grinned. "Well, I know you have a copy of Ninjas of-"

She thrust her hand over my mouth, silencing me. "Ninjas of Faith! Right, yes… I am very religious." She chuckled nervously.

Yang gave us a curious glance whereas Blake's face flushed red.

"A bit dramatic, aren't we?" Jun remarked.

I shrugged while reloading. "Eh, gotta have at least some fun." Two more dropships appeared, one getting destroyed in the same manner, with me sniping the passengers of the other one as they fell to the ground. What few stragglers that managed to make landfall were swiftly dispatched by my blades.

"Noting here but that lake." Jun remarked.

"Road leads to a hydroelectric plant, but the gate doesn't work." The civilian informed.

"Alternate route?"

"We use the riverbed to smuggle rations, weapons-"

"Basically, everything the UNSC considers contraband." Jun interrupted.

"…Basically." He agreed.

"Heh, well, how's about this: You show us the riverbed, and we kick the ever-living shit out of any alien bastards we find over there."

"So eloquent." Weiss sarcastically remarked.

"Eh, I say what needs to be said. No point in sugar-coating it."

"Deal." He said, starting down the path.

Eventually, Jun asked a question. "Where does this riverbed lead?"

"Straight to the hydro plant. We dammed this river up forty-five years ago, plant powers every settlement in the territory… Shame if it all gets wasted…" He trailed off.

"Doing what we can." Jun said before halting. "Hold up. Covvie dropship, take cover!" We waited a few moments while the Phantom passed. "Okay, clear. Let's move." A few minutes of walking later and we came upon the dam. "Kat? Are you seeing this? Covenant structure. Kind of a big pylon. Heavily fortified."

"That's the source of our dark zone."

"Okay. Consider it gone." Was Jun's response.

"Negative. Stick a remote det charge on it. Command is planning something big. They say that pylon dies at dawn."

I fired off a few shots at a now-dead group of Elites, startling their underlings. I took out my pistol and started laying into them, each shot resulting in a grunt falling to the ground, a new hole in its head. Eventually, the area was secured.

"Alright Jun, set the charges. I'll watch your back."

"Affirmative." Came his reply.

No sooner did another dropship swoop in, its newly-opened doors revealing a pair of hunters. I burst into rose petals, charging one of them and socked him straight in the jaw.

"Okay, that's a bit showey even for you, Ruby." My partner remarked.

"Heh, might as well make it entertaining. And you can't say it wasn't effective."

"It was ineffective." She said, dryly.

"You'll see, just wait."

The stunned body of the hunter fell into the canyon below.

Weiss blinked. "I… stand corrected."

Mid-flight, I turned my attention to the other hunter and pulled out my sniper, firing off a few shots into its head. The hunter roared in agony and started charging up its fuel rod cannon. I hit the ground and dodged right at the last moment, leaving a cloud of rose petals to take the hit instead. The beast swung its shield at me, but I sidestepped and shot several rounds into its back. It finally collapsed, dead where it lay.

"Recon Bravo to Noble Two, charge placed."

"Somewhere inconspicuous, I hope?"

"Stuck it inside the pylon's power supply."

"Alright, keep pushing into the dark zone. Command wants to know what the Covenant are hiding."

"There's a gate to the southeast of the hydro plant."

"Copy, uploading security codes to you now." Kat finished as we approached.

"Okay, got 'em. Unlocking the gate." The gate slid open with a soft clank. "Phantom, a little too close for comfort." He remarked, though It flew off moments later.

We kept advancing, eventually coming across a hail of plasma.

"That's a lot of plasma…" Yang remarked.

"Yeah, that's a Shade for ya. They throw out loads of the stuff, don't do much damage per hit though."

I peaked my head above the rock I had dove behind to see that it was, indeed, a Shade turret that was suppressing us. I ducked back behind the rock and activated my active camouflage before stepping out and braining the Elite manning the turret. The emplacement immediately silenced, though I saw another one of its kind activating in the distance. I took care of that as well before advancing, dealing with some hostile infantry along the way.

"A lot of air traffic around here, Six, I think we're getting warm."

"Ya think?" I sarcastically remarked while extracting my knife from an Elite's skull. I turned a corner before- "Shit, I got eyes on a corvette!"

"Noble Six, is it engaging you?"

"Negative, too far away."

"Solid copy, don't stop now."

I mopped up the remainder of the covvie forces before reaching an overlooking bluff. I quickly went prone before slowly crawling forwards.

"That's… a lot of aliens."

"Heh, you can say that again, Blake." I sighed. "Like I said, there's probably thousands of covvies on the planet right now… and this is only one landing zone. Sure it turned out to be the main one, but it is still only one."

The rest of the team shuddered.

"Jackpot."

"Transmitting visual. You got this, Tech Girl?"

"Confirmed. Receiving Noble Three and Noble Six visual of a Covenant Strike force."

"God, if that's a strike force, I'd hate to see what an army looks like." I remarked, dryly.

"Point, command is ordering all recon teams to disengage and fall back. The sun will be up in a few hours, and its going to be a very busy day."

I giggled, causing Jun to look at me weirdly. "Two, are we sure Six is mentally stable?"

"Nope." I replied, popping the 'P'.

"Ruby, I do truly think you're insane." Weiss remarked.

"Heh, and what's wrong with that? Being sane is boring anyway…" I wrapped my arm around her. "Come to the crazy side, Weiss, we have Kiwis!"

She blinked before scooting away from me. "I think I'll pass. Can we start the next mission now?"

I looked at the time before nodding and starting to fast-forward.

(A/N) Not really much to say here, so I'll get straight to the reviews.

Cmedina1 – I don't really know. I did a little digging and found no evidence for this… Also, that seems very un-Halo like… so I'm just gonna say that no, Elites can't block bullets.

Guest 01 – Yea, Yang was especially grossed out by the fact that they're worms.

Guest 02 – Thanks!

Guest 03 – Thanks, and she views her semblance, at this point in time at least, as something to be used sparingly; since it drains her 'natural energy shield' to function.

Guest 04 – Thanks!

SmoothedBest36 – Thanks! I thought about using line breaks instead of bold/unbold, but then I realized that it would get very confusing, very quickly. So I stuck to what I knew would work well with the transitions. And about the random guest reviews, it's either FFN fucking up somehow or it's a troll somewhere, probably the latter. Either way, I'm just gonna ignore it and hope it goes away. But to answer your question, no, you aren't the only one seeing it.

And that's all for today! 'Clash of the Titans' is next, and will cover both 'Tip of the Spear' and, my personal favorite mission of Halo: Reach, 'Long Night of Solace'.