Chapter 12 Dropping in.
"Lexi." Six tries to contact his fellow spartan three but she was not answering, likely due to being busy or there was too much distance between himself and Lexi, "If you are picking this up I wanted to ask if… you be free any time soon? I'm thinking about leaving Project Freelancer for good… And well, I think we are long overdue for a reunion. I hope you respond soon, bye." Six ended the transmission.
The spartan three was in a hallway that had a glass wall to view the vastness of space, reflecting on what happened a few minutes ago. Six and Carolina were heading to the planning room to inform the Director of the information Wyoming reported in.
Along the way Carolina looked at Six and tried her best to keep her emotions in check, "You've been hanging out with "her" a lot recently." Six knew right away who Carolina was talking about and he let out a heavy sigh of frustration,
"Only because you refuse to take five minutes to chill the hell out." Carolina faced away not wanting to show the anger written all over her face as he kept talking, "Being the best soldier is not something to spend the rest of your life to achieve. It's not worth it." Carolina was unsure how to respond but they finally arrived at their destination allowing her focus to return to why they were here.
"Director, Wyoming has reported in." Director clearly wanted her just to get to what was reported but she said to her father, "You won't like what he found sir." Director says to the red haired agent,
"Agent Carolina, information never displeases me. It's ignorance that I find unforgivable." Six was happy he got a helmet on so no one could see him rolling his eyes, Counselor was the only one but that's due to how he and the director seem to always be at each other's throat, "Report." Carolina gave the Director the information from Wyoming's report,
"It's like you said. C.T. is with them." Director nodded figuring this out and says to his daughter,
"You know what to do. I Do not need to remind you how valuable our technology is, Carolina." to a rare moment of questioning which even caught Six off guard, maybe it's due to her two father figures abandoning her for that black bitch.
"C.T. doesn't have an A.I. sir, and also wasn't even among the best agent's in the project." Director's response to Carolina's statement was,
"C.T. will be an acceptable loss, but her armor must not fall into the wrong hands. "Six figures due to the Director's word choice he doesn't plan to let her live, likely have Tex kill her rather than capture her. Six will keep that in mind since he wants to get info off Connie that will enlighten the spartan on what's going on, namely where the hell is Alpha?
"I understand." Carolina said to the Director while giving a nod. Fearing of being one up by agent
Texas caused the green eyed agent to ask, "Will we be the only forces sent out on this mission, sir?"
"Leave personnel decisions to me, agent! Just do your job." Six had enough of the Director's shit and walk around the table and said,
"HEY. she ask you a simple fucking question Leonard, how about instead being a whiney little cunt! You answer the question." Six loomed over the Director causing the old man to step back in fear of the Spartan, who wouldn't be? Carolina once again felt conflicted in stepping in since she appreciated Six standing up for her, she also worried Six will literally beat her father to death.
"Agent Six, I think you made your point. And to answer your question, yes others will join you but only if they are needed." Counselor said being the one who was calm.
Six walks out of the room still mad and returns to the present.
Noble Six knew either he'll quit or be fired, which leads to the next question, what will he do next? Six's best idea is spend some time with Lexi since she was the only other person he would not mind spending time with, along with the fact he has romantic feelings for the black hair gal. Six did wonder if he deserved a peaceful end? All the lives he took, most were people that did not deserve to die, only because they were in the way of his higher up's agenda.
Down the hall was Tex who was spying on the spartan who did not make any signs he noticed her, in agent Texas' hand was a knife.
Overhearing his message to this Lexi chick gave her a way to remove Six without anyone questioning what happened to him. She'll finally complete her mission,
"Will slit his throat and then we'll rip out his heart, if he has one HAHAH." Omega cackled inside Tex's head as she took a single step forward and then stopped. Something inside her was stopping her, "Oh come on don't start letting your lust take over your mind."
"Shut up." Tex whispered and decided to put the knife away and approach Six. The Spartan heard her approaching and knew she was there the whole time, Six had a lot of practice in that field when he was on the hunting grounds of Yautjas.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Tex glanced at Six who kept his visor facing the vastness of space, "Or you just came to enjoy the view with me?" Tex scrambles some words together and said to the Spartan three,
"I was curious about something. I heard your family died when you were young." Six attempts to walk away not wanting to talk about it. Tex grabs his arm to stop him, "Please. I...I want to know who you were before… this."
Six still facing away pondered on this, though he knew Texas was likely very loyal to the director, the spartan felt a close connection with her, so Six decided to share some details as he turned around and face the gal in black,
"My dad was an engineer, he loved his job, and tended to make cars better off than when they came in for repairs. I got a bit of his engineering genes." Tex was following along as he followed up by saying, "My mother was an accountant and considered the best on the planet, she had a photographic memory and worked at a speed that most people thought she was an A.I." a chuckle escapes Six as he was remembering simpler times. Texas said randomly,
"My parents were teens when they had me, though unlike most people in their situation they handle it pretty well." Tex smiles, missing her parents but knew they were in a better place. glancing at Six Texas asked, "Were you an only child?"
Six felt like answering yes which was wrong, but once again the mysterious connection between the two let him slip, "I did have a sister, though she was a hard ass she always meant well. She did not deserve what happened to her."
Six looked away from Tex to hide the pain he was feeling. Tex's words were failing her for reasons she could not comprehend. The two stood there staring into space and just enjoyed a moment, together after so long.
In the dining room we see Theta giving North a firework performance he's been working on for the past few days and really hoped it was good,
"That's really great, Theta!" North said really enjoying the performance by his little guy.
"Thank you. I worked super hard on it." Theta really appreciates the kind words of North Dakota.
South was walking by and saw Theta's performance and liked it as well but was a bit jealous of both the lack of an A. herself and how close North was with Theta. She rolled her eyes and found a spot to pout and eat her lunch before the next mission, which was coming any minute now.
York takes a seat across from North and says to Theta, "Hey Theta, you mind if I talk to North for a second?" Theta said sure than York says to the purple A.I. "Need you to shut down while we chat, okay? Delta too. You know, it's the rules."
Theta turned to his partner or more fitting a father figure, "North?" Theta did not like being alone from North and the agent was aware of this,
"It'll be okay. I won't talk for too long." Theta agreed as he turned off causing his hologram to fade away, allowing North's attention to focus on York, "What's up?"
York put on his serious face and said, "I need to ask you about something."
That did not clarify what York's intent is, "Oh, okay. Shoot." North responded back to the gold and silver agent.
"I need to ask you about the Alpha." York's words caught North off guard by this question,
North looked around like they could be overheard and be taken away, "Where did you hear that word?" not sure how York would also know that word until it dawned on him.
"Same place you heard it," York pointed at his head and said, "Up here."
Wash took a seat on North's left and said out loud to the two, "What's an ''Alpha"?'' sounding like he was speaking while eating a delicious snack.
"Wash? Are you eating inside your helmet?" York said not sure how to take this revelation.
Wash answers smacking his lips, "Maybe. Delta said that they got the helmet waste disposal out of it would make my eating more efficient." trusting the little green dude.
York let slip a laugh towards Wash, "And you believe that? Maybe he is getting more personable."
North turns to Wash and explains to the rookie and returns their focus on the topic York brought to him, "It's not "an Alpha" Wash it's "the Alpha". Theta thinks about him alot, More than thinks, really. He's-he's obsessed."
"Delta, too. You know how all the units call each other "brother"? They call this one… "father". No that's not right…"
"Creator." North said pointing right at York who sort of agreed but he was not sure, probably due to Delta overthinking about Alpha.
Wash says to the two still eating while speaking, "I thought the director would be their creator?"
"Haven't you been paying any attention in class? A.I. that the "Alpha" could be are not simply created, they are usually copies of someone." York explains to the rookie in black and yellow armor.
"But our A.I.'s are just fragments." North says now wondering what does the fragment part of them mean in relation to the Alpha? "Along with having this fear and hate for Six."
"Yeah. Delta always plans a way to avoid being killed by Teach, like Delta thinks Six will attempt to kill us." York said, he really wonders why that's the case?
North says to York not giving new information but worth sharing, "Theta is still terrified of Six, like he is the boogeyman for him. I'm guessing this distaste for Six comes from "Alpha"."
York then says something he was going to say earlier. "Which begs the question of the hour: "Where's the original"?"
"What, so, this Alpha thing is what creates the fragments?" Wash said still having food in his mouth and York had enough of it,
"Jesus, Will you swallow for God's sake." North also was annoyed but his tolerance bar was extremely high.
Wash swallows and shortens what he said before into simply, "it creates them?"
"Yeah, Theta isn't clear. It creates them, or something." North was unsure but he gave his best guess.
York says to the other two, "Yeah… It's the "or something" part that has me worried." North and Wash agree.
suddenly entering the mess hall was Carolina who shouted, "LUNCH IS OVER.
We are heading out." No one argues as they finish their snacks and follow Carolina to gear up for the mission. Once North, South, York, Carolina and Six were geared up they headed towards Four Seven Niner's Pelican who was ordering around a guy that was pushing a crate.
While York was sharing the same story he told thirty or so times, Carolina asked Niner, "We ready?" wanting to get this over with in hopes the faster they get down to the enemy base, the more time she'll have ahead of Tex.
Niner answered with, "Just about. Running final checks now."
The pilot hops down from the step she was on to reach a part out of her reach.
Carolina was pleased as turned to the team and said, "You all heard Niner. Everyone on board." Heading inside the Pelican, however Six stayed outside with Niner.
Niner looked at Six and asked him, "What's on your mind Six? Don't tell me you need me to be your uber- Whoa, Whoa." Niner's focus landed on Delta who was floating around the rest of the team, "Hang on a minute. What is that thing?"
York informed their pilot, "This is Delta, our new addition."
Niner examines the green guy in bulky mark 5 armor and then says, "Your new addition is pretty small."
"I said the same thing." Wash chimed in but then added at the end, "Also that's what she said." Six shook his head at Wash's poor attempt at that joke.
York explained in more detail for Four Seven Niner, "Delta is a computer program. He helps us figure stuff out. He's an A.I." Six felt York could have just said that Delta was an A.I. But what does the spartan know? it's not like he's the oldest person here,
"Oh, A.I., huh? What does the "A" stand for?"
Once again York explain which Niner predicted and shouted at agent York, "I Know what the fuck it stands for! What's it doing here.!? Is it like one of those robots that takes people's jobs and puts them out of work?"
Six rolled his eyes at Niner being defensive of her career path while York says to her, "I don't think so."
Niner noticed the person she was bossing around, "What are you looking at?! I said "put it over there"! Pay attention!" He was losing his patients with Niner and did as he was told.
Carolina was getting annoyed at them not getting aboard, "Hey, Guys, can we get a fucking move on!" Six had a smirk on his face at how impatient she was acting.
"Hang on a minute." Four Seven Niner said to Carolina as she faced Delta and asked, "You, green guy. Do you know how to fly a plane."
Delta answered in his usual matter of fact tone, "NO, I do not."
"Oh, right. We're cool then." Niner was happy that she's not being replaced by an A.I. at least not this one. As they head in ready to take some names from their enemies.
Niner flew down to the planet and was really high up into the atmosphere, York asked of Niner the pilot, "We Parking?" The rest wonder that same thing as well.
"Indeed we are. The enemy base is right below us. "Four Seven Niner said which made the rest of the agents wonder how high exactly?
"How far below?" Wash asking what everyone else wanted to ask even if it was out of morbid curiosity.
Niner honestly asked Washington, "Do you really want to know?" She was not surprise what Wash said next,
"Probably not. Do I wanna know?" Washington's morbid curiosity won.
"Seventy five thousand feet." Niner was more than happy to feed the young lads' morbid curiosity.
Wash was taken aback by that five digit number, "Uuh, that's high."
Six said to Wash, "try falling from the atmosphere." The other agents looked at the spartan three wondering if he is joking or has he actually fallen from the atmosphere down to solid ground.
Niner mumbles to herself, "No wonder you need computer programs.. Yes it's high but not as high as the atmosphere." as her focus returned to positioning the Pelican just right for her way down to the enemy base.
Delta appeared between York and Wash and said to the man in black and yellow, "that is approximately 14.2 miles. Less than a single percent of the atmosphere of earth and most planets."
"Thanks D, you don't need to do that anymore." York was used to it but it was still annoying at points.
Delta turned off as Carolina hopped down from the co-pilot seat and asked Four Seven Niner, "What's the plan?"
Niner responds back to the red head with emerald eyes, "Well, we know they are ready for us. I've figured that they have defenses pointed in every direction. Except.."
"Except they are unlikely to have any looking straight up." Carolina finished for Niner who got annoyed by this,
"Correct Carolina. They probably are not looking straight up." Niner's sarcasm was clear and the rest either did not care or were used to it.
"You thinking about a dive bomb?" That was the only guess Carolina had, showing her lack of piloting skill or understanding of the craziness of the caboose family.
Niner said to Carolina while Wash said oh no with dread in his voice, "Sort of, but if we did a dive bomb our engines would register on their thermals.
Letting them know that we're coming. I'm thinking. Something else."
Carolina turned around and headed into the part where all the other agent's except Six were harnessed into their spot, "Probably wise to tighten that harness." Carolina sat next to Wash and York and waited for what the crazy pilot had in store.
Niner said with excitement, "express elevator going- what! Who opened the back door!" trying to look back to see who it was?
"SIX what the hell are you doing!" Carolina shouted at Six who was looking down before turning to face Carolina.
"Sorry but I would rather skydive than go through Hollywood Tower." Six lean back and fell out of the pelican diving straight down to the enemy base leaving most of the agent's wondering,
"What the hell is Hollywood Tower?" Carolina said out loud, confused and she was not alone.
Down at the enemy base two of the guards that were on watch duty were just standing there bored out of their minds, one asked, "Hey Cherry."
Cherry turns to his fellow soldier and responds with, "Yes Berry?"
"Do you ever wonder why-" Berry did not finish when behind them something hit the ground like a fucking meteor, "The FUCK!"
Berry and Cherry turned around and saw right behind them was the Ghost of Reach who rose to his feet and approached the two. Needless to say both piss and shat in their pants. The two were so scared they did not notice Six pull out a retractable knife from his wrist and using one single swing slice open both their throats, killing them slowly but surely.
Six snatched their assault rifles and was ready to go Rambo when Niner's pelican dropped in, barely avoiding crashing right dead center of the base.
"Everybody out!" Niner shouted to all the agent's aboard her Pelican and they did so with gusto as she flew off and tried her best to avoid being shot down.
Six hop down onto those walkways attached to the side of buildings,
wasting no time to unload on enemies on the same platform, removing threats on their rears. When one rifle ran out Six chucked it at one of the troopers, dazing them, then the spartan proceeded to unload the clip into the same trooper's body to finish him off.
The last one tried to aim his DMR at the Oni Reaper, but admittedly he was shaking in fear and also pissed his pants like Berry and Cherry. Six grip the rifle, moving the barrel away from him before gripping the end of the Assault rifle and smashed it into the trooper's head. This shatters the rifle but also snaps the neck of the trooper.
Six toss the broken rifle and hold the Dmr and crouch down into a sniper position to aid the agent's as they seem in need of it. Six's first shot killed the driver of the Warthog with a gauss cannon, followed up by head shooting two enemy troopers that were getting into position to snipe the agent's with DMRs of their own.
Six tried to kill the trooper wielding the gauss cannon but it moved in a way for the shot to hit the small shield on the turret. The guy controlling the gauss cannon fired at York knocking him into a large crate pushing it back slightly.
Wash used his armor enhancement which was an EMP disabling the warthogs letting South pick off the helpless hopped down and followed York, Wash and Carolina who were heading deeper into the base. However they got stopped by a pack of snipers with one that sniped Maine during the heist, along with a chaingun warthog being used for covering fire.
Washington said to York and sort of Six but the Spartan three was not paying attention, "We better time this just right! Wait for my mark!" York said roger to the black and yellow agent as they waited.
Carolina said to them over coms, "Alright boys. Me first." She grabs one of her grenades and tosses it towards the pack of snipers, however the elite sniper shot the grenade midair.
"NOW." Wash shouted and York and himself poke out from the corner but the chaingun warthog was keeping them pin down, "NO, wait, not now! Not now!" York was annoyed with both Wash and the enemies.
Six comments, "Should have noticed it exploded early." The spartan was tempted to use his cloak and slip by but he did not want to risk being sniped and also he liked the challenge.
"Yeah thanks for that helpful advice Six." Wash said very sarcastically towards the spartan three.
Six noticed that North tossed something high up and saw where it was going to land, but he was not alone in that. The black and red sniper aimed and was about to snipe the customized bubble shield generator from the sky, Six was able to hit the sniper's exposed arm causing him to miss his shot.
Once the device landed it formed a bubble shield around the snipers, one of the snipers was stupid enough to shoot inside causing their shots to bounce around killing the snipers like they were in a blender, even the elite sniper could not escape the gruesome fate.
York said to North over the coms, "handle it? Sure! I mean I nearly got blown up a minute ago and now I'm paired with the squad's worst fighter, and one of the best ones. But sure. We can handle it." Wash asked if he was the second worst fighter while six on the other hand,
"What do you mean "one of"? You know what York I think you need to learn to respect your elders." Six then cloaked and disappeared.
Wash said to York, "I think you pissed him off."
not knowing Six just used it as an excuse to head inside before the rest of the team. He needed to get information out of Connie before she was six feet in the ground or gone amongst the stars.
However following behind Noble Six was a bigger cloak figure, the same one from the heist, the Sangheili thinks it's time to finally have a rematch with the spartan "SHE" choose to save. Maybe then the spartan's purpose to the mother oracle will become clear to him.