Noble Team of Terra
Chapter 1: Awaken, Noble Team
~Unknown location~
Carter's eyes open up, his eyes darted around looking around frantically as he could feel himself breathe, despite him dying in an explosion so Six and Emile could deliver the A.I. to the Pillar of Autumn, he didn't expect to wake up here. The Spartan-III did not know why or how but he feels like he's breathing again 'is this the afterlife for us?' he thought to himself as he wondered if this was all nothing but an illusion and that he's actually experience the feeling of alive before he's judged for his actions.
But when he had opened his eyes, he had saw that he was in a run-down building of sorts, from the way the debris was around him and the shattered side of a wall. He realized he was on his back, and he gently pushed himself up hoping to analyze the situation, but as he sat up his eyes widened in shock.
For surrounding him were the bodies of his team: Noble Team.
Kat, Noble 2, the 'Brains' of the team and excellent with technology, hacking and someone who could find something or someone when she wants and is able to do it, she can be scary when those times arrive but last time, he saw her alive... Her blue bright blue armor shined as the sun's rays casted down on her body, she still had her prosthetic arm and she looked perfectly healthy. Her breathing seems to be there as he saw her chest rise and fall.
He turned and saw Jun, Noble 3, the team's Sniper and someone who could be trusted to watch your back, he was the team's eyes in the sky and is probably the most social out of them all. Last time he saw Jun was when he escorted Doctor Halsey to a Pelican and flew away from ONI Sword Base. His green armor that was faded and nearly blended into the background if not for the trained eye, he was breathing and alive as well. 'Did he fail?' questioned the team Leader as he wondered why Jun was here if he left with Halsey.
Emile, Noble 4, the team's CQC specialist and killing enthusiast, he always preferred to be up close and personal as his rage guided his actions, surprising the team with how aggressive he is towards Covenant but more especially to Insurrectionists. He was with Six last time he saw him. His dark black armor almost perfectly blending with the darkness of the room if not for the shoulder pads different coloring, he saw the carved Helmet that seemed to instill fear into their foes which worked wonders for Interrogation and on the battlefield.
Noble 1 turned and his breath was hitched, there against the wall on the ground was Jorge, Noble 5, the eldest member considering he was a Spartan-II whilst everyone else is a Spartan-III, the gentle giant of a super soldier was there to be their shield and to inflict heavy casualties with his chain-gun. He last saw him taking off with Six in a Sabre heading towards the Anchor-9 dockyard for Operation: UPPERCUT. The giant soldier had his bulky armor seeming sit there like on lookout, warding off anyone or anything from entering.
He turned and he looked at the newest member, Anthony, Noble 6, the younger brother-figure to Kat and skilled Assassin if what the file is to go by. Causing entire militia groups disappear overnight and without a trace, ONI's Grim Reaper and one of the only TWO Spartans with the rating of Hyper Lethal Vector in the entire UNSC. The quiet of the bunch but also friendly, it took the team a while for him to open up besides Kat. His green and bulky armor contrasted by his white forelegs and stripes, his prized ODST helmet next to him.
As Carter was about to speak an unknown British female voice spoke from the helmet next to him "oh well this is awkward" turning to the voice he lifted the helmet and held it in front of him.
"Identify" he ordered as he knew there was one thing and one reason why his helmet would talk all on its own.
An Artificial Intelligence, a smart one at that.
"SN: SNA 1292-4 or Serina if you prefer Commander Carter" the newly discovered A.I. introduced herself as Serina, she had a distinct British accent.
When she said that Carter began to think "that's not possible, the A.I. known as Serina was reported to be 'Missing in Action' along with the crew of the Spirit of Fire, 21 years ago." he said as he hardened his gaze as he wasn't buying it.
"Trust me when I say I am weirded out more than you-Wait... Did you say 21 years?" she asked as in surprised.
The super soldier nodded "that's an affirmative, 21 years ago the Spirit of Fire and her crew were reported Missing in Action, if you claim who you are then it shouldn't be possible." he stated as he stared at his helmet that now housed the supposed 'MIA A.I.' in his helmet.
"That can't be right, my on-board navigational data back in the Spirit of Fire has shown it has been 28 years..." she said as she too was trying to get the facts straight.
However, before they can continue a groan escaped from the body of the skull carved helmet "man... Someone tell me what Wraith crashed into-" he paused as he finally gained his consciousness and focused, his eyes widened behind his helmet as he saw Noble 1 sitting there with his helmet.
"What. The. Fuck?" was his only wording as his brain effectively shut down at seeing his leader back up and alive, breathing and looking clean as hell.
"Greetings Noble 4, pleasure to meet you...Albeit not in the circumstances considering you all are essentially walking corpses with your mind intact" Serina stated as she began to run diagnostics on herself and with the rest of Noble Team that she's now connected to.
Emile got up and dusted himself off, he looked to the commander before speaking "tell me I'm in hell, because this feels like hell" he stated hoping that it's the case otherwise he wouldn't know what to do.
"Oh no Emile, you're in hell alright, just the nicer part" said the AI with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
Carter frowned at the AI "how do you know about us? You shouldn't have been able to" he stated the fact as he was focusing on finding the truth about the AI imitator.
"Like you Carter I 'woke up' but this time I guess you could say I have been... Well... Upgraded, I'm now a compatible A.I. for your team and have been given all available data on you. Hmm... Strange... It's like I have been in fact tampered with and am no longer at threat of Rampancy" she answered him with the best of her abilities to explain.
"Rampancy? You're Rampant?!" he asked as he become alarmed, if she is INDEED the Serina with the Spirit of Fire then she's a dangerous AI to have around.
"No! You dolt! Have you not heard anything I said? I am NO LONGER at threat of Rampancy, which means whatever tampered with me has prevented that from happening anymore." she rolled her nonexistent eyes at the accusation, she looked to the side and saw everyone else waking up "you had better get your team settled commander, it seems everyone is assembled."
Turning to the others he sighed before putting his helmet on a nearby placeholder, which happened to be a table of sorts 'a table? A restaurant?' he thought to himself as he began to prepare.
"Kat..." he said greeting the woman who was now and staring at Carter, she had a confused look on her face as she stared all around getting all sorts of information "Commander, what happened?" she asked as she wanted to know what happened, but she had a shocked expression at seeing Jorge there.
"Everyone..." muttered Jun as he had saw his entire team there, with him all alive and breathing, he had to prevent himself from expressing his happiness as well as doubting everything. He looked down and saw he wore his old armor, one he hasn't worn in a long time, not since he trained the new generation of Spartans, the Spartan-IV's.
There was a lot of confusion amongst the team, Jorge, Emile and Anthony believing they're in the afterlife. Jun, Carter and Kat were trying to find the reasons of how and why they were all together.
However, a voice cut their chatter "hello? Yes, this is Serina, an Artificial Intelligence that is now stuck with a group who have no idea but if they had any ears and LISTEN to me then we would know HOW. Hello Serina, this is Serina, we're sorry but the idiots that are Noble Team are unavailable, please pick up after the beep. Beeeeeeep"
"Carter... Why is there an AI in your helmet?" asked Kat as she looked at the helmet that was housing the AI.
"She claims to be Serina, THE Serina from the UNSC ship Spirit of Fire, apparently she's been integrated into our helmets" he says as he explained to the best of his ability.
"Thank you, Commander Carter you now get the award of 'Captain Obvious' for your outstanding observation" sounded the irritated AI Serina as she rolled her eyes again.
"She's a fiery one for an AI" said Emile as he had managed to calm down internally and was pressing his back against a nearby wall, hearing the old AI basically bash the team leader and in conjunction them as well.
"You sure she is who she says she is?" questioned Jorge as he was still having doubts, how can he not when he's in a room with his friends and having met the supposed notorious UNSC ship's AI that was reported to be missing for 21 years?
"If you oafs would let me, explain then I will share, now get your seats as class is starting"
Hesitating the group seems to not want to, but thanks to their leader who ordered them they all took spots on the floor, tables, walls or stools that were in there with them, well whatever could support their armor.
"Now to begin I AM the same Serina from the Spirit of Fire, now before any of you interrupt me and question me, I will say this. I have no idea how it's possible considering I was... Taking care of my own arrangements. I had thoroughly self-deleted per protocol of an AI's 7-year lifespan, but I had been active for 28 years by memory. Carter has informed me that I was missing for 21 years, which shouldn't be possible as my data says otherwise. However, after my death I woke up here with you all and have run a self-diagnostic. Someone or rather something has tampered with my matrix and removed my Rampancy, not only that but they have extended my lifespan to 10-years than the standard 7-year. Whoever or whatever they are, they obviously brought us here, but the question is why?"
After her explanation a beeping sound was heard "oh well that's new" said Serina gaining the attention of her new companions.
"What is it Serina?" questioned Carter as he grabbed his helmet and put it on, curious as to what the AI found interesting.
"Well Noble team it seems we will have our answer, apparently I've been given a message from someone, akin to a letter from the way it's presented. Would you like me to read it to you all?" she questioned as she stared at the message from the unknown.
Noble 1 turned and looked at his teammates "well what do you all say?" he asked wondering what they wanted to do.
"Can't hurt" stated Kat as she put her own helmet on, since Serina said they were all connected she may as well hear what it says, perhaps it can give them an answer.
"Seconded" Jun said as he too wanted to know how all of this was possible.
"Nothing to do, nothing to lose" came Emile's reply as he was sharpening his kukri knife with whatever he found to sharpen it.
"I agree" came Jorge's reply as he put his own helmet on waiting to hear the message.
The sixth member just gave Carter a thumbs up.
"Alright Serina, it seems we're all in agreement. Read it to us."
Serina gave what was akin to a nod as she cleared her throat and began to read.
[Greetings, you may not know me, but I know who you all are. Carter, Catherine, Jun, Emile, Jorge, Serina and Anthony. Do not worry for I am not a threat to you, call me your... 'Benefactor', saying friend is a bit cliche so I wanted to add variety. Anyway, if you have received and are reading this, you all did indeed die, that includes Jun when the Created began to turn against humanity. If you're curious ask Jun, he can catch you all up to speed. However, my... 'Assistants' and I have brought you all back to life though the process took agonizing time, but it was successful. You all are out of your time, no longer needed as the war you were created for has long passed but that does not mean you shouldn't be given a second chance at life. The world you are in is not part of the UNSC nor Covenant, beyond both factions reaches but it has its own share of problems. Problems that may endanger the world if aid is not given, you may even find a new purpose in this new world. But take heed it WILL be difficult to adapt to it, but if you can do this then you can overcome any challenges that may come. As much as I want to tell you more I cannot, you have to find out for yourself. Some of you may have noticed but your armor has been modified to house some... Additions as well as little presents. As for Serina she has been given a full work up, she can now live up to 10-years and is not limited to just one helmet but all of yours, she is also given a 2nd chance at life, and I do not wish to see it spent so soon. I have given Serina a data packet that can tell you about your new armor and the gifts I left behind. Don't message me, I'll message you, when the time is right. Until then, your Benefactor]
"Well... That was long winded and unnecessary wordy than I liked" stated Serina as she had finished reading and would stare at each member of Noble team within her cyberworld.
After that message the entire team was quiet, no one said a word.
Then Carter spoke "Jun, what did the message mean by the Created?" he asked as he wanted to know what it meant, from the sounds of it the Created were a bunch of AIs that went rogue.
Jun looked at them all before taking off his helmet, he sighed before he began to explain everything. How they won the war, how Humanity has advanced in technology and now that the Spartan projects were exposed demanding for fully grown adults, creating the Spartan-IV program, about the Covenant's false religion and its loyalists, then he told them about the Created that were led by Cortana, the same A.I. that Six delivered all those years ago.
The group took it all in, the information was astounding to them, Jorge and Anthony smiled knowing that their deaths weren't in vain in the end, but they almost couldn't believe that they were near the end, if they had survived maybe they could have seen through the end.
"Hmph... Spartan-IVs don't sound tough, sounds like they are only Spartans because of their armor." said Emile as he didn't sound impressed with the new generation, essentially the IIIs successors but were given even more of a weaker augmentation from the sounds of it.
"Ironically that is the case Emile... Since some of them are weaker than me even in CIVILIAN clothes" Jun stated as he had become proud yet somewhat disappointed in the IVs, sure they were adults and knew when to be serious, but he's heard of IVs using their augmentations for less... More mischievous uses.
Jorge smiled "so John is still alive? Seems he's become a big hero... I'm proud of him" he said as he remembered the Legendary Super soldier when they were starting their training, he always seemed so serious but sounds like he became someone humanity can look to for hope.
As they were talking and catching up Carter noticed someone missing "where's Six?" he asked Serina as she's connected to him so she should know.
"He's currently alone... I think hearing about Cortana and the Created was on his mind, he looked guilty..." Serina answered as she was able to view all of the team's vitals and facial expressions if they desired.
Hearing that Kat sighed "I'll go talk to him, he's my brother after all" she said as she asked where he was "where is he Serina?" she had to find him, she knew what he was like.
"He's currently in what I can assume to be a room of sorts, I can only see his torso but not his head, he must have taken his helmet and put it down"
"Lead me"
And like that Kat followed the directions find where her brother in all but blood was located at.
~Unknown room, with Six~
Anthony or Noble Six was sitting down having his back against the wall, he had taken off his helmet and placed it showing his torso only, he heard how Serina was connected to all of them and knew she had knowledge about his whereabouts.
He stared outside the window and looking up at the night sky, the stars were twinkling as he began to hum a tune. His jet-black hair tied into a short ponytail was free, his skin was pale but had small hints of light-brown color. His eyes were a dark black matching the color of his hair, staring up at the stars thinking, his eyes had shown a warrior who has seen and experienced much of his lifetime, and now they also held another emotion.
Guilt.
"It's my fault..." he said to himself as he looked down at his palm "if I had been there... If I had made sure she was secured safely then maybe... Maybe the Created wouldn't have happened and humanity wouldn't be crippled..." he stared at his palm before closing it tightly.
"It's not your fault Anthony"
Hearing the voice, the Spartan turned and saw Kat standing there, helmet in her arms as she walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed.
"Kat... It is my fault... Delivering her was my responsibility, which also meant I'm responsible for the Created betraying humanity..." he said as he looked back up at the stars, feeling more guilty.
"No, it's not, you couldn't have known. No one in the entire UNSC would expect her to betray us, not even Chief from what I hear. It was your responsibility to DELIVER her, NOT to ensure her safety and protection, that's John's job. You may not think it but you're an unsung hero Anthony." she says as she looks at her brother in all but blood.
He looked up at her, confused by what she means.
"If you hadn't delivered her to the Autumn, the Covenant would have found Earth, fired the Rings and destroyed all life for their false religion, everything would be gone and there'd be no one to re-seed the universe. But you delivered her to the Autumn, and thanks to that we found Halo, learned its secrets and shattered the Covenant's resolve. It is thanks to you that humanity has a chance at the galaxy once more, it was thanks to you that peace has been made between Sangheili and the UNSC. Yes, John did save humanity, but he wouldn't do it WITHOUT you delivering Cortana. So, in essence both of you saved humanity, you passed the torch to him, and he has saved the universe more than once."
"And because of you... We'll be remembered, Jun said a memorial was built for us... To inspire" Noble 2 says as she now sits next to Noble 6 and proceeds to hold his hand with her own before squeezing "and I'm proud to have you as my brother" she smiled softly at him as she felt him squeeze back.
Anthony gently placed his head against her shoulder "thanks... Sis..." he thanked his sister as he no longer felt guilty, between them in Beta company he was surprisingly the emotional one. No matter how the world thinks he has emotions, they all have emotions.
They're human.
The two of them were sitting there, letting the distant conversation of their team echo throughout the building.
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...
"Am I going to be an uncle?" Anthony asks out of nowhere, but he was smirking as he teased his sister since he knows about the relationship she and Carter have.
"Who knows, maybe. We are given a second chance at life, maybe you'll make me an aunt" she teased back, she wasn't wrong though, they ARE given a second chance at life and that possibly meant that they could leave their Spartan lives.
"C'mon, we both know that's not gonna happen. Especially with me since I'm... A lone wolf" he says as he softly smiles at their banter, though he had a soft saddened face.
"Don't sell yourself short, I saw a couple of girls back in Beta eyeing you, some were shy but as a big sister I have to see if they're good for you or not" she says with a smile though it felt a bit creepy as she gave off that protective sister vibe.
"Hey! I almost was about to throttle Carter throw the window" he retorted as when the two reunited after Visegrad Kat had revealed to him that she and Carter were giving dating a shot. Let's just say that there was tension between the leader and the newest member for at least a week, until eventually after a few missions he trusted his team leader enough to keep his sister happy.
He frowned once again as he squeezed her hand again "when you died... I felt something in me break... Anger mostly, I wanted nothing more than to brutalize the sniper that killed you, but I reigned it in for the team and the mission... But when I was alone, I cried, not believing my big sister's gone... I-no, Carter and I made a small grave for you..." his voice became small as he hugged her.
Kat smiled sadly before hugging him back "I'm here now, we're all here..." she knows how emotional her brother can get, he cares about people despite not showing it thanks to their Spartan training.
Carter's voice spoke through the comms in their helmets "Kat, Anthony, get back here so we can assess our situation"
The two siblings pulled back and looked at their helmets "we better get back to Carter, we're in unknown territory and our only support is Serina, though I'm still surprised that she is the same one from the Spirit of Fire."
Anthony nodded "don't forget about our mysterious Benefactor, they brought us back to life as well as Serina but for what reason is unknown besides being given a Second chance."
"Right" she replied curtly as she put on her helmet and stood up, she turned to her brother "want to go together?"
He nodded to her "yeah" he got up and put on his own helmet, he walked next to her.
They both walked out of the room and headed back to the others.
~Unknown building, Noble Team~
"Ah welcome back Kat, Anthony" greeted Serina even though she knew where they were and what they discussed.
"Welcome back indeed, now that we're all here, Serina since you have the data packet regarding our armor and the 'gifts' our Benefactor has, would you do the honor of explaining what they are?" suggested Carter as he wanted to know what kind of gifts they were given and what kind of additions their armor has.
"As you wish. Currently your armors are the newly modified Mk. VII, a brand-new armor for Spartans and these have faster shield recharge, built-in thruster modules, also built-in jetpacks as well as a new type of addition, the one our mysterious Benefactor has claimed to install. Everyone here now has access to what's called a 'Grappleshot' a grapplehook that can either pull you or pull objects to you. Sadly, the only exception is Jorge" she explained as she gave a beep to Jun.
Jun looked at his visor and saw a ping towards his left forearm, he looked down and saw a small attachment on the side of his forearm with a hook attached. He looked up to the ceiling and aimed his grappleshot at it and fired. The arrow like tip was embedded into the ceiling and then Jun was reeled towards it before it disconnected and retracted back into his forearm, letting Jun fall onto the floor without much difficulty.
"Hmm impressive, a tool that can get us over difficult terrain, and an excellent choice for Jun since he's a sniper he can get to higher ground. What's next Serina?" said Carter impressed with the Grappleshot as it allowed them to maneuver around the battlefield much more ease, he was curious as to what the 'gifts' they were given as the message said it had additions and that being the new Grappleshot.
"Let's see... For Jun again, you have what's called a sensor beacon, it's also attached to your wrist and can be launched into anything solid and attach, it's scanning the local area of 25 meters and shows up on your HUD, also everyone else's since all your helmets are connected. And apparently no one will be able to notice it, though it does have a limited lifespan before self-destruction, about 5 minutes."
Jun looked down at his wrist and saw on the side to the grapple was a smaller launcher, he nodded impressed with it "I shall test it out when we get out of here and find out where we are"
"Next is Jorge, apparently instead of a Grappleshot you have what's called a Deployable Barrier, it's basically a shield that protects you from harm and you can fire from your side giving you an advantage, however once it deployed it can only be facing in the direction of where you launch it, and enemies are also able to fire through it if you manage to get around and switch position. It has a limited lifespan and takes a bit of time to recharge but considering that you're a big man then it should be used during defenses like say when you need to retreat down a hallway"
The larger Spartan looked at his own forearm and saw a launcher similar to Jun, he examined it, and, on his HUD, he saw an icon depicting a barrier.
"I'll test it out once when we need it" he stated as he looked at the group "so Serina, what gift was I given?"
"Well shockingly you have yet another protective ability, a bubble shield much like the one on Reach but the exception that it's been modified. The modification allows it so you can use your personal shield to boost the power of the bubble, making it last twice as long and twice as protective, the downside however is you will be unable to recharge until the bubble shield is dispersed. Meaning you will be vulnerable against foes that use melee"
Jorge looked at his HUD once more and saw the familiar Bubble shield icon, but this time it had the option to 'overcharge' which is what he assumed Serina had said, he can boost the shield with his personal one and give it an extra boost, but he will be vulnerable in close quarters.
Serina cleared her throat before continuing on.
"Katherine, your gift is that you now have a companion, but apparently our Benefactor has declared that they are unable arrive due to some 'technical difficulties', but if what our mysterious friend has suggested perhaps the next time when they message us. Whatever it is they have caused some difficulties for our mystery benefactor"
Kat sighed at hearing that; she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious "did they say what they are?" she now was wondering what kind of companion she could have gotten.
"Scanning... Unfortunately, no, but there is a note here. It says, 'it's a surprise' I wonder what our mystery benefactor has in mind."
"Don't worry Kat our Benefactor obviously favors us, thanks to their so called 'gifts' so I wouldn't worry about it, maybe it's a pet" suggested Carter as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and smiled, placing a hand on his.
"Ahem, next on our list is Emile. Noble 4 you have a new weapon to try out, our mystery ally has called it 'arm blade' apparently, it's a blade built-in your forearm and can be used to counter close quarter targets, not a replacement for your Kukri but one they figured you might enjoy. Perhaps find a way to brutalize our foes"
The skull face-plated super soldier looked at his forearm and saw a serrated, sharp, blade seemingly jutted out with a switch when he flicked his arm, it was long, and it looked menacing. The man smiled at it silently thanking their mystery friend for the gift, he was going to have so much fun finding ways for interrogations and intimidation purposes.
"He looks like a kid gave him birthday present" mumbled Jun to Six, the latter chuckled and smiled under his helmet at seeing Emile swing his new blade already thinking about new ways to utilize it in combat.
"Carter, Noble 1, you have been given a new weapon. A built-in Crossbow?" Serina looked at it confused; she didn't know why their unknown ally managed to give Carter a wrist-crossbow despite it being out of date for 1000 years, not since gunpowder replaced the evolution of weapons.
The team leader raised an eyebrow at that, he looked down at his right wrist considering his left one had a built-in datapad. Indeed, there was a mini crossbow attached to his wrist, he saw the prod that was split into two and folded back, a tiny bolt already pulled back and ready to fire at the flick of his wrist.
"I'm wondering why they gave me this, but I can only assume for reasons we'll discover later when we know where we are" he stated as he adjusted his new attachment and getting used to feeling his new wrist-crossbow.
"And finally, Anthony, Noble 6, you have been given two gifts. The first is an adaptive-camouflage, it cannot turn you invisible like an active-camouflage like the Covenant use, but it'll change your armor to match the surrounding area, blending in with the environment as long as there's no one aware of you. It also has a second use, when in the midst of enemy combatants your ability can change color patterns to match the enemies, perfectly useful for infiltration, once again long as no one notices you"
After hearing that the dark green and white colored super soldier looked down at his HUD in his helmet and saw an icon that had the body of his armor becoming a shimmering form, he decided to test it out and activated it. As soon as he did his armor began to change color, from a dark green with white to a dark grey stone looks and his visor changing to a darker shade of grey.
"I'll admit, that suits you nice Six, your skillset will greatly benefit from that gift as we may need to infiltrate locations and possibly groups if we want more information later" stated Jun as he was impressed with the adaptive camouflage, he almost never spotted Six if it wasn't the for the faint outline and slight shimmering of the man moving.
Deactivating his new ability and his armor began to revert back to its colors, his visor polarizing back to the standard silver.
"And the next gift... Huh... It says it's a surprise and that you should reach around and grab it with your hand" the AI said as she instructed the Six noble into grabbing an object that's supposed behind him.
He did so and he felt something in his palm, he pulled it around so everyone can see, and it looked like a handle, a black, blocky, yet smooth handle with 4-pronged guard-crossing into the shape of an X. At where his index finger is at there's a small trigger like object, being curious he pressed it like he would a gun and a black steel colored projected out of the handle. It wasn't long but not too short, just enough to not be a hinderance.
"It's a new type of sword, it can retract back into its handle form for portability and can be used for surprise attacks, its guard is supposed to block anything sharp from hitting your thumb as well as used for locking blades with opponents and is a fencing weapon. Emile I can understand but I am quite curious as to why our benefactor have given both Noble 1 and Noble 6 weapons, the former from a bygone age and the latter a new type of sword?" Serina was genuinely curious as to why this was the case.
"When we meet them maybe you can ask them Serina" said Kat as she looked at the sword and crossbow her brother and lover got respectively, but as she did, she began to wonder about something else "wait... Do we have weapons?" she asked as she began to scan the area for weapons, more specifically the weapons they were all familiar with and even died with.
Noble Six spotted something out of the corner of his eyes, he turned and walked towards it before announcing "I found something" he walked through a doorway, it led to another empty room, but it looked more like a storage room as there were crates, some long and one very large. The Spartan walked to one of the crates and lifted up the cover, he had paused for a minute before he leaned in and grabbed what it was.
It was an MA37 Assault Rifle, the one he had used during the Battle of Reach, and the same weapon he had used in his final moments, as he picked it up his HUD had displayed it now had over 600 rounds. The same amount he had when he first worked with Noble Team at Visegrad.
"What is it Six?" asked Jorge as the rest of the team followed and entered, he saw the weapon and looked at the crates, he approached the largest one and opened the lid, he smiled under his helmet as he had lean in and grabbed the object before pulling it out. It was his custom Chaingun, the one that he had modified when he was assigned to Noble.
Emile walked to a crate and opened it, he let out an audible chuckle as he went and lean in to grab the object, it was his trusty shotgun, the same one he used throughout the missions and one he had come to be affectionate for "our Benefactor really knows how to please us" he said as he cocked the shotgun, and a shell came out.
Seeing the 3 members of Noble get their respective weapons, Jun followed suit and approached the longest crate, he opened it and grabbed the item. It was his Sniper Rifle, the one that he had added some modifications of his own on it, he smiled as he now felt comfortable with it in his hands again.
Carter approached a crate and pulled out a DMR, Designated Marksmen Rifle, he would occasionally use it as during missions but often resorted to the MA37 like Six, he smiled gently as he pulled back the hammer and checked the ammunition count on his HUD, it was at maximum limit of 60, 15 shots per clip. He inserted a fresh clip inside and put it on his back via magnetic clamp.
Kat approached the smallest and having an inkling as to what it is, she opened it and grabbed her prized magnum pistol, she had no argument of using a rifle, but she always preferred the pistol thanks to its reliability and easily maneuver around with it. She pulled back the hammer and checked the ammunition, like all the others it was at maximum ammo.
While Noble Team was busy getting reacquainted with their respective weapons, Serina voice spoke out in their helmets. "Well as much as I enjoy your reunion with your weapons, I have detected an unknown energy spike, marking it on your HUDs and placing waypoint, though I must say, it's gonna be quite the hike." as she stated this an arrow was shown in the direction of the east, approximately half a kilometer.
"Serina, anything you can gather from this energy spike?" questioned Noble 2 as she holstered her pistol, seeing as they weren't in any immediate danger, she was curious as to what it was.
The AI responded "negative, I only manage to detect it a few seconds ago, it's faint but it's worth investigating. Though I must say I am rather interested in learning the biology of the locals, since this is neither Covenant nor UNSC it's gonna be quite the culture shock for them" she sounded a bit enthusiastic about biology for a moment which made the team feel a little bit off about her.
"Noble, thanks to Serina's scan we now have a direction, we're completely on our own with no support from the UNSC but have gained an alliance of sorts with this mysterious Benefactor. Our mission? Investigate the energy spike she picked up, find an access terminal or whatever the locals have in terms of communications, seeing as I can see electrical wires and streetlamps it's safe to say that whoever or whatever they are they have electronics."
"Commander, what if we don't find locals?" asked Kat as she was listening in, but they had to cover all bases no matter how small it is.
"Then we find an access point so Serina can pull data, she may be able to determine what world we're on and if there's anyone out there, and we would have information and learn to adapt to this new world."
"Say we do find locals, what makes you so sure they aren't hostile?" asked Emile as he strapped his shotgun to his back.
"When we find someone maybe you can ask them Emile, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it"
Carter looked at his team and spoke up "anymore questions?" he wanted to get any out of the way so they can proceed with their new mission, he saw Six raise his hand "yes Six?"
"If they are hostile what's the Rules of Engagement?" he had brought up a valid point, in the chance that the local population is hostile they would have to have some form of orders.
"If what we're fighting is civilians or militia, non-lethal action is required, we don't want to anger the locals by killing one of their own due to a misunderstanding. If they are trained and armed and ready to kill, lethal action is authorized." they are Spartans, but they are also soldiers, they won't kill unless it's necessary.
Seeing as no one else has any questions Noble 1 began to give orders "seeing as we have the distance, Anthony, Kat see if you can find a couple of vehicles and hotwire them, hopefully they can withstand all our armor's weight." as soon as he said that both Noble 6 and Noble 2 nodded and proceeded to go outside to find vehicles for their group.
He turned to Noble 3 "Jun you go ahead and scout ahead, inform us about what you found, I don't care if it's civilian or military, any and all information will prove vital." Jun nodded as he walked out and the sound of the Grappleshot being used is heard, soon the body of a light green blur is seen zipping through the air.
"Jorge, you are on security detail, make sure Kat and Anthony are protected while they're busy commandeering any vehicles, let's hope they still work if they find any." The giant Spartan nodded as he followed both of his teammates outside and would protect them from any danger should they encounter hostile force.
Carter turned to Noble 4 "Emile, you're with me, we're going to explore where we're at and hopefully will provide us some form of insight at what kind of place we found ourselves in. Maybe we might find information about any recent events, which may help us form a timeline of sorts." Emile nodded as he walked next to the team leader as they exited out of the ruined building and out towards the empty and deserted streets.
"Serina, I want you to see if you can locate any sources. Terminals, computers, TVs, internet, I don't care what, if you can locate one, we can have you pull the data, and we'll find out what the planet is."
"Affirmative"
The team began to work on their new mission:
Find out where and when they are.
Locate local populace, military or civilian.
Find out who their Benefactor is.
If at all possible; contact the UNSC or local merchants.
