Chapter 9: Long Night of Solace

"We are all racing towards death. No matter how many great, intellectual conclusions we draw during our lives, we know they're all only man-made, like God. I begin to wonder where it all leads. What can you do, except do what you can do as best you know how." – John Hurt

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2007 Hours, August 2, 2552 (Military Calendar) / Szurdok Ridge, Ütközet, Viery Territory, Reach, Epsilon Eridani System

The light of the setting sun and the plasma barrages caused by nearby Covenant Scarab, all of which were filtering through the large dust clouds over the region, left the entire area bathed in a premature glow of twilight. The sound of the Scarab's main cannon was briefly heard in the distance as Noble Team regrouped in a cave not far from the site of the battlefield they were recently at earlier. Jorge was lugging in a large briefcase, though for a Spartan II it wasn't that heavy at all. Six closely followed behind him while Jun finished securing their six. Carter was sitting down at one side of the cave opening while Kat stood in front of him. Everybody was tired and more than a little annoyed at how the recent battle for Szurdok Ridge had gone. It didn't really help when Auntie Dot commed in to update their knowledge on the situation.

"Our foe is more devious than we imagined. That spire was indeed a teleporter linked to a cloaked, Covenant supercarrier... A grave threat."

"Thank you Auntie Dot." Six grumbled with a slight sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Thankfully, help is imminent. Sixty percent of the UNSC fleet as well as the Turian Sixth Fleet are en route to Reach from existing deployments. The first battle group should arrive within twelve hours." Auntie Dot finished. Jorge merely tossed the briefcase at Emile's feet in response to the info. Jun was standing right next to Jorge at the time and looked up at what he heard.

"Twelve hours?" Jun said as he proceeded to remove his helmet. "That's imminent?"

"Better half a day than a full one." Emile said out loud. Jun brushed some embers and ash off of Jorge's damaged shoulder pauldron in frustration, which has been charred by a plasma hit. Carter and Kat merely brooded while Six slightly shrugged as if in acceptance. Frankly, twelve hours was better than twenty-four. Still, if there was one thing you learned during war, anything could happen during in a short amount of time. Six was already missing the Drell's calm demeanor and wise outlook which had been proven to be as beneficial as his skills. Thane had to be airlifted to the FOB to get his wounds checked after the fall of the Spire, leaving Noble Team behind on the battlefield.

"Uh-oh. Who's your money on this time?" Jun asked Jorge as they looked toward their commanding officers to see what would happen. Carter and Kat both looked like they were going to get into a confrontation at this point.

"Her." Jorge merely answered while never taking his eyes off the pair, even when he took off his helmet.

"You always pick her."

"She's always had him dialed in."

The two shared a few chuckles at that. Kat always knew which buttons she had to push with Carter. Some of the team liked to joke that the two had feelings for the other but if they truly did, they wouldn't act on them. Military regulations and whatnot.

Said two commanders were currently discussing the situation at the moment with both their helmets off. "That thing's crushing us, and we're waiting for backup? They'll be backing up a graveyard." Kat began with the sound of another cannon blast from the Scarab outside backing up her words.

"All our nukes are either out-system or went down with the ships that carried them. You're preaching to the converted." Carter replied in somber response.

"How converted?"

"I know that look, Kat."

"You can say no."

"No."

"You don't even want to hear it?"

Carter sighed in surrender before saying, "Fine. I'll hear it."

"Remember that accident a couple years back? Colony ship en route to Cygnus. Seven hundred dead?"

"Vaguely. A slipspace drive malfunction, right?"

"Actually, it worked fine. The drive was mounted improperly after a service haul-out. When it fired, it...teleported half the ship to oblivion."

"And this is relevant...how?"

"A certain Covenant supercarrier could, with some assistance, suffer the same unfortunate accident..."

"Even for you, Kat, that's-"

"Inspired?"

"Not the word I would use." Carter finished as Jorge and Emile walked up to them.

"What's going on?" Jorge asked.

"Go ahead. Explain." Carter stated calmly.

Kat reached for Emile's kukri, but he grabbed her hand to prevent her from taking it. Kat remained unfazed at the sight. It was well known amongst the Spartan IIIs that Emile didn't like people taking his stuff, especially his knife, without permission.

"May I?" Kat asked in response and Emile dropped his hand and allowed her to take it.

"Don't cut yourself." He said with slight humor. Kat rolled her eyes in response to Emile's little joke. She bent down to the ground and began using the kukri knife to draw her plan in the dirt of the cave while explaining her idea to Noble Team.

"Objective? Destroy Covenant Carrier in geosynchronous orbit above us." She explained as she finished the diagram.

"This sanctioned, sir?" Jorge questioned.

"What do you think?" Was Carter's immediate response.

"Oh."

Kat continued unconcerned by the side conversation. "Method? A slipspace drive in lieu of the nukes we don't have. Delivery system? Us. Solvable? Getting us up there. That, and getting our hands on a slip-space drive." She stood back up and handed Emile back his kukri. "Thank you for sharing." She finished.

"So... All we need is orbit-capable transport, and the single most expensive piece of equipment made by man?" Carter stated with a small amount of sarcasm. He wasn't exactly wrong to say so. Slipspace drives were the most expensive items humanity had ever built in its long history in terms of how many resources were used, how much money was spent, and how much time was put in to build and test the thing. The first ships to leave Earth in fact, didn't have any reliable type of FTL at their disposal and they wouldn't until 2291 which was when humanity began to leave the Sol System. It and the long distances involved during slipspace travel were one of the reasons why cryonics were still in use today. To get a slipspace drive for this plan would either take time they didn't have or require one of the UNSC ships to give up their own, not something any captain would do under normal circumstances.

"As a soldier in the field I couldn't possibly have access to those kinds of resources - that said, a good place to look might be... I don't know, the nearest nonexistent launch site in the nonexistent Sabre Program, dismissed by three administrations as preposterous rumor... And in which our newest member was certainly never a pilot." Kat said without a care as if she were mentioning the weather. All the Spartans turned to look at Noble Six, who displayed no visible reaction at Kat's knowledge of what was supposed to be a top secret classified project.

"You're scary, you know that?" Emile plainly stated to Kat.

"All we need is a green light from Holland." Kat ignored Emile's remark.

"Good luck with that." Carter stated with a small smile before Kat handed Carter a data pad with Holland's number already in and waiting to be called.

"You're the one asking him." Kat said with a smug smile as Carter reluctantly took the pad, and turned away.

"Oh, there's no way in hell he's gonna go for this..." Carter mumbled loudly enough while the rest of the team left him be. From outside, they could hear snippets of his conversation with the good Colonel. It continued on for a few minutes, a few times rather loudly as the two argued over details, but in the end it sounded like Carter had acquiesced to the Colonel's request and the conversation ended before Carter moved out to the cave mouth.

"What did he say?" Jun asked as soon as their commander appeared. They were all curious as the snippets of the conversation they did hear didn't seem to go their way.

"We aren't getting the bomb." Carter stated. Kat looked like she was going to argue when Carter held up his hand to silence any words she or the others might say. "Kat, he did state your plan was a good idea but they are currently enacting another operation which we will take part in. The slipspace bomb would only be used as a last resort if things didn't go well."

"What operation is Colonel Holland talking about?" Kat asked curiously, her indignation momentarily restrained.

Carter stared at her and the rest of his team with a slight smile tugging at his lips. "They began Operation: Red Flag the moment they confirmed that ship was in the skies above Reach. They want us to help capture it."

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12:48 Hours, August 3, 2552 (Military Calendar) / Sabre Program Launch/Research Range, Farkas Lake, Eposz, Viery Territory, Reach, Epsilon Eridani System

The noonday sun shone down on Farkas Lake, attempting to dissipate what little fog existed around the glacial lake's surface. The rocky hills surrounding the lake was covered in fog, rocks, and tundra vegetation. It would have been the perfect sight to a nature lover hiking in the area. But there were two problems with trying to get to the location. One, the lake was located close to the northern edge of the Viery Territory which was close to the north pole of Reach. Thus the location was remote and the cold weather kept any possible tourists away from the area. It had been the perfect area to build a hidden base meant for secret projects and it was here that the Sabre Program Launch and Research Range was built with the utmost subtlety. Unfortunately, the Covenant's advanced technology meant that any black sites hidden from prying human and council alien eyes was not hidden from the Covenant, at least not for long. Even as the UH-144 Falcon carrying Carter, Kat, Jorge, and Noble Six headed toward a nearby beach, downrange from the facility, the glow of handheld plasma weaponry firing as well as the loud barks of human ballistic weapons guaranteed that the Covenant were already at the site. The Falcon hovered inches above the beach sand as the four members of Noble Team jumped off before it finally flew away.

"Bit of a hike to the launch facility..." Jorge trailed off as the group began moving nimbly and silently through the boulders lining the lakeshore.

"Any closer's too hot to land." Carter stated plainly before turning to the rest of the team and calling out. "Alright, move up the beach Noble!" With that, Noble Team began charging through a small rocky path before entering an open part of the beach. Two rocky outcrops blocked the way with only a small pass between them allowing access to the site. As they approached the rocks, the team could see Covenant dropships, pods, plasma, and Allied gunfire filling the air. These sights were only obscured for a second as the team moved through the pass but upon exiting, they could see the scope of the battle. A Spirit dropship was unloading several Covenant troops who were beginning their assault on the now visible launch station.

"Launch facility, dead ahead." Kat said.

"Hostile transport coming in!" Carter noted as they began eliminating the Covenant rearguard which was mainly composed of Grunts and Jackals. Several orbital insertion pods of Covenant design hit the sandy ground near Noble Team, disgorging their contents which happened to include numerous Elite forces led by an Ultra. Bullets soon flew through the air as Noble Team began their massacre of the enemy forces. The Grunts and Jackals were easy to rid of. The Elites were a different matter but considering their positions amongst the rocks and against a squad of Spartans, Noble Team was able to kill them off. The last of the Covenant to fall had been the Elite Ultra. Six, had been walking amongst the rocks when the whine of a plasma weapon filled his ears and he promptly rolled across the beach. Plasma flew through the air where his head had been seconds ago. Getting behind cover swiftly, Six ran toward the Elite Ultra's flanks and threw a plasma grenade the alien. The sticky blue explosive hit its target and the Ultra managed to give a roar of defiance before disappearing in a blue flash. With the Ultra gone, the last of the enemy rearguard was wiped out and Noble Team moved up the beach toward the looming launch site. As they did, a Seraph fighter flew toward the base when it was shot down by an anti-air turret. The Seraph's shields shined brightly but either the shot had damaged its engines or shoved off course and it crashed into the walls of the base.

"More hostiles in the rocks to the south." Jorge called out.

"Root 'em out." Was Carter's answer. Noble Team continued to engage the Covenant reinforcements as they neared the base. More pods dropped into the ground, only for their occupants to meet the withering gunfire of the Spartans. Grunts, Jackals, Skirmishers, and Elites fell and leading the charge toward the great metal doorway of the site, was Six. He had jumped climbed and jumped across the rocks of the shoreline, wounding the Covenant forces in the flank. He was the first one to get to the entrance and upon reaching the doorway, he had turned and began shooting every single Covie in sight while his teammates moved up the ramp, squeezing the enemy between them. Noble Team soon cleared the area around the doors of hostiles and approached the facility's entrance where they were greeted by Army Troopers in power armor.

"Everybody inside, more hostiles on the way. "I'll seal this entrance." A trooper called out as Noble Team neared the doors. The trooper then pressed a number of buttons and the doors began to close.

"Inside Noble, let's go!" Carter yelled. He and Kat were soon beside Six while Jorge lumbered behind. When he reached the doorway, he turned around and swung out his machine gun toward the beach. A small amount of Grunts and Jackals had escaped the initial carnage and tried to sneak in but Jorge's radar had warned him. The Covies never had a chance as Jorge mowed them down like chaff. When the Covenant forces had stopped moving, Jorge took a step back and watched as the doorway shrunk smaller in size before closing up altogether. The last thing anybody could see or hear was a Pelican dropping off additional troopers to combat Covenant forces outside the gate. With the gate closed now, Noble Team began moving into the base itself, with a number of troopers marching in alongside them who were either calling out orders or explaining things to the Spartans.

"Flight control's this way, they're expecting you." One of the troopers up ahead stated as they continued down a plasma scorched hallway

"Still can't believe Holland said yes to this..." Jorge grumbled. His voice still carried enough for everybody to hear it.

"Well, some plans are too good to say no." Kat mentioned.

"Let's get that Sabre airborne before he changes his mind." Was Carter's remark, essentially ending the conversation. It was timely too as the Spartans neared a hallway where a giant hole in the wall leading to the outside was located. Judging by the size, shape, and location, the hole was most likely caused by the downed Seraph that Noble Team saw crashing into the building earlier.

"Control's right through that door, Commander." The lead trooper following Noble mentioned as they entered the damaged hall.

"We got a Wraith on the lower platform!" Another trooper called out farther down said hallway before the hole he had been at filled with blue explosions and said trooper was thrown into the opposite wall, a smoking, sparking suit. His helmet had been broken, revealing the bruised, bleeding face of the man. Angered at the poor soldier's death, Six rushed forward, grabbed the trooper's rocket launcher and ran to the opening in the wall. The Wraith was placed on a platform located over the waters of the lake that made up a makeshift dock. The Wraith had been expertly placed but the location didn't provide it much room to maneuver and its driver must have assumed it dealt with the threat. Six proved it wrong and fire two rockets in quick succession at the enemy vehicle. The rockets struck head on, the first killing the gunner and damaging the vehicle, the second successfully striking something of importance and causing an overload in the plasma coils of the vehicle. The entire thing turned into a roaring blue-purple ball of heat and light before the flames and smoke cleared to reveal nothing but debris. After dealing with the Wraith, Noble Team continued down the aforementioned hallway for the control room. The trek was rather calm and peaceful from then on, despite the battle raging outside, with one exception. There only stop had been when an Army trooper had been thrown violently into a wall from a neighboring hallway as they had approached. A Sangheili Officer emerged seconds later only for Six to run up behind it and jam his knife into its neck, severing the spine and arteries with quick and ruthless efficiency. After that, they had continued with no further issues.

"Warning: launch facility has been breached. Covenant forces have entered the base." The base's PA announced as one explosion rocked the facility somewhere far off. Noble Team couldn't do anything about it as they had a mission of their own to complete. Besides, they had reached the control room of the facility and were met with a gruesome sight. The control room was filled with the bodies of dead troopers, both in power suits and without. The attack was probably unexpected which explained the number of unarmored soldiers compared to those who were wearing power armor. A hologram of a Covenant SDV-class heavy corvette hovered above a holo-table located in the center of the room. It was the only major source of light in the room as the windows had been closed by an outside bulkhead. The team moved around the bodies and holo-table to reach the far side of the room in an attempt to find a button or lever when the bulkhead began to open to reveal the launch area which contained within it, a fully intact and functional white-colored Sabre. It was a marvel of engineering in its own right. The YSS-1000 Prototype Anti-Ship Spaceplane, commonly called the Sabre since its inception, was the latest in its kind which could be launched vertically from a ground-based launch platforms using a system detachable rockets to propel itself out of a planet's atmosphere and into low orbit without the use of a mass driver, nuclear technology, or other traditional means of surface-to-orbit transit. It had two shielding systems including a mass barrier and a plasma shield as well as two 30 mm cannons and a missile delivery system. Though it was only a prototype for now, the scientists who created it believed that it would be the craft of its type before a propulsion system could be built that would still allow the Sabre or similar fighters to reach low orbit without the use of rockets. So even though it wasn't complete, for this mission, the Sabre was perfect. But while everybody was ogling over it for a variety of reasons, the building shook as a pair of Seraphs flew overhead.

With the spell broken, Carter called out, "Jorge, Six: get to the Sabre before the Covenant wreck it."

"What about you and Kat?" Jorge questioned.

"Jun's on his way with a Falcon, we'll exfil after you launch. Move!" Carter ordered before he and Kat disappeared back down the way they originally came.

"You heard him, Six, let's go." Jorge said after a few moments. Six merely nodded in response and the two headed off to the Sabre, passing by an Army Trooper who was busy kicking a Sangheili Ultra's corpse over the edge of the walkway. The Spartans approached the ramps leading to the Sabre's cockpit. Two Army troopers in power armor were stationed near the ramps, and one of them saluted Six as the two Spartans had approached.

"Launch teams, Sabre is prepped and ready for launch." The trooper said while the two approached the Sabre itself. Jorge-052 said, "You first, Six. I'm just a passenger on this leg." Noble Six nodded in understanding as he climbed into the Sabre's cockpit. He was the more experienced of the two considering his classified experience piloting these crafts. Frankly, though nobody could see it, Six was kind of happy to be back in one of these things. It had been a while since he had been behind the wheel of a Sabre. Still, there was no time to dawdle so with fluid motion, Six and then Jorge, both climbed into the cockpit of the Sabre. The cockpit cover closed over their heads and the ramp they had walked up on pulled away.

"Struts disengaged. Commencing launch in T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2..." The Sabre's computer began as soon as everything checked out quickly followed by the engines igniting. The fighter began to shake at first, quite violently in fact, before the fighter began to lift off from the ground. Across the facility, other Sabres began to follow Six's Sabre as well, blasting off into the sky. Despite the carnage occurring outside, if any human who knew what was going on at the moment, looked at the multiple aircraft rising from the surface of Reach, they would have smiled because to them, it meant there was still hope. As Six and Jorge watched, the facility and then the area around it, disappeared behind a dense cover of clouds as the Sabre sped into the sky. The entire cockpit shook as the gravity of the planet and the friction of the atmosphere attempted to assert themselves on the Sabre with no luck.

"First stage engine burn nominal." The computer chimed in a friendly voice as the sky ahead grew ever darker. The Sabre was finally leaving the upper atmosphere and entering low orbit. "Stage separation in 3, 2, 1... Stage separation." The computer once again voiced out and the two Spartans felt as the numerous booster rockets and fuel pods attached to the Sabre began to pop off stage by stage. Eventually a large enough bump signaled the detachment of all the rocket boosters and the Sabre once they were far enough away, the Sabre ignited its afterburners and flew off toward the space platform of Anchor 9.

"Second stage ignition confirmed." The computer chimed once again. Six and Jorge ignored it for the most part, instead focusing on the sight of Reach below/above them.

'Right.' Six thought looking at the swirling clouds of the planet that felt so much like a home to him. 'There are no actual directions when in space.' Still, after some slight maneuvering, he couldn't help but feel like he was looking down on the world. In a single word, it could be described as beautiful. The greens, browns, blacks, and greys of the various landmasses mixed with the bright blues of the oceans and the white of the clouds formed a rather idyllic picture. The swirling clouds of a hurricane were visible and on the horizon of the planet, where the atmosphere began to give way to empty space, one could see the glow of an aurora dancing across the night side. The only thing that actually marred the picture was the sight of multiple, large columns of smoke, each starting from a bright pinprick somewhere on the ground below them. Before they had left for their mission, Noble had gathered info on Covenant movements and attacks after the Battle of Szurdok Ridge. What they had read on the ride to the launch site was discouraging. What Six and Jorge saw below was even more heartbreaking. Each pinprick of light and smoke was another settlement or base that had gone up in flames because of the Covenant. Another hundred or so innocent lives that had been snuffed out and lost. This war had taken so many lives and right now, there were more than a dozen of these burning pinpricks on the planet's surface. How many had already perished down there or were being actively hunted? Would this be enough to save them or would it just be a waste in the long run? Six didn't know and frankly the only thing he could do was pilot the Sabre to Anchor 9. The coming battle would help him release any anger he had. Operation: Upper Cut had begun.

"Noble Actual to Sabre Bravo Oh-Two-Niner, over." Colonel Urban Holland radioed as they neared the station.

"Copy, Actual. Colonel Holland?" Jorge replied.

"Affirmative, Noble Five. Welcome to Operation: UPPER CUT. I'll be your control from here on out."

"Understood, Colonel."

"Noble Six, these Sabres have been customized for orbital defense; you may need to get reacquainted. Rendezvous at Anchor 9 with the frigate Savannah and the other Sabres as soon as you're ready. Holland out."

Six began checking his instruments to make sure everything was in order. The throttle and pedals were still the same as they originally had been. The afterburners were good to go and the inertial dampeners that allowed the Sabre to make evasive maneuvers without the pilots being affected were in prime condition. The weaponry was still intact, in fact there was more ammo on this Sabre than Six had during his training. The double combo barrier and shield that protected the craft was the only thing that was new. With everything checking out, Six immediately thrusted the throttle forward and the Sabre responded by picking up more speed to arrive at the staging point right in front of Anchor 9. At the same time, the UNSC Savannah was docking at another part with the platform to get ready for the upcoming mission. Everything was going well so far until Jorge spoke.

"Multiple unidentified contacts." He stated and his words proved true when comms officer on the Savannah radioed in to all the pilots.

"Savannah Actual to Sabre teams, be advised: we have bogies inbound."

"Anchor 9 to all UNSC ships: station defenses are down, requesting combat support until we can bring them back online."

"Here we go, Six." Jorge stated as Six readied the Sabre's weapons. "Show them what you can do." Six nodded and joined with the other Sabres who had joined into formation in front of the platform. As they moved away from the platform and into open space, a point marking where the Covenant forced would appear made itself known on Six's visor. Turning toward the area which was located above him, Six at first saw empty space before that part of the sky disgorged five Covenant Banshee Interceptors from small glowing tears that quickly disappeared when their contents were away from the tears. Six and every other Sabre that followed him instantly fired their machine guns at the Banshee's undersides. Several of them instantly exploded into pieces and those that remained instantly went into overdrive to get out of the area of fire. Below Six's Sabre group another half a dozen or so Banshee's tore out of slipspace and began to engage the station's defenders. The Sabres instantly broke formation and tore after the Banshee's or were chased by them. It began one great big dogfight as the Sabres used their machine guns and afterburners to fly and destroy the multiple Banshee Interceptors.

"Defensive batteries are at 56%. Hang in there, Sabre teams." Anchor 9 announced over radio. The Sabre teams just had to last long enough till the station defenses were back online and thankfully they had some luck.

Now even without a pair of Spartans, one of whom piloted a Sabre before, the other Sabre teams would have won soon enough against the Banshees. The thing about Banshees, even those adapted to space condition, was that they had rather weak armor. It was their speed and explosive plasma that made them a threat and the Sabre's own abilities canceled that advantage. Six took out five of them before moving onto the sixth and last one. Its pilot attempted to evade Six and the other Sabres by using the debris floating by Anchor 9. That was a mistake for the other pilots may not have been that good but Six was. Tailing the lone Banshee through the debris field, Six followed the enemy ship closely watching it try to dodge and evade him to no avail. It escaped down one closing path while Six took a second path. As soon as the Banshee had exited the debris field Six appeared out of another area and gunned it down.

"Well done, Six." Jorge applauded as the Sabre began turning back toward the platform. Then as if the universe wanted to prove Jorge wrong and make things worse overall, Anchor 9 radioed the Sabre teams again.

"Anchor 9 to UNSC ships: impulse drive signatures detected. Fighter-class. Heads up, Sabres!"

The warning came in only seconds before the sky erupted into lights again and out dropped multiple Seraphs which quickly began to move against the Sabres and the platform. Now the Seraphs were completely different from Banshees as they had thicker, stronger armor and were protected by an energy shield, making them tougher to take down. They were also slightly faster than Banshees overall making them more of a problem for the defenders. Six gracefully dodged one that nearly crashed into him before swerving into the middle of the dogfight to help his comrades.

"Get this guy off my tail!"

"Can't shake this bastard!"

"Getting hit by Seraph fire!"

"I need help!"

"Sabre teams: use your guns to take down their shields, then hit 'em with your missiles!" Holland had radioed in but for some the advice came in too late. The radio began filling with the cries of the Sabre pilots who were beginning to face problems facing these Seraphs. A number of voices were silenced by static however and explosions occurred in the night sky soon after. It saddened Six to know that a few of those were Sabres and not Seraphs.

"Defensive batteries at 79%; buy us another minute, Sabre teams." Anchor 9 called out.

'How about you hurry it up already.' Six thought angrily. He could understand to an extent but men were dying out here and one minute could be a minute too long. Determined to end this before it could get it any worse, Six took off after one Seraph that was harassing another Sabre. The Seraph attempted to shake him while chasing its prey but the Spartan was a better flyer than the Covenant at the controls. The machine guns slowly whittled down the Seraph's shields before Six switched to rockets and fired. Four rockets flew from the Sabre and then sped up to catch the Seraph. It attempted to dodge but it was rather futile and the Seraph went up in flames. The process continued on like this for a few minutes, with Six chasing every Seraph in sight with machine gun followed by rockets. Though it took longer and there were casualties compared to the first wave, the station defenders were able to destroy them all. Of course as soon as the Seraphs were taken care, the Sabre teams were once again alerted.

"Anchor 9 to all craft in the vicinity, be advised: we show a large attack force inbound. Combat air patrol and Sabre teams are directed to engage and defend the station."

Jorge-052: "Is there any place the Covenant isn't?" Jorge growled in frustration. Six was rather inclined to agree with him.

"Anchor 9 to all UNSC ships: station defenses are back online. Clear the lane, and we'll light 'em up."

'About damn time too.' Six thought as he saw the third wave of Covenant attackers erupt from slipspace. There were large numbers of Seraphs and Banshees entering the area and Six knew that this would become the toughest part of the battle for the skies of Reach. The dogfight for Anchor 9 between the Covenant and UNSC fighters began, meanwhile Anchor 9's point defense guns assisted taking down some of the more problematic enemy ships. Six ended up being chased by a Banshee while playing chicken with a Seraph. At the last moment, he had swerved out of the way, allowing the Banshee to crash into the Seraph and drain its shields while simultaneously destroying the Banshee. Then Six used his rockets on the now defenseless Seraph and destroyed it before going off to help the other Sabre teams. Many more Banshee Interceptors and Seraphs alike were destroyed by the combined firepower of the Sabres and Anchor 9 though many more Sabre teams were lost in the process and the situation only seemed to get worse.

"Anchor 9 to Sabre teams: Phantom signatures detected on a forward facing vector."

Sure enough, several heavily-armed Phantom Gunboats entered the area from where the Banshees and Seraphs had appeared earlier, their shields quickly going up and their guns beginning to glow with plasma.

"Anchor 9 to all UNSC fighters: multiple inbound Phantoms headed straight for our defensive batteries. Sabre teams, marking high-value gunboat targets - now."

Six instantly broke off from the dogfight and went after the Phantoms. They were far more dangerous than either the Banshees or Seraphs and those few left were being taken care of by the platform's defenses and the other Sabres. With nothing to hold him back, Six dived after the Phantoms, firing his missiles at the gunboats in an attempt to get their attention. The ploy worked as one of the Phantoms went up in flames after eight torpedoes struck it in quick succession and the remaining five Phantoms turned their weapons toward the Sabre. The plasma they fired was far more explosive, and therefore dangerous, then the Banshees or Seraphs were and Six was forced to turn away several times to restore his shields, something he didn't have to do the entire battle. It took longer than he expected and by the time he took out five of the six gunboats, the last was close enough to Anchor 9.

"Gunboats are in position, damage control teams at the ready." Anchor 9 radioed everyone and Six pushed everything he had into the afterburners and as soon as he locked onto the Phantom, he fired two salvos of rockets. The Phantom disappeared in a flash as the rockets tore through the armor, hitting the weapon systems and engines at the same time. As Six flew through the disintegrating cloud of rubble revealing that nothing was left of the Phantoms that had come to attack Anchor 9. With the last Phantom gunboat is destroyed, the remaining Banshees and Seraphs fled the battlefield, being chased all the while by the remaining overeager Sabre teams.

"Anchor 9 to UNSC ships: all targets neutralized. Bravo Oh-Two-Niner, you are cleared to dock. Activating marker."

"Holland to Bravo Oh-Two-Niner. Noble Five, you ready to go?"

"Affirmative, Colonel." Jorge answered with slight relief in his voice.

"Noble Six, head for the marker. Initiate docking procedure."

"Roger, sir." Six replied before piloting the Sabre to the marked hangar which was located in the very center of the Anchor 9 platform. As Noble Six's Sabre approached the hangar doors, a series of clamping mechanisms grabbed his slowing Sabre, eventually bringing the aircraft to a full stop. Several more mechanisms began latching themselves onto the different parts of the Sabre to either refuel, repair, or rearm whatever they could in the few minutes they had. As the two Spartans waited for the process to complete, Jorge looked over the edge of the window and down toward the planet, his position providing him with a good view of an area below them.

"Megszakad a szivem..." Jorge murmured quietly though Six was able to hear him clearly enough. Whatever he was saying, he was saying in his own helmet but thanks to his own enhanced senses, Six was able to grasp what was being said.

"My heart breaks..." Noble Six translated in his head as he glanced back at Jorge. He wouldn't be able to see it with his helmet on but Six sent a comforting smile toward Jorge in response. He understood, he had read Jorge's file before joining Noble Team. Jorge was the not just a Spartan II but he had actually been born and raised on Reach before he joined the Spartan Program. This place was both his home planet in not just a spiritual sense but also quite literal as well so to see it like this was heartrending. Six remembered the feeling well when he saw his world burn. It was quite the sight, one nobody is able to take their eyes off of.

"Noble Five? Please repeat." Auntie Dot asked. It took a few good seconds before Jorge bothered to answer.

"Pull up surface grid, 19 by 22." Six quietly checked the area on his visor and got a spectacular orbital view of the Viery Territory by camera.

"Gladly. ONI Sword Base: Sector 18G." Auntie Dot clarified. Six watched as the area where Sword Base was located was slowly bombarded by explosions occurring on the surface while surrounding areas appeared as dying embers. The purple-blue bubbles of plasma quickly expanded before disappearing, leaving angry, glowing, red lights that extended miles in diameter.

"Thermal enhance."

"Noble Five, your pulse is elevated. There is nothing you can do for Doctor Halsey and the others inside SWORD Base. The mathematics are determinate... Noble Five?" Noble Six looked back over his shoulder at Jorge again in slight worry. He may not have been part of this team long. In fact, Noble Six knew he had always been a lone wolf. But he had grown to care for his teammates and seeing Jorge like this was slightly worrisome. He could only hope that things would work in their favor.

"I know." Jorge said in a resigned tone of voice.

"Bravo Oh-Two-Niner, you're cleared to re-engage thrusters." Anchor 9 announced as the clamps holding their Sabre let go. Six pressed a button in the cockpit and his Sabre backed away before leaving the hangar behind.

"Noble Six, this is Holland."

"Go ahead, Colonel."

"We've flagged a Corvette-class vessel on a predicted docking track with our target. Your job will be to capture the vessel and direct toward the target supercarrier. Once docked, all assets will be used to try and capture the supercarrier intact. Failing that, you are to use the corvette's slipspace drive as a bomb to destroy both so as to weaken the Covenant presence on the surface. I need your Sabre team to clear the way for boarding."

"Understood, Colonel."

"As she's free and in the vicinity, the Savannah will be joining you to provide local fire support."

"UNSC Savannah. We've got your back." A crewman from the Savannah said to boost morale even as the small battlegroup consisting of said ship and the surviving number of Sabres flew off to the area where the corvette was going to be.

"I've stuck my neck out for Noble on this one, Lieutenant." Holland finished.

"We'll get it done, Colonel. Six out." Six said before turning off the radio and directing his Sabre alongside the Savannah.

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1513 Hours, August 3, 2552 (Military Calendar) / NAV Beacon RA-15 observing the Ardent Prayer, Covenant-occupied space, Reach orbit

It took a while as the Savannah couldn't use its slipspace drive to get there faster due to leaving the Sabres behind and risk alerting the Covenant. But eventually they came to the area in Reach's orbit where they enemy ship was supposed to be located. An image from a UNSC satellite near the Covenant corvette appeared on Six's screen showing the vessel's underbelly and revealing the name for the ship as the Ardent Prayer. Behind the corvette, off in the distance, Six could see the outlines of the Savannah and her group approaching as the camera zoomed in. Lifting his head from the screen, Six could see the Ardent Prayer growing ever closer, confirming the satellite's work.

"Target Corvette sighted within visual range of NAV Beacon RA-15." Auntie Dot announced on all radios.

"We have visual. Target confirmed." Six declared.

"Frigate Savannah in position. Sabre teams: sound off."

"Echo 1, all systems nominal."

"Echo 2, good to go."

"Echo 3, systems green."

"Echo 4, all systems online!"

"Echo 5, we're ready." Six said after the first four teams finished with their announcements.

"Solid copy. We are currently jamming the Corvette's comms. Hit it hard while it can't call for help!" The Savannah stated as they approached the enemy ship.

"Agreed. Sabre teams, clear a path to that Corvette." Holland ordered.

"Might wanna clip her engines, Colonel. See if we can slow her down." The Savannah suggested.

"Good thinking, Savannah. That'll make boarding her a whole lot easier. Noble Six, I'm marking targets: take out the Corvette's main engines." Holland agreed as a number of markers appeared on Six's visor, marking the engines that they could take out with the Sabre. Meanwhile, the Savannah and the other Sabres began firing on the corvette and its small guard of Seraphs with their weaponry to allow Six to do his mission unimpeded. Six would do it of course but first he had to do something. He had saw something in the picture the satellite had shown. Something on the bottom of the corvette that looked suspiciously like aircraft. Considering that they could be a threat during the mission, Six decided to dive below the Covenant ship and take care of this potential threat. Not being aware of Six's thought process, Jorge was looking over his station and what it entailed before being slammed back into his seat when Six ignited the afterburners.

"What are you doing Six?" Jorge called out, gripping whatever handholds he could at the moment, as their Sabre sped away from the attack group and began to dive under the corvette.

"Taking care of an issue." Six answered Jorge simply before pressing the button down on the Sabre's machine gun once they were under the corvette. Six was right to be suspicious. The underside of the Ardent Prayer was lined with Banshee Interceptors and by the looks of them, they were powering up. The Sabre's machine gun instantly put an end to that as the corvette's undercarriage instantly went alight with multiple explosions. Sometimes the bullets exiting the gun didn't even have to touch one of the Banshees to destroy them. The plasma fire, debris, and general proximity of the explosions usually did the job for Six. The Banshees at the far end tried to get away and almost succeeded. But Six finished up with the final and dived after them where they were quickly taken out by rockets. With the Banshees no longer a problem to deal with, Six turned back toward the corvette with the intention of taking out its engines now. As the Sabre shot past the corvette's side, the targeting systems on the Covenant weapons alongside the ship began to fire at Six's sabre. Seeing the incoming balls of plasma, Six flew his Sabre around, dodging, evading, and generally succeeding in escaping whatever the corvette threw at him. With each pass, Six targeted the main engines and some the weapons for good measure, disabling all those his rockets hit. The other Sabres merely continued fighting, and winning, against the Covenant escort fighters, while the Savannah circled the corvette and harassed it with gunfire. Any Seraphs that got to close to the frigate were soon shredded by her defense guns. However, as soon as the immediate problem was resolved, did a new problem arise.

"Warning: energy pulses detected in the Corvette's aft launch bays." Auntie Dot warned the Sabre teams.

"Heads up, Sabres: multiple impulse drive signatures detected, more bogies incoming." The Savannah notified as Six turned to see several more Banshees and Seraphs appear out of slipspace.

"Echo 2 to Savannah Actual. Where are the reinforcements coming from? I thought the target was jammed."

"Must be squadrons coming back from patrol, Echo 2."

"Don't let any of them get away, Sabres! Kill them before they bug out and warn that supercarrier what we're up to." Holland immediately radioed out to the Sabre teams while the Savannah began trading broadsides with the Ardent Prayer. The Corvette would have deployed a reinforcements to help the Seraph escort, but the Sabres and the Savannah easily destroyed the reinforcements for the corvette as well. Though it took a while, and a number of Sabres were destroyed, leaving only four left altogether, all of the Corvette's escort fighters were completely destroyed. With the corvette currently focused on the Savannah and the Sabres now flying around with no enemy to fight, Six waited for somebody to tell him the next part of the mission.

"Dot, analyze all available data on that Corvette. Find a way inside." Holland ordered from wherever he was.

"Scans indicate a structural weakness surrounding a platform on top of the vessel."

"Noble Six, set down immediately on that Corvette's topside landing pad." Noble Six began his approach to the landing pad which was covered by an overhanding roof of armor with two openings on opposite sides. It had been built in such a way that couldn't be seen with the naked eye, especially during battle, but it offered a way for anybody to get in or out easily if the launch bays were unavailable. Slowly, Noble Six arrived at the landing pad, gently hovering the Sabre over an open space alongside the three other Sabres. Once everything was clear, Six and Jorge both got out of the Sabre along with several UNSC Air Force pilots in vacuum sealed suits from the other Sabres. In front of them was a wide circle opening that was covered by a plasma shield, preventing any of the corvette's atmosphere from escaping into the void of space. Six looked down on the shield that protected the one way they had in and wondered if they would be able to get through. Off in the distance, Six could see the Savannah continue to engage the Ardent Prayer, which returned fire to the best of its abilities considering the amount of damage it suffered earlier. Any remaining Seraphs and Sabres continued to chase each other around the two starships like angry cats and dogs.

"Noble Six, the Savannah's countermeasures won't work forever. Find a way inside, and permanently disable the cruiser's communications." Holland radioed in. Six nodded but he wanted to make sure that the shield would allow them through without causing problems. Thankfully, that question was immediately answered when two Sangheili Rangers emerged from under the shield on jetpacks and were quickly shot full of holes by Six, Jorge and the pilots.

"As soon as we're sure the Corvette can't squawk, we'll initiate RED FLAG - Phase Two."

Noble Six looked toward Jorge who merely nodded in response and the two Spartans plus their pilots jumped through the shield and entered the communication center of the corvette, to find that the room's artificial gravity and life support were offline, most likely due to damage from the battle. and that any Covenant without vacuum-sealed armor have died, leaving only a few Grunt Ultras and more Elite Rangers. The two rangers were busy on some consoles and the Grunts were wandering around. Seeing no traps or ambushes around the room, Noble Six and the strike team quickly jumped down through the shield soon after. As soon as Six's body had passed through the shield, gravity instantly reasserted itself on his body and his fall quickened. Fortunately, he landed on something firm but soft. Unfortunately, the thing he landed on happened to be one of the Elite Rangers working on the console who promptly died from a combination of being crushed by the Spartan's weight suddenly spreading across his spine, thus breaking it and a knife to the brain. By the time the other Elite Ranger heard his comrade die, Six had already gotten up and then placed his shotgun behind the Elite's head and pulled the trigger. The rest of the strike team was greeted with the sight of an Elite falling forward and to the ground while the console in front of him was covered in purple blood, bone, and brain matter. It really didn't matter in the end cause they still had to take care of the Grunts, but after the show Six put on, none of them were willing to fight in the first place. After a grand total of 8.7 seconds, every single Covie in the corvette's comm room was dead and the corvette was no longer broadcasting any signals or messages for help.

"Holland to Savannah, enemy comm relay is now offline."

"Copy that. Halting countermeasures, diverting all power and personnel to weapons."

"Alright, Noble. Let's take control of the ship. Six, head for the hangar."

As if in response to the incoming question about where they needed to go, a door on one side of the room opened up with two Grunts and an Elite Ranger behind it, obviously sent to check on the sudden radio silence from the comms relay. The Grunts, seeing the Spartans and the strike team behind them, were easily startled and easily eliminated in turn. The Ranger, with no reinforcements available to him and against two Spartans and 6 UNSC airmen, was killed seconds afterward with no ceremony. With the way opened to them, the 8 men now continued down the hallway toward the hangar room, at least they assumed it was the right direction. Thankfully, the hallway was short, straight, and had no other paths branching off with only a slight drop in elevation before the team reached the door at the end. Upon being opened, Six, Jorge and the troopers came across a large room with two large gates protected by shields leading to space and a large amount of equipment scattered about. This was definitely the hangar and it was filled with a large number of enemy troops, including an Engineer. As one, the Covenant forces turned toward the open doorway and pulled their weapons up in response. Six and Jorge both headed in opposite directions, up certain ramps toward platforms that overlooked the hangar while the pilots stayed on the ground behind same natural barriers built into the ship. To make matters even worse for the attackers, the entire room was devoid of air and gravity making the room a rather chaotic firefight. The Spartans were used to this type of combat and to a certain degree, so were the pilots that accompanied them. The thing was, the Covenant had every advantage here and it caused most of the UNSC forces to move behind cover.

Still, there was a chance for the UNSC forces. Numerous plasma coils of varying size were lying about the hangar, unpacked and unsecured, with the Covenant standing in front of them. From his platform, Six shot several of the coils with his rifle and several fireballs instantly erupted behind the Covenant lines, taking a few of the Grunts and at least two of the Elites with them. Using the lack of gravity, one of the surviving Elite Rangers used a jump-pack to get to one of the platforms behind him with Six giving chase and jumping after him. While, Six was going after the Elite and whatever Covies were on his side, Jorge was firing his machine gun at the Engineer which was hovering in his area. Engineers were the Covenant's way of trying to establish a more secure checkpoint. In case of firefights, these Engineers provided any nearby Covenant ground troops with overshields as an added defense. However, they weren't capable of defending themselves and Jorge's machine gun tore the poor creature apart within seconds. Once the Engineer exploded, the remaining Covies were easier to take care of. While Six chased after the Elite Rangers that were using both their jetpacks and the lack of gravity to get around, Jorge mowed down every single Grunt that came in his sights and the more he killed, the more the human pilots were able to move around and act. The added fire support ended up taking out what remaining Covenant the two Spartans didn't get. One last Elite Ranger attempted to escape by means of the door on the opposite side of the room but Six ran down from the platform ramp and jumped between the Elite and the door with his shotgun pointed outward. The Elite tried to stop and dodge the gun's barrel but the lack of gravity worked against him and a spray of purple blood blew out his back where it drifted in the air while the now dead Ranger collapsed at Six's feet. The threat was now neutralized and it seemed the pilots were aware of it cause not a second later, the air and gravity subsequently returned to the interior of the hangar.

"Six, go for those shield controls. Reinforcements are going to need in." Jorge radioed from across the hangar. A waypoint appeared on Six's visor, showing him the way toward the controls for the shields of the hangar bay. It was back on the platform the Six had originally jumped on when he chased his second Elite. Jogging back the way he came, Six came upon the controls and flipped the switch, deactivating the shield guarding the hangar bay. The bright blue shield dimmed slightly, still intact so as to keep the atmosphere inside but now allowing anybody to fly in or out of the hangar. As if in response, two Pelicans passed through the lowered shields on both sides of the corvette and entered the hangar. In the background behind the incoming Pelicans, Six could see the UNSC Savannah engaging the corvette still, slightly damaged but still fighting as hard as it could. Once the Pelicans had landed, their back doors opened and several more Air Force pilots plus a number of Spartans emerged from the aircraft's bowels, including the rest of Noble Team.

"Powder keg is aboard, Colonel." Jorge radioed to Colonel Holland.

"Copy that." Holland answered immediately. "Six, get your fireteam; the corvette's refueling run with the supercarrier will have to be initiated manually. Noble Team will be taking the armory. Red Team will be staying in the hangar to guard against further incursions. Blue Team will capture the engine room and discourage the curious. Once you dock with the supercarrier, all Spartan teams will initiate any and all attempts to capture and hold the Covenant supercarrier from its occupants. Failing that, the pilots left behind on the corvette will initiate the ship's self-destruct, either by blowing up its engines or sabotaging its slipspace drive to prevent the supercarrier from falling back into enemy hands."

"Yes, sir." Six radioed back.

"It will be our pleasure. Hear that, Lieutenant? We'll be all by our lonesome back there. Make it quick, would ya?" Jorge added as Noble Team began to speed off into the bowels of the corvette. Six turned away and joined the Air Force pilots who were securing the area. With the subtle movement of his head, the pilots and him moved toward the door that would lead toward the bridge of the ship after gathering up the necessary ordnance and ammo that had been provided by the pilots.

Holland's voice came back over the radio. "Noble Six, get that Corvette moving toward the supercarrier. Head for the bridge. Find the NAV controls."

Six only sent a signal back meaning he understood and moved with the pilots toward the triple doorway on the opposite side of the hangar they had originally come out of. The central door extended out toward the center of the hangar room while two other doors were placed on both sides of the center one. All three doors opened simultaneously as the two teams approached them, revealing to Six, Noble Team, and the troopers another surprised pair of Grunts, and several Elites behind some quickly established barricades in a larger room behind the center door with three more hallways branching off the other sides of the room. As the Covies fired bolts of plasma outward, Carter moved closer to Six so the Spartan could hear him.

"Six." Carter called out. "You, me, and Kat will go down the left hallway while Emile, Jun, and Jorge take the right. The pilots will keep them busy from the front while we flank them." Six nodded in response. Turning toward the pilots on both sides of the open doorway, Six used a series of hand gestures to relay the plan to them. The pilots nodded in understanding as well before the Spartans split into two three-man teams and each went through the side doors. The hallways were thankfully short and opened into the small room where the Covies and their barricade were. The two Spartan teams each threw three grenades into the room and escaped behind the walls again before an explosion of fire, smoke, and shrapnel burst out of the doorway. The Spartans instantly turned around the corner, guns up, only to find the Covenant disorganized and all of the Elites down. The two Ultras, the two Grunts attempted to make suicide runs with plasma grenades but were shot dead. Only one last Covie was left alive which was an Elite General whose legs were bleeding and appeared slightly twisted. The Elite was attempting to crawl away toward a console near the door when Six casually stepped on the Elite's wrist, crushing it in the process. The Elite turned its head to Six and let out one last defiant roar before Six's shotgun finished it off. With the Covenant defenders dead, the Spartans and UNSC pilots now continued down the hallway away from the hangar doors. However, as the combined UNSC forces headed down the corridor, their radios instantly lit up.

"Savannah to Holland: sustaining major structural damage! We need to break off, Colonel!"

"Copy, Savannah. Our team is in, disengage!" Holland radioed back in response to the Savannah's cry of distress. The UNSC team tore through the slightly twisted hallway and out another doorway into an open room. The room's ceiling was high and had a platform in the back with a number of columns and barriers in the middle to hold up the ceiling. The far end of the room was the most impressive part of the place for where the outer wall should have been was instead another plasma shielded wall that kept the ship's atmosphere from escaping while revealing the battle outside. The Savannah was still fighting but it was heavily damaged and it looked like it couldn't take anymore what with the miniature explosions blooming along its hull. Apparently the room was a plasma battery that controlled the ship's weapons on this side of the corvette and right now, the plasma battery was being operated by a lone Elite gunner. With a sense of urgency hanging over him, Six instantly ran toward the Elite, grabbed onto its back and began wrenching its head to the side until he heard the sickening crack of the alien's neck breaking. Once the Elite collapsed under him, Six hit the controls of the console the gunner had been using, essentially turning the corvette's weapons off of the Savannah at the very least. Looking up, Six was pleased to note that the corvette's plasma fire had stopped in part, allowing the Savannah to escape the confrontation and open up a slipspace portal. The fleeing frigate soon disappeared into the portal it created without ceremony and like that, Six suddenly realized that they were now alone in a Covenant controlled ship without reinforcements or a speedy escape.

"Frigate's gone, Six... Nothing we can do now." Jorge said as Six stared out at space, temporarily lost in thought. Jorge's words and the incoming call from Colonel Holland snapped Six out of his trance.

"Noble, you're in deep with no cover. Get that corvette moving and either complete the mission or get the hell outta there!" Holland's tone was commanding and slightly furious by the sound of it. With the plasma battery secure, Six and the Marines now headed for another door on the bottom level while Noble Team headed toward another door opposite the one they came out of on the top level of the plasma battery

"Make sure to hurry up Six, don't want to get stuck here if we have to bug out." Jorge mentioned as the rest of Noble Team moved toward the upper door. Six merely nodded in response before he and the pilots headed for the lower door. With the plasma battery secured, the two teams split and went their separate ways. As the door to the hallway closed behind him, Six and his fireteam trudged ahead. The hallway curved and twisted far more than the last few did and for a moment, Six was getting worried that they might not be getting anywhere. Until they finally came to another set of doors, which opened at their presence, revealing the bridge of the corvette.

"Looks like the bridge, Spartan. Let's clear it out." One of the pilots mentioned.

'Now that is something we can agree on.' Six thought with a small smile on his masked face as he and the pilots sneaked into positions around the bridge. The Covenant bridge crew was managing the controls, completely unaware of the human presence that had recently stepped inside. Off in the distance outside the windows, was the supercarrier they were supposed to capture, the Long Night of Solace. Somewhere inside this room were the controls to set the ship on course toward the supercarrier and they had to find it quickly. A series of beeps on Six's HUD indicated that the other teams had succeeded in their objectives leaving them as the last members. There would be no further problems after this. With a few hand signs, Noble Six and the Air Force pilots slowly crawled up toward their nearest targets stealthily.

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Shipmaster Ardo 'Moretumee of the Covenant corvette Ardent Prayer, was currently looking over his fellow crew's work as well as checking on the progress of the boarders. When the human ship appeared to do battle, he and his fellow Sangheili fought back valiantly. Halfway through the fight, the communications array went offline. Not long after, news came from the hangars that the humans boarded with demons to help them. Ardo 'Moretumee sent as many reinforcements as he could to the area but contact with them had ended not long ago. Soon after that however, the human ship had fled, damaged and disgraced. While the humans and their new allies fought hard and well, they usually never left their comrades behind in enemy territory. It was a given and judging by the reports coming across the multiple stations he looked over, it appeared that the humans had either retreated or been killed. Still, something didn't feel right. The cameras and sensors that crisscrossed the interior of the ship had been damaged or shutdown which meant the enemy could still be on board. They would have to reestablish contact with the rest of the ship and search it over in the meantime.

A movement caught Ardo's eye and he looked in the general direction to see something that both saddened and infuriated him. A single human soldier was casually waving at him with a grin on his face while two more of his compatriots were dragging the body of a fellow Sangheili away, leaving a trail of purple blood. The shipmaster's blood boiled and he was prepared to stride over and rip the arrogant worm in two when someone tapped his shoulder pad from behind. Turning around, Ardo saw his reflection in a blue visor which belonged, to his great shock, a grey-armored demon.

"Sorry but we're commandeering your vessel split-lips." The demon said. Ardo knew enough of the human language to understand and comprehend what it was saying which only made him angrier. But before he could draw out his sword, call the crew to arms, and kill the insufferable thing standing before him, pain suddenly bloomed in his body and the world grew dimmer. Ardo tried to breath but found that he couldn't. It was as if he were drowning. How? Why couldn't he breathe? Why was the room spinning and going dark? Why was his suit feeling slightly damp and were did that demon get a purple colored knife? Oh. It was his blood on the demon's knife. He was dying. Ardo was only able to comprehend that his throat had been slit in these final moments before the last of his awareness told him that he was now lying on the floor as he saw the demon walk away. Then darkness closed in and Shipmaster Ardo 'Moretumee knew no more.

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Noble Six casually cleaned his blade as he approached a console that appeared to have the controls he needed to find. The bridge crew had been tough and there were a few close calls but so far, everything had worked out well.

"Move, Lieutenant! Put that Corvette on a refueling track to the supercarrier." Colonel Holland's voice interrupted his thought process and Six began looking over the controls until a glowing panel with a certain sequence caught his attention. Sure that he was looking at the necessary controls, Six flipped the switch and gathered his team as the corvette began moving toward the supercarrier. "Well done, Noble Six. UPPERCUT initiated. Corvette is underway."

With the bridge now under their control, Six and his team headed back toward the hangar. Jorge's voice came on the radio when they reached the plasma battery. "Six, mission complete. We're heading back to the hangar." Six acknowledged with an affirmative before quickening his pace. There were a few more bodies scattered about that hadn't been in the area earlier. Six guessed that whatever crew had been left on board tried to do something before dying painfully. Still, everything went quietly and the fireteam arrived back in the hangar to find everyone safe and sound. Six's arrival went unnoticed until Jorge turned around.

"Good of you to come." He said with a smile in his voice. "Was wondering when you were coming around."

"Had to take care of a few problems." Six replied in humor. As the reunited UNSC forces now stood together in the hangar, Colonel Holland once again radioed in.

"Alright everybody, listen up. The Savannah is damaged and unavailable to provide further assistance and once you're onboard, we probably won't be able to contact you by radio. Which means you guys will be alone up there. Your mission hasn't changed. Use the corvette to infiltrate the Covenant supercarrier. Capture the bridge, weapon control, communications, engine rooms as swiftly and silently as possible. Once these areas are captured and its acknowledged that the ship is under your control, a small strike force at Anchor 9 will surround the supercarrier and dock to help with any remaining Covenant crew on the ship. If this plan should fail, your job will be to use the corvette's slipspace drive as a modified bomb and escape. The bomb will take care of both ships and the Covenant will be unable to hold onto their footholds here on Reach as a result. Understood."

"Understood sir." Six heard Carter answer in response.

"One more thing. In accordance with the mission parameters of Operation: Red Flag, command of this OP will go to the leader of Blue Team, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117. While you do outrank him, you will follow his commands when necessary. Understood."

"Yes sir." Carter answered.

"Good luck out there. Holland out." The radio shut off for the last time, leaving everybody alone in the ship awkwardly silent. They were essentially cut off now. There wouldn't be any reinforcements to help or back up plans to fall on. It was either succeed or fail. Should they fail, it would mean one less threat to Reach, but the loss of a potential asset.

"So which one do you suppose is our new co-leader?" Jun asked, breaking the silence.

"That would be me." A voice answered in response. Noble then turned around to see a Spartan II in greenish armor approach them. "You're Noble Team." It wasn't a question

"Yes sir." Carter said. "I'm Commander Carter-A259. This is Lieutenant Commander Catherine-B320, Chief Warrant Officer Jorge-052, Warrant Officer Emile-A239, Warrant Officer Jun-A266, and Lieutenant B312." Carter pointed at each one as he went down the list. The Master Chief nodded toward Jorge when he was mentioned, the two Spartans IIs sharing a moment of close comradeship that extending back since they Spartan II Program had been initiated. It had been a long time since either of them last saw each other but it was good to see that both were alive and well. The Chief then turned his head toward Six when his name came up and the look he gave him was calculating. Six felt like he was being studied and had to keep from either squirming or puffing himself out in confidence. He just gave his own steely gaze back at this Spartan.

"Why don't you have a name?" The Chief asked.

"Classified." Six answered. "Just call me Six. Everybody else does." The Spartan II nodded in acquiescence before he tilted his head very slightly, as if he was listening to somebody.

"We're approaching the supercarrier. Get into positions." Master Chief said before walking off. Noble Team gave their weaponry and armor one final checkup before heading toward their hatch where they would start from. Everybody else was heading to their respective positions, places where they could hide and set up checkpoints that would make it easy to sneak past, defend, or ambush from. It took half a minute before Six could see multiple green lights blinking on his HUD. Everybody was ready and not long after, Six felt the corvette dock. Though he maintained a professional outlook and was ready to spring into the fight at a moment's notice, Six felt somewhat hopeful, perhaps even giddy, on the inside. It had been far too long since something unexpected of this magnitude took place and when these moments occurred, the Allies usually came out on top. They were taking the fight to where it would actually hurt the Covenant. Today might mark the turning of the tide. All he could hope, was that everything would work out in the end. The hatches began to turn The lights on his HUD blinked once more to signal everyone to get ready.

'Let's see what they have in store for us.' Six thought.

The hatch turned blue and the doors to the supercarrier swung open.

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Happy Valentine's Day / St. Patrick's Day / Holi everyone! (NO, ITS NOT TOO LATE!)

*The author immediately pulls back from the screen, slightly disheveled, clothes torn, and kiss marks, clover chains, and colored powder on his exposed skin. Meanwhile in the background, Krampus is handing out candy to the reviews that were savagely mauled last chapter.*

Right so, hello again everyone. Some news just to sum up the last two or so months since I last updated. Trump is president of America, John Hurt & Bill Paxton are dead, and I'm being assaulted by people while trying to finish the latest chapters for my books. At the same time a number of incidents have come up and left me extremely despondent. Suffice to say, February was the worst month of the year for me so far so sorry about the late entry but with what I've been going through, I didn't have the necessary time.

*Author immediately hides under a nearby desk when a large group of people appear in the general vicinity with multiple things in hand. The group rush off in a different direction.*

Something that always confused about Valentine's Day as I grew older. Why do we celebrate a holiday about love that is actually dedicated to a Christian saint getting killed for his faith while using the shapes of our posteriors for hearts? Anyone have a rational explanation that ties all that together, cause I can't find one? Also another question, why is a bunny seen as a holiday symbol for the day when Jesus dies? More food for thought on why we are confusing as a species. Never mind that though, you lot get another chapter for both books and I get a moment to rest again before the lethargy sets in and tries to make me lazy. I hate those moments. But still, it's nice to get back to writing this again and you'll possibly get to see another chapter sometime in March so all is good. You also get to see Operation: Red Flag get into play soon. Plus you get to see a character who is coming up next chapter, somebody we all know, love, and would definitely have been doing this if the mission ever had a chance to go through in canon (HOORAY MASTER CHIEF & BLUE TEAM). For the record and those who might make complaints, I know Chief is technically at a lower rank than Six, Carter, or Kat, but he has the experience and knowledge to back him up plus Chief and Carter are working in conjunction so there should be fewer problems, I think. Last thing, the next chapter for the Codex is taking a while, timelines after the Halo Wars is being a pain to fix together but I'll get it finished this month. Alright before I get off track too much, some special mentions to those who reviewed.

Major Simi: Thank you for your support.

Reichenfaust: Quiet right, thank you for that reminder and things are going to get interesting.

Guest Q: Get some sleep than. I appreciate your enthusiasm but I don't want you to become sleep deprived as a result. Also, good work on those calculations.

Halo53: Thanks for the review, I'll try to keep up.

Many Faced Mage: The Autobots will make their move as the war progresses and we will get to see a lot of interactions between characters and races that don't normally work together. Can't wait for that either. Thanks for the review.

TimoremCordeNostro: Thanks for the review and don't worry. I won't kill Six. (Yet.(Nope just kidding.(Maybe.)))

Guest: Yes it is a Protoss. Which Protoss is the question. You guys will probably figure it out if you haven't already.

X: The Stargate part is a little tricky. You'll get the references and see it but it won't make that much of a blip compared to the Halo Wars that is going on right now.

SpacePotato117: Yes they both are part of the same universe. Avalon Federation is a codex for this universe.

Fer82: I hope so too. I really want to show off the Spartan IIs and write more. Thanks for the review.

KillerKaung: Agreed.

Umbra Venator: Thank you.

An Sionnach Rua: Yes I am adding Stargate. It will Be GLORIOUS!

Guest: The mysterious figure is not G-Man and the Allies confrontation with the Covenant on Halo, it will be something like, "Holy S**t!"

BlazingCarnage: Yeah that was something I wanted to rectify in this story since every other story I read focused on bashing the Council for laughs. Not that I didn't laugh myself or that it was somewhat deserved but they shouldn't be portrayed as idiots. Also I think that the Asari developing particle weaponry would be an excellent idea. Might have to add it in later. Thank you for that.

Guest: As for the Krogan nerfing. I wanted to add a little humor plus its Wrex and he was in blood rage mode so it might have been possible. We all know how crazy Krogans can be anyway and I'm not going to do something like that often.

Cionalyn: Thank you and yes Garrus and Thane will go to Halo.

Guest: I'm trying not to nerf either side but it's difficult. Back then I didn't know the math or estimates that went into that. I merely guesstimated based on what I already knew along with some easy to find knowledge on the ships and weaponry involved.

Update: Patience is a virtue. Do not rush me please.

Guest: I'm not sure. While humanity would possibly earn the right to a Council seat and they would prefer joining the Council to the Covenant if given the choice, the war would cause acute xenophobia amongst the populace that is more widespread in this story than in canon Mass Effect universe. I'm kind of waiting to see where it goes from here but I'm definitely considering it.

Crafttyomg: That's actually pretty good. I need to make some jokes along those lines when I get to that. Thank you.

Right, so everyone I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Spring Vacation, and Easter. Also for those of Hindu belief or celebrate it for fun, I wish you a good Holi Festival. Now excuse, I got to get some more of that colored powder and water to throw at people.