"How long until impact?"
The control panels were flashing angrily across the board. "Engines are already failing. We won't have more than a minute before descent begins, and that won't get us much more than halfway past the perimeter. We'll be coming in loud."
"Just make it count."
Of course. Reaching over, she flipped a chrome switch, cutting out the bird's lights. It was going to be bad enough roaring in without being a ball of blazing luminescence in the night sky. Roaring. "Night vision Alpha 2 activate," she whispered, tilting the controls to give her a view of the ground below. She was going to have to land soon, but if she could just…
There!
A wraith glowed faintly, no more than 200 yards out and five degrees to the left. Perfect. Reducing the falcon's forward tilt, she let it climb, pulling the throttle back until it was totally open.
"Six –" Kat let the unspoken question hang.
"You might want to get your Armor-Lock ready." The engines spluttered and cut out completely just as she finished the suggestion.
"Six…"
But Six was focusing on the job at hand. With the engines went the power steering, and guiding this bird was going to take all her strength and ability. As the plane began to plummet, so did her stomach. It was a peculiar feeling – one she loved and would never get used to. There was something about that shift in direction. The rush of a free fall was so, liberating.
The bird picked up speed at an impressive rate. Her hands left the flight gears for only a fraction of a second to release the hatch; the wind tore it completely off a moment later. It would only be seconds now. Her eyes locked onto the light blue glow of energy looming in the darkness. Not yet… not yet… now!
"Jump!" the pilot commanded.
"Oh shi– " Kat's voice cut out, and Six hoped it was from the activation of her own Armor-Lock just before the bird struck.
"Six? Six!" The voice echoed in her helmet above the roaring of the collision and the following explosion.
A second later, the lock gave out, and a scrambling Six climbed out of the somewhat crushed cockpit, diving clear of the wreckage just before the Wraith's power cells discharged a wave of lethal energy.
"Six!" Kat jogged to her teammate's side.
Stumbling to her feet, Six chuckled. "Man, you're starting to wear out my number."
"I wouldn't have to if you weren't so crazy. Or if you gave me a name. Come on, let's move before they realize where we are."
The two took off into the darkness, heading towards the structure. The landing had taken them just outside the outer wall, near the doors they'd used last time they were here when they'd had to leave the facility and get the Anti-Air support back online.
A few minutes later they were in the courtyard, and there was no sign of tangos.
"So, does this feel like an ambush to you too?" Six asked suspiciously.
Kat thought about it for a second. "I'm hoping the Commander and team cleared the place out."
"Hmm. An optimist," she offered with a smirk as they started down the ramp into the complex.
"Doubtful, but ther–" A plasma round flew past her shoulder, making her forget her sentence as she lifted her M6G, spinning around to face the shooter who was behind them. It was a small pack of elites of various ranks, only one of them a Zealot. "We need cover! Get down there!"
"One small problem with that," Six said, her voice accompanied by the sound of her DMR as she charged down the ramp towards another group mixed with grunts and elites. They needed to get down there and in cover before they became utterly pinned.
The second her feet hit level ground, she took a sharp left and leaving the narrow corridor. The corner ahead of her had a cement road-block pushed into it, which would provide sufficient cover for the moment. "C'mon!" Switching to her assault rifle, she laid down a thoughtless and wild cover-fire as the two members of Noble made for the corner, leaping over the barrier.
Six settled with her back to the concrete and leaned around the corner to fire off a few rounds. The first struck an elite in the chest, piercing its shield generator, and the following two struck a bit higher, heading right into its open jaws. Its compatriots saw it fall and quickly dove into cover of their own. A grunt collapsed on its way, a pistol round embedded in its skull.
"I wasn't gonna say it, but, I told you so," Six said airily.
"We've got to get to that elevator before we're completely pinned down." Kat signaled toward the alcove to their right.
"I think we could take 'em," Six countered, firing off another round and taking down another elite.
"If they don't call for reinforcements." Two pulled the pin on a frag and threw it towards the enemy. "Let's go!" She sprung out of cover and straight for the door, Six close on her tail. A moment later, they were descending into the complex's lower levels, leaving behind an angry mob of blood-thirsty Covenant.
"What are you doing?" Six watched Kat pop open a control panel on the lift.
"Trying to lock it down. We don't need them tailing us the whole way."
"Noble Two, Six?" A familiar voice crackled to life in Six's helmet.
"Acknowledged. We're riding the lift now, Jun. Give us coordinates?"
"Kat, glad you both made it. Sending coordinates now."
The lift slowed as it reached the bottom, and Six stepped off, starting down the corridor, only to realize Two was still toying with the panel. "Kat."
"There are three, three, backups! I've gotten through the first."
Suddenly the elevator started to power up again, and both of them knew it was being called back to the surface.
The humming of its motors was cut off by the sound of Six's DMR discharging. Kat jumped back, looking down to find three perfect holes in the panel as the lift ground to a screeching halt a foot from the bottom. "I suppose that's equally effective."
With a nod, they both ran, Kat taking the lead as they made their way through the labyrinth of halls.
"Hmm, I suppose we should probably ride on that, eh?" Six suggested, looking at a odd, windowed compartment hanging from a railing.
"It's the only way to go," Two pointed out.
The pilot shrugged. "We could always go back," she offered.
The suggestion earned her a snort. "Not after your creative method for disabling the elevator." They both stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind them.
"This reminds me of a number of horror movie scenarios," Six said, only half joking as she looked around at the car and its lack of controls.
"Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant." Doctor Halsey's face wavered onto the flat-screen on the cable-car's wall as the contraption shuddered into motion. "Apologies for the unusual security measures, but the stakes demand it. Your timing, however, is quite perfect."
"Doctor Halsey," Kat acknowledged dryly. "Casualty reports have you listed as–"
The doctor cut her off. "Yes, well, as they say, news of my death has been greatly exaggerated. I'm appreciative of the fact that the same can be said for you, Alyss. I only wish it could be for Noble Five as well."
"We all do," Six offered, unused to the sound of her name.
"Well, it may please you to learn that the data module you procured from Visegrad Station contained precisely what my scientist promised. It has unlocked, at last, the secrets of this excavation."
"I'm not sure of what you're talking about. We're here for a poorly advised burn op."
"By now, you must have realized your orders were a pretext to bring you to me, and have been overridden. Team Noble is here to ensure the delivery of this vital data to a secure location."
"I suppose this has been confirmed with Command?" Six cut in, helmet hiding her narrowed eyes. If there was one thing ONI officials were good at, it was bending the rules, and Halsey was one of the slyest members she knew of.
"Colonel Holland has been briefed. You belong to ONI now." She paused for a moment, looking to Two as if waiting for a protest. She and Six were both surprised when none came. "Before you is an alien artifact neither human nor Covenant in origin, advanced beyond our comprehension, until now. The decrypting of its data is nearly complete. The rest of Noble is at the doors, buying time. I suggest you join them."
The screen cut out and a moment later the car drew to a halt, the metal door hissing as it slid open. Six jumped out and found herself at the edge of a frozen cave-turned-battlefield. The ceiling had been partially collapsed, presumably by a Covenant orbital attack, revealing the night sky and a number of phantoms hovering above.
"Let's go!" Both Spartan's activated their Sprint enhancements and charged down the ice-covered path towards Noble Team's position in front of a large metal door. The motion made Six's ribs burn with pain, but she did her best to ignore it.
As they neared, they found themselves separated from the team by a group of elites, and opened fire, catching the Covenant by surprise and trapping them in a deadly crossfire. A moment later the entire pack was down, and the two late-comers sprinted up the hill.
"Kat, Six. Glad you could make it to the party," Emile said amusedly as he pulled his knife out of the back of a Sangheili.
"Only fashionably late," Six quipped, striding past him to a weapons rack and trading her scuffed DMR for a new one and a pair of M6Gs.
"The download is complete. I'm opening the doors. Prepare for entry," Dr. Halsey cut in across the radio.
"Entry is secure. Proceed. Noble Team, get up here," Carter commanded roughly.
The doors hissed open, closing the moment the last of the Spartans stepped through, Carter, Jun, and Kat popping off their helmets after they passed through a second doorway.
"Commander," Six acknowledged as she let him pass her and take the lead.
Carter seemed to ignore the greeting, striding past without a glance.
"Good to see you on your feet, Noble," the sniper offered as he neared.
"It's good to be on them," she replied slowly, falling into step between him and Emile, still considering the Commander's silence.
"Are you really going to make us talk your helmet?" Jun asked, though his tone was polite.
Emile snickered. "You just want something to stare at."
Six considered the banter. "I will if you will," she said pointedly to Emile.
He shrugged and released the airlock, yanking it from his shoulders a moment later as she began to do the same. Cool air poured over her face as she pulled her helmet, tucking it under her shoulder. "How was the trip?" she asked amusedly, shaking her head so that the locks of disturbed hair would fall in place.
"Long," Emile said. "Impressed you passed the perimeter so quickly."
"We had a pilot who kept us under the radar," Kat pointed out.
"Maybe if we'd had another Spartan we would've made better time," Carter called over his shoulder. His voice was gruff, but it gave her a good idea as to what his mood was all about. She looked to Kat, whose eyes were narrowed at the Commander's back.
She went against a direct order, Six thought. She'd known it had been tactically unsound to leave a Spartan behind to care for a lethally wounded soldier, and had been surprised that the Commander had permitted Kat to stay. Now, she realized that he probably hadn't permitted her too. She'd might've gone against a direct order, and considering how wrapped up in duty Carter was, he was probably a stickler for insubordination, despite his obvious bond with Two. A mixed wave of gratitude, guilt, and surprise washed over her.
No one spoke as they continued, and a number of checkpoints later, the team reached an open room. The center housed a construct unlike anything Six had ever seen. It consisted primarily of three metal claws rising from the ground, a ball of blue light filling half the room spinning slowly within its grasp. Dr. Halsey stood in front of it, working at a group of control panels.
"What is this stuff?" Emile asked in awe.
"Knowledge. A birthright from an ancient civilization. This AI" she said, motioning to a glowing female figure, hovering cross-legged over a pedestal, "is its custodian, and she has chosen you as her couriers."
The program stood, turning to face the newcomers. Six couldn't help but feel as if it was staring at her, weighing.
"Chosen? By an AI…"
"She's probably twice as smart as you," Kat teased, crossing her arms and leaning against a support beam.
The doctor released a stiff chuckle. "This AI's measure of you carries as much weight as my own, perhaps more. You are to take her to the UNSC Ship breaking yard in Aszod. There you'll find a Halcyon-class cruiser waiting to get her off planet."
"I understand," Carter said sharply.
"Do you?" The doctor's voice was wry. "Mankind is out matched. When Reach falls, and it will fall, our annihilation is all but certain." Her fingers flew over a screen, tapping buttons with intensely at an impressive speed. "Unless, we can glean from this artifact a defense against the Covenant. A game changer, on the level of the conical bullet in the 19th century, or faster than light travel in the 23rd."
"What if we can't?" Everyone turned to eye Six in surprise. Even the doctor took a moment to face the Spartan, her eyes a mix of cool amusement and respect.
"An apt question, Alyss, if there was someplace else to place our hope." She walked across the room and disengaged a data core. The AI's figure shimmered and disappeared. "There is not." Halsey turned and strode over to newest Noble, cradling the piece of equipment. "Take it, Lieutenant."
Carter stepped forward. "Six was severely injured on the way here," he cut in. "We don't know her true condition."
Halsey waved the comment away. "My biometric scanners detected the injury. A shred of her suit's self-sealing polymer was drawn inside the wound, and has sufficiently grafted itself on the the rupture in her lung tissue. She has chosen her carrier."
Six hesitantly stared at the cylinder being offered her, digesting the information. The pilot knew Halsey wouldn't be fretted with what she'd consider more "trivial inquiries" as to Six's condition, and Six doubted they truly had the time for them. She glanced over at Carter, his face grim, before retuning her gaze to the AI. Slowly, she reached out and grasped it with both hands.
"Do you have it?" The question, seemingly simple, had far more meaning. This was a task of epic import, of great honor, and burden. The doctor's eyes said as much as Six met them with her own.
"Yes."
"Say the words please."
"I have it."
Thanks for all the alert subscriptions and reviews. Sorry for waits, but I write fic to break through my block for other projects, so it's sporadic. I've also been clinging to the Reach storyline, but planning to branch out soon.
Keep up the reviews; they're my life force.