0800 Hours, August 20, 2552

UNSC Frigate Inclement Weather

I donned my SPI armor as the ships PA system blared.

"Spartan teams Nova and Eclipse, please proceed to B deck for scheduled War Games exercise at 0830."

"I know, I know," I muttered, sliding on the light green, bulbous suit's gloves.

I hated this armor. It looked terrible, felt clunky, and was next to impossible to fix in the field. Yeah, it could turn partially invisible. Big whoop. It still felt like second-rate tissue paper compared to the real armor other Spartans were able to use. Luckily, that could possibly change after today.

The winner of today's War Games exercise would be able to receive the pick of the litter for new equipment and armor. And boy, did we need the upgrades. Bad.

With my helmet in hand, I stepped into an elevator on E deck and sped on my way to B deck.

Nova team was pretty good. We were neck and neck in the rankings of our class. That is, not including Saber, Gladius, and Katana. They had been left on Onyx to compete for "top honors."

I huffed at the thought of it. We could've easily taken them.

Nova's leader, Josh, was amicable to us usually, but he was downright fierce in a firefight. He was not a faster thinker than Jacob, but he did well enough to lead a team. He could be cocky though, which affected his reactionary decisions and made him easily bait-able into traps. We would definitely use that to our advantage today.

I entered the dark armory. The harsh white lights lit up in response to my presence as I stepped inside. No one was here. Either the others hadn't been here yet, or they had already left me behind. Judging from a few empty racks of equipment, the latter was probably true. I placed my puke green and yellow helmet on one of the benches and walked over to the wall of weapons in front of me.

I grabbed an MA5C off of a nearby rack and hefted its weight. Its reassuring firepower had gotten me out of quite a few jams in training, and I knew that I could always count on it. I grabbed six magazines for it and placed them in the webbing I had placed on my armor. I wouldn't need too much firepower. Fights between Spartans were always quick and ferocious. And besides, I had to stay light on my feet.

I reached down onto the table in front of me and grabbed an M6G pistol, testing the weight and spinning it in the air before placing it on the magnetic strips on my right side. Although not as powerful or as accurate as the M6D, the M6G was good for close quarters. Its compact form was perfect for room-to-room searches. And, as we would be inside an obstacle-ridden room for the duration of the match, it was perfect. I grabbed a dozen clips for it and shoved them into the pouches on my waist.

We were using TTR again, which worked much better with the suits on, as it could lock up the sections of the armor that were hit easily. The red seemed almost like neon on the bright green, somewhat reminiscent of the Old Earth tradition of Christmas. It was a pain to clean off the armor, but there was a simple way to stop getting paint on it: not getting shot.

I grabbed my helmet from the table I had left it on and placed it on my head. The HUD did not light up though, and would not light up until we were in the arena. I could almost imagine the sick yellow of the visor jutting out from the helmet.

I sealed the helmet into place and exited the armory through the other side, at our entrance to the arena. The rest of Eclipse was there already, fastening gear to their armor and listening to Jacob as he gave out instructions.

"Simon, you will have the left with the SAW. If you see anything, light it up. But don't forget, you're the bait. We need them to come to you for the ambush to work, so don't scare them off."

Simon nodded, racking the bolt of his SAW and raising two fingers to his visor in a smile. He was able to hold the automatic weapon with only one hand. Unlike the regular rifle, Simon had attached a bipod and a small holographic sight in place of the normal iron sights. The normal round cylinder magazine had instead been replaced by a box magazine that could easily hold two hundred rounds at once.

"Glad to oblige, sir. But, I gotta ask, why am I always the bait?"

"I've told you a million times, its because your more noticeable than the rest of us. Your height makes you a very appealing target."

"Just once, though, why can't the short one be the target?"

"Hey!" Austin shouted, turning from his BR.

"Just kidding buddy," Simon chuckled as he set the SAW on the ground.

"Glad you could join us, Darren," Kara said as she placed four 14.5x114 millimeter rounds into her SRS Anti-Material Rifle magazine.

"Yeah, what is it with you and being late all the time?" Hannah said while fiddling with her helmet.

"I love to always be fashionably late," I said as I sat down on one of the crates near the door.

"I'm happy as long as you made it to the party. Did you catch that?" Jacob said.

"Yeah. Simon gets shot and we spring a trap. Where am I going to go?"

"You're gonna be with me. Our goal is to flank them by going through their spawn. Kara will provide long-range fire support, while Austin and Hannah try to perform a pincer move around the front of Simon's position. With luck, we should have them surrounded on all sides."

I nodded. A solid plan. Except…

"What if they don't go for the bait?" I asked.

Jacob turned to me as he placed his helmet on his head. I was still able to see his face, since the visor was not polarized.

"We'll adapt."

The PA system blared again, this time the ship's AI Athena speaking with her aloof sounding voice.

"Spartans, are you ready?"

"Yes ma'am," Jacob replied.

"Very good. Lowering the entrance in five. Prepare."

I racked the chamber on my assault rifle and stood next to Jacob, whose visor had now polarized. Simon stood in front of us as he gripped his MG, staring into the wall that would open into the arena. Behind us was Kara, sniper rifle raised in case she could get a good cross-map shot on Nova. Austin and Hannah readied their rifle and SMG, respectively, and got moved to either side of Simon.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Boop!

My HUD lit up, showing my motion tracker and ammo count in the top right corner of my visor.

The doors opened and we sprinted forward. I heard Kara firing round after round past us as we ran to our respective positions. I was barely even breathing hard as I sprinted forward. In less than seven seconds, Jacob and I had already crossed half of the room. We both slid into a short wall and planted our feet, peering over the edge of the cover. I lifted my rifle, half expecting Josh and his team to be right around the corner.

The arena was pretty large considering it was inside a starship. The lights were dim, which would have been a challenge if regular marines were using it. For us, with our enhanced night vision, it posed no problem.

The whole place had tall cargo containers with barrels placed here and there. Steel girders lined the floor, and twisted metal and burnt metal was everywhere. Some metal barriers were also placed at intervals, such as the place we were hiding behind right now.

I heard Jacob over the comm whisper, "Hey Simon, do you see 'em yet?"

"Not yet sir. Kara has confirmed that one of her shots connected, and one of their players is out already. I repeat, one of Nova is down.

"That's good news. Darren and I are about to move into their spawn, so if any are hiding there, we'll find them."

You know you don't need to whisper into the comm right? This is a secure- holy-!"

I heard a long burst of SAW fire come from our left, the high pitched chatter followed by the percussion of small arms fire, then silence.

"What was that!?" I yelled into the comm. "Simon?"

There was a burst of static, then someone answered.

"Don't worry guys, I'm fine. Austin and Hannah drove them back. But they got me pretty bad. My foot was sticking out of cover and they hit it. They also got my arm, so I can't reload at all."

"Just stay there, we're flanking around them to assist! C'mon Darren!"

We vaulted over our cover and ran the rest of the distance to Nova's base. Just as we entered a corridor leading into their base, I heard Kara yell, "Darren! Jacob! Get down!"

I immediately ducked and fell flat on my face, hugging the ground. Jacob wasn't so lucky. As he fell flat, I saw a burst of red flash over his helmet. He hit the ground like a rag doll and didn't move.

"Jacob!" I shouted, rolling into cover. Good thing too, because as soon as I had finished my roll behind a nearby barrel, everything broke loose. Red covered the ground around me as Nova's TTR rounds lit up the area I had just been in.

I fired a few bursts from cover, but I knew there was no way to hit anything accurately. The magazine emptied and I reloaded, sliding another magazine in and snapping the bolt forward. I opened fire again. In the background, I could hear Kara and her rifle doing their brutal and precise work. Slowly but surely, Nova's firing slackened and then ended entirely.

I took a deep breath and reloaded again. Since Jacob was down, I guess that left me in charge. I keyed the comm.

"Guys, I'm pinned down at Nova's base. Stupid campers. They've got everything around it zeroed in. Eclipse leader is down! I repeat, Jacob is hit!"

There was a pause, then someone responded.

"Copy that," I heard Hannah say as I fired off another sustained burst. "We'll provide suppressing fire so you can bug out. Wait until we're in position, then we'll go on your mark."

"Alright, but make it fast! I think they're trying to flank around my left. Kara, keep that from happening!"

"You got it," she said coolly. I could almost picture her sighting down her scope, calm and collected.

The boom from her rifle's shots echoed around the room as she opened fire.

"Another one down," she said as I fired another burst and started to reload.

"Nice job, Kara. MVP of the game right there."

I heard her laugh through my mike.

"You know it."

"Alright, Darren, we're in position," Austin said, his voice sounding anxious over the comm.

"Alright, on my mark…" I tensed. "MARK!"

I leapt from cover as the others opened fire. I could feel bullets from Nova's base splattering the floor next to my feet as I wove back and forth across the corridor. I raised my rifle behind me, and, without looking, hosed the corridor. Finally, I was out.

"Thanks guys," I gasped, putting my hands on my knees as I caught my breath.

"Don't mention it," Hannah said as she reloaded her SMG. "What's the plan now?"

I thought for a moment and then, it hit me.

"Hey Simon."

"What?" he said, limping over to the others and me.

"Remember what you said earlier? I think you're gonna get your wish. Austin, I need you to be our rabbit. They'll have less of a chance to hit you than one of us. You're going to run up the corridor, right into the kill zone. Use cover as you go, but remember, you need to keep their attention on you. How you do that depends on your creativity."

"Kara, you need to make sure he doesn't get flanked. Simon, since you're 'hit,' I need you to provide suppressing fire from back here. Hannah, you and I will go around the left. Any questions?"

"Hey Hannah, can I take your SMG? It's lighter than the rifle," Austin said as he stretched in place.

"Sure," she said, swapping with him.

"On go then. Three, two, one… Go!" I shouted as I turned around the side of our cover and sprinted across the open area to the left of Nova's base. I heard the thuds of Hannah's footsteps close behind me, as well as a long burst of MG fire from where we had just come from. The sound of rifle fire became an intolerable barrage of noise in my helmets audio systems, so I turned it down.

"Darren, there's a low wall over there that leads into the base. We can use it to flank Nova!" Hannah yelled, taking the lead. I followed her to the said gap and vaulted it after her. I raised my rifle.

"No contact," I said, keeping my eyes peeled for any movement. "Let's move."

The sound of gunfire grew even more as we approached the part of the base that Nova occupied.

"Austin, are you alright?" I asked as we finally reached the square where Nova was hiding.

"Yeah! They got me pinned behind a barrel on the left side of the corridor. I saw where they were. One's on the top left, another is under a table across from me, and another, I think it's Josh, is behind a yellow box on the right. I have no idea where the other one is!"

"Don't worry," I said, pulling out my magnum. "I do."

I lined up the sights, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet only had to travel two feet before it reached the back of my target's head. There was a spray of red, then the other Spartan fell to his knees and slumped to the ground.

He had been patrolling around here to watch for us. Fortunately, he had been facing the wrong way.

I holstered my pistol again and pulled my rifle back over my shoulder.

"Hannah, who do you want?"

"I'll take the guy on the top right with the DMR."

"Right. I'll get Josh," I said, lining up my sights with his crouching figure.

"Open fire!" I roared, pulling the trigger. Josh fell forward as if he was in shock, with a dozen TTR rounds covering his chest. I also heard the crack of the DMR from the left stop completely. Hannah had gotten her man. I reloaded.

Now, it was time to end this.

"Eclipse, move up now!" I yelled, suppressing the girl Spartan under the table.

The end was actually kind of pathetic. The poor girl, being outflanked and outgunned, had no chance. She was "dead" within five seconds. The lights turned on all the way, and my HUD turned off. My assault rifle's compass and ammo count turned off as well. It was now a "dead" weapon, unable to fire any rounds.

"Game over," I heard Athena say over the ships intercom. "Eclipse team wins. Unlocking armors now."

I pulled out the magazine in my rifle. It had been my last clip. I looked inside it. Three rounds left.

Each Spartan that had been hit got to their feet, and began walking around. Josh walked over to me.

"You guys are such campers," I said, taking off my helmet.

"Yeah, well, with your sniper covering us, we didn't have much of a choice."

"I know. She's quite the dead shot. Did she really nail one of you guys at the start?"

"Yep, Asad over there, our sniper," he said, pointing back toward their entrance to the arena. A Spartan was arguing with the girl we had shot earlier. He looked pretty mad as he pointed at us and waved his arms over his head.

"That must have been one hell of a shot."

"It was." He held out his hand. I took it and shook.

"Well played. It looks like you guys have first dibs to the new equipment coming in. Don't hurt yourselves."

"We won't," I said.

He turned away and walked back to his team.

I turned to the others and smiled.

"You heard him guys. Let's go see our new prizes."

Author's Note:

Extra long chapter! Whoo, this one was a doozy, but I think it came out pretty good. And so the team progresses. I decided to include War Games into this because I believe that, even though the Infinity had the first simulated War Games, they were still around before it. For example, in Ghost's of Onyx, when Katana, Saber, and Gladius teams duel it out. Thank you so much to those who have reviewed so far, it's because of you that this is such a long chapter. They inspire me to write my best.

Till next time, R&R!