Author note

Hey people : ). I am late as I usually am with all my FanFics but since it's a holiday (even though its my least favorite) I decided to get my act together and finished it up. This chapter kind of sucks but it and number 1 are really the fillers to get this story rollin'. Hopefully number 3 and on will be better because its when the action and story actually start for real.

Italicized things are thoughts or when in quotations will be things said in Sangheili or any other Covenant language. Xs mean new scene so its not confusing when I time skip or jump from place to place, hope it helps :).

I do not own Halo.

Enjoy :).

Keira entered the room and was surprised to see her section of Zeta company already waiting. I must have been the last one. She mused to herself as she let her eyes rove over the other teens. It was odd, seeing them as Spartans but at the same time it felt right, like it was always that way. The new Spartans said nothing to each other, they just silently awaited orders. None of them could talk anyway, all swimming through their own oceans of personal thoughts. The door opened and the group of young super soldiers turned as one to see who it was, only to snap to attention when the saw that it was a ranking officer.

"At ease, Spartans." The man said as he stood in front of the group. He surveyed the small group briefly with intelligent brown eyes "My name is Colonel Anders, I will be in charge of your unit. You young Spartans are now a part of Nova Team, serve it well." The middle-aged Colonel made a waving gesture towards the door. "Your armor is a few halls down, the techs will fit you with it. When you're done you will return to the hanger. A Pelican will take you back to Onyx where you will go through brief training to get you used to your new bodies, and your suits. We're running out of time here, Spartans. It may be brief, but the training will be enough. Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of spending our sweet time training anymore." He paused, letting his eyes sweep over the Spartans again, the newest in the line of super soldiers. "See you on the other side, Spartans." The Colonel saluted once more, the soldiers returning it. Anders nodded once before exiting the room, leaving the new team behind.

XXX

Training as Spartans was slightly easier than training as normal humans, but it was still brutal. Keira was just thankful that it was finally over. Nova was on a planet in the middle colonies now, assisting the local forces in taking out the Covenant threat that was currently terrorizing the planet. She sighed as she dropped herself onto her designated cot. The last battle still fresh in her mind. She let herself fall back onto the mattress, not even bothering to remove any amour but her helmet. Her five Spartan squad from Nova was taking a brake after clearing a populated area of Covenant, they would move to one of the larger battle fields when their squad leader got patched up. She heard the door open and the loud metallic steps of another Spartan.

"How's Chris?" She asked with slight worry in her tone, her eyes still closed as she tried to rest.

"Oh our little squad leader will be fine, medics said he'll be back up to full strength in about an hour and then we'll be deployed to where all the fun is."

"Yeah, 'cause war is sooo much fun Toby."

"You know I was joking."

"And you know I'm not a fan of your humor." She smirked.

"Aw c'mon, Kiera!" He pouted.

"Sorry that I don't find the threat of death as fun as you." She mock defended, her smile growing.

"Die? Ha! Spartans never die!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're just missing in action. We all know that's a lie. You can't cheat death." She muttered in a quieter tone.

"Way to kill the fun." He grumbled.

"Shut up." They drifted into silence, unable to continue the conversation. Eventually Keira drifted into a light doze, letting her worries slip for the little time she had to rest.

XXX

The two Falcons began to descend and the sounds of battle could already be heard in the air.

"Alright, this is it. Ready?" Chris Z-516 asked his squad over the comm.

"Ready!" Came the unanimous reply. The Falcons touched down.

"Then lets go!" The squad leader ordered as he leapt to the ground. He flinched slightly as he hit, his recently healed wound still bothering him, but he shrugged it off. They had a job to do. The four other Spartans joined their temporary leader on the ground. "Sir, my squad is on the ground. What's your status?" Chris asked Nova's leader over the comm.

"Chris, thank God, you got here just in time! My half of the team is spread through the ranks. The Covies are hitting us hard in the middle of our line, but we could use another sniper, and Dan and his marines aren't gonna hold out much longer without backup. We need help now or we're not gonna win this fight."

"Understood, sir." Chris turned to face his squad. "You heard the Officer, they need help and they need it now. Lee, take the high ground and put that Sniper of yours to use. Toby, assist Dan. Amy, Kiera, you're with me. Lets move out, Nova!" The young Spartans immediately went to work, Lee sprinting to the right, Toby the left, while the other three ran up the middle. The three Spartans passed retreating med teams as they sped into the front lines, ready to take the pressure of the marines.

"Sir, we're almost to the front." Amy told their Petty Officer leader as they closed in on the large mass of dots on their HUDs. The air was thick with dust and weapon fire as they neared their destination. Keira was right behind her leader as they burst into the fray, the sounds of battle roaring in her ears.

"Look who finally decided to show up." Keira huffed in irritation as she began firing her Assault Rifle at the enemy.

"This is no time for argument, Vince. Chris, keep punching up the middle, we got you're back." The Officer ordered as sternly as he could.

"Sir." Chris acknowledged as he filled a Grunt with led. Keira primed a grenade, and tossed it into the mass of advancing enemies. She could hear the various cries of pain as the aliens were unable to get clear of the small explosive in time. She smirked behind her visor, she was made for this. They fight became harder as the Brutes and Elites began to join together against the three Spartans. Keira slammed her gun against a Brute's unprotected head, effectively crushing the ugly creatures skull. She heard the Concussion Rifle before she saw it, jumping to escape the pink and purple projectiles.

"Watch out!" She yelled as she hit the ground, the shots from the Covenant weapon hammering the ground next to where she had been. Unfortunately, Amy wasn't as quick. The rapid plasma fire struck her in succession. Launching her back as they depleted her shields and damaged her armor. The female Spartan hit the ground hard, unmoving in her dazed and injured state.

"Amy!" Chris was at his subordinates side in an instant, looping his elbows under her arms before he began to drag her back, away from the oncoming horde of Covenant. "Keira, provide cover fire!"

"Sir!" Keira quickly stepped in beside her friend, shooting down the Covies that got close enough. "Nova we need back up now!" She yelled before she caught sight of how out numbered they really were. The top side of the tracker on her HUD was completely covered in red, the Covenant had got their reinforcements. She cursed under her breath. "Scratch that, we need to get out of here. Call for evac, there's to many." The rare show of defeat hit her hard as she did her best to protect her fallen team mate.

"What do you mean, Keira? We can't back down. We cannot allow this planet to fall."

"I don't think you understand sir. Keira's right. If we don't retreat now, every last soldier will die. We need to-" Chris was cut off abruptly as the over charged blast of plasma hit his side. He staggered as his shields depleted. Keira was close, and rushed to aid him, but the Brute was quicker. She could only watched in shock as the Spikes drummed into the Spartans chest. The Brute's victory was short lived as bullets filled its stomach, it fell like its victim.

"Chris!" She shouted above the noise of war.

"What's going on?" The Officer's voice was urgent and tinted with concern. Keira felled the Brute, anger fueling her renewed violence. She stood near the two downed soldiers, it was to risky to even think about getting them away herself. "Report!" The leader of Nova snapped, trying to mask his worry with force.

"Nova Prime, this is Keira, two Spartans down. They need pick up."

"Understood." He said gravely. "Vince, and Jean are coming to assist."

"Well they need to hurry up and get Chris and Amy out of here, I can only hold them off for so long." She growled as she shot a Grunt's methane tank, the following explosion killing its companion. After spraying bullets into the line of enemies, the terrible sound of an empty clip clicked from her Assault Rifle, she cursed under her breath and rushed to reload. She paused after her clip was replaced, something wasn't right, she couldn't see any Covenant. She griped her gun tighter, her eyes scanning the tracker on her HUD and the battle field around her. Nothing. It didn't take Spartan senses to know something wasn't right. Within a split second, dots appeared on her HUD and she prepped herself for what she assumed to be a group of Brutes, Jackals, and perhaps Minor Elites coming to break the front line. She would never assume anything again.

Rav'k Ashortee looked towards the battle field with a sense of victory. This battle was all but won, it was time for him to make his move. The Elite took a glance over one armored shoulder to look at the four Zealots under his command.

"Come brothers, we must strike while the humans retreat! We take the first we come across as the Prophets have commanded." The other Zealots nodded their consent. Rav'k nodded in return and charged deeper into the battlefield, his soldiers following right behind him.

Keira heard a noise to her right an whirled, only to have a massive Elite General slam into her with its shoulder. The large alien roared as she hit the ground, activating an Energy Sword as it closed in for the kill. Keira gasped as the air left her lungs, struggling to reach her weapon on the ground before she could be killed without a fight.

Rav'k held his blade high, ready to plunge it into the Demon's chest when a thought struck him. Who better to interrogate about the humans than a Demon? He halted his swords movement midway back as a Sangheili equivalent of a smirk ghosted across his mandibles. The blue energy of the sword disappeared and he returned the hilt to the magnetic armor plating on his thigh.

Keira watched with wide eyes as the Energy Sword was pulled back. She grasped desperately for her rifle but the weapon was out of reach, and she didn't dare turn her back on the Elite. The Elite paused and suddenly the intimidating blue disappeared. Her eyes widened. Where was the violent merciless slaughter? Where was the roar of victory? The Elite was just looking at her with an odd twitch of its mandibles. She was at a loss, but she took the Elites sudden stillness to inch her hand closer to her gun as discreetly as possible. The Elite snarled and taking a step close, issued a vicious kick to her side. She gasped in pain her arms instinctively covering the throbbing area, she could feel the broken ribs and undoubtedly bruised internal organs. The alien's foot landed heavily on her chest. She wanted and tried to fight back, but she couldn't move without a searing pain tearing through her chest. The young Spartan hadn't been in enough battles to be able to shake off the pain as easily as the compat worn veterans that were the older III's, even with her newly heightened pain tolerance.

Rav'k leaned his head in close to the Demon's, a victorious snarl coming from the back of his thought as it failed to retaliate. Keira battled with the pain, but knew that even if she could strike back, the Zealot would kill her instantly. She was dead no matter what. She braced herself for the inevitable when one loud shot broke the suffocating silence. Keira turned her head to the source and her eyes widened in shock, Vince was standing a few yards away holding his DMR at the ready, Jean beside him in her own fighting stance.

"Leave her alone you bastard." He threatened. The Elite snarled and spat out something in its native tongue.

"Kill those Demons! We will use this one as our captive."Rav'k barked at the Zealots. They didn't give a reply, but he could tell they were moving closer to the two humans. Rav'k continued to snarl at the new enemies, keeping his captive trapped under his foot. The air shimmered in front of Vince and he barely had time to through himself backwards before the Elite materialized, swinging it's Energy Sword at his head. The two Zeta company Spartans fought hard, but the Elites not only had the element of surprise, but they were far more experience in battle. Despite being Spartans, they barely stood a chance. Keira could only watch in horror as her team mates were mercilessly slaughtered in front of her. Sounds of agony ringing in her ears. Suddenly, the fight just left her and she stopped struggling against her attacker. The Elite's weight was slowly crushing the Spartan, it was becoming increasingly harder to breath. So it was just going to suffocate her? Great, now she didn't even have the dignity of being run through with an Energy Sword. Suddenly the weight on her chest became crushing, and she struggled for air. The pressure on her lungs was building, but she was to drained to fight it. Keira embraced the suffocating darkness when it came.

January 17, 2547

Planet Luyten

Spartan Nova Team casualty report.

Amy Z-521. KIA

Christopher Z-516. KIA

Jean Z -519. KIA

Kiera Z-527. MIA

Vince Z-520. KIA

Well glad that's finally over. I randomly selected the planet from one of the Halo Universe planets that didn't have a glassing date. Please review! Hope you all liked it. Now that this chap is over with I'll get the others out as fast as I can. Thanks for reading! Oh and if you would like to loan your assistance, I really need Elite names, Spartan names, and human names.

Thanks again! Happy Valentines day! And see you next time.

SS out. :)