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Maddie 'The Viper' Harper

July 24, 2552

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The great mountain stretched out before us like the teeth of a dragon, at once sharp and seemingly fantastical in their nature. They stood tall and proud, in a way that must have defied logic to humanity's earliest ancestors. It was hardly a wonder that God would be born from such beauty. God... born? Odd that I'd not noticed... When did I lose my faith? I don't know when it happened, but at some point I became unrecognisable. It all occurred incrementally or with the many events that rocked my world in the last few years. I wonder if I was destined for this life, if it was God's plan for me or some other creation. Maybe it was just science. Afterall, I could just be under the influence of an even older Gaesh, couldn't I? I suppose that the truth is that I am a product of my time. Existence is but a fleeting and brief and numinous thing. My life will fade into nothingness long before my legacy follows it. I might be a woman of circumstance, a trained killer since adolescence, and a war hero whose memory will only echo through the moniker given to me at the academy… but I gave up so much to come this far. What remains of the girl from Skopje? Is there any hope for those who made it this far? What was Maggie and George's sacrifice worth if all of humanity is dead in seven months?

There's certainly nothing for me, anyway.

That's where we find ourselves. A year from total economic and military collapse. I was aware that the war was going poorly in the months that followed even the invasion of my home planet. I glanced at my watch, a stylish piece of outdated tech, with a troubled glare. Late. Carter won't be happy. Still, I'm an ONI Captain: 'on time' is whatever I say it is.

The warthog jumped and bounced with an eagerness that seemed almost childlike as we hurtled through the valley. I glanced at my other wrist; the computer flashed a new message on the interface. I wished then that I had a helmet and felt intensely jealous as the damp and misty Reach air swatted at my face, whipping a strand of hair back across my face. My companion, the newly dubbed 'Noble Six' sat quietly, his face cold and hard as he sat with his helmet, turning it over in his hands. I had volunteered to deliver the man to his unit, mainly because where he was going, there would be other SPARTANs. SPARTANs were a valuable asset and where they were would also be where ONI hides other stuff, like scientists, depots, blueprints, schematics, and prisoners with value.

How long have we been playing this numbers game now? Too long, was the unequivocal answer. My mission on reach was simple: gather assets for Beta-7 Division. Reach was a playground for ONI so finding assets wouldn't be too difficult but securing them was another matter, the freedom that came with Parangosky's remit was enough to compel most people into submitting to my authority but the office had a strong presence on Reach. The web of intrigue spread out across the surface like an unholy plague and I would be stepping on a lot of toes to seize and extract what I needed. Just like Meridian, just like Ballast… just like Skopje… The familiar game of cat and mouse had begun to play itself out in earnest over the last few weeks. At least this time there wouldn't be any fighting. I was tired of it, the constant struggle was weighing on me like a pinned rat as it tried to escape a sinking ship.

I shook my head, Who am I even kidding? What's left for me, now? Maggie is dead. George is dead. Eliza can barely speak… Dad… Drake, Ellen, Nicola… the list never stops growing, never stops its relentless and haunting march towards completion.

"So… Noble Six, are you excited?" I asked, trying to push the doom from my mind.

The warthog rumbled as I pushed it to the limits of its speed along the valley floor, SPARTAN B312 glanced at me, then shrugged. "I don't know what you mean, Ma'am" he said glaring at me with a sort of odd curiosity.

"I mean you're finally joining a squad." I said, hoping that he might open up. "You're the lone wolf, the headhunter who killed a dozen prophets. You've got a record matched by precisely one other SPARTAN."

"Just doing my duty, Ma'am."

I sighed as we roared along the dirt track, wondering if he could ever bring himself to be free of the SPARTAN curse. The Two's were tragic characters, the the fours were adults, and the threes were beyond evil. A force of children, manipulated into service as a means to take revenge against the covenant. Halsey opened pandora's box with the SPARTAN program, and the Three's were proof that she couldn't control her creation. 312 was a husk of a man, barely a year her senior, he lacked any sort of human motivation to seek companionship. Maddie still hated Halsey for that, for taking their agency from them.

"Six?" she asked, her eyes focused on the track.

"Yes, Maam?"

"You follow orders, correct?"

"I do, yes, Ma'am."

"Then I order you to embrace Noble team. Every member. Make them your family. Do your duty not just because it's in your training but to do it for their benefit, to protect them."

I said it because I wanted him to prove me wrong. I wanted to believe that this hopelessness might prove temporary.

"I…" he paused, turning the helmet in his hands once more and placing it unceremoniously upon his head, "I will, Ma'am."

"Good. This war isn't going to end without getting worse. We might not live to see its conclusion but we should try to live in the meantime."

Why? I don't even believe that… not anymore.

Far off, in the distance, a small camp glistened in the mists of the early morning. Reach was a beautiful place and incredibly reminiscent of the arable and green nation that had mostly supplied its colonists from: Hungary. My mind wandered again as the valley floor opened up again, flattening so that the Hog could open up its throttle, bounding towards its destination with a resounding growl from its huge engine. I smiled, glad to finally be arriving at the camp and grateful for a brief rest.

I wish you would call me, George. I wish you were still alive.

The thought brought a pain to my chest that made me swell with unease. My heart ached to be separated from him but the assets needed securing as and when I found them. I might not have a future but humanity does, especially if I do my duty. Right now, sitting in a damp warthog with a child soldier and just the tragic memories of my failures prancing about in my head, it was all too clear that George had been the one hope I had for a life after the war. So long as he lived, I thought I would be okay.

As it turned out, I was right. I'm not okay. I'm not okay, at all.

A pair of Falcon's swooped overhead, their loud and thumbing blades chopping through the early morning air. I watched them with a sort of absent minded glee, slowing the hog to a less aggressive cruising speed as we got within a few miles of the camp. The choppers circled the camp lazily before setting themselves down on the tarmac. The Camp was called UNSC Outpost November. That was a far sight less grand than Camp Rex, back on Ballast, which was now under martial law, per Parangosky's orders. I was more glad to see the back of that hell hole than any other place I'd been to or fought in. Meridian hadn't fallen until long after I'd left, it might be a marble now but it had given me hope when I left there. Skopje too was a tragedy but it was a lost world long before I even knew we were being invaded, not to mention the fact that I met Drake and found my place in the world. Truly, Ballast was the worst of the lot. So many were dead because of the office's inability to control its own agents. What's worse was that I was already complicit. I already had taken on the role as leader of Beta-Seven Division, giving me unrivalled power that was second only to Hood and Parangosky themselves.

I'm sorry Ana. I am so, so sorry…

There was a tear in my eye. I willed it out, trying to feel the sadness; the truth was that I didn't have anything left to give. After Maggie died, I'd been on auto pilot and hadn't switched off. Not when I'd shot Ana's parents, not when I killed Erun, and not when we finally pulled into Camp November. Noble Six was climbing out before we rolled to a complete stop, and I followed suit, switching off the ignition and nodding to the runner who was standing nearby to take it on to the garage. Camp November was nothing like the fortress that had been Camp Rex. It was a collection of pre-fab huts and shelters constructed in moments by a condor, plonking them down in the valley. There was a squadron of falcons, a garage for the hogs and a barracks. I walked after Noble Six, fixing my ponytail through the back of my black ONI cap as I followed the SPARTAN.

The Marines gawked at him then frowned at me, no doubt wondering what I was doing here to spoil their quiet assignment in the mountains. They stood proudly in the background as Noble Six walked past a Falcon, where another SPARTAN sat feeding rifle cartridges into a magazine. My ears jumped as I heard a gruff voice exclaim something from inside the box serving as the command tent.

"...Contact with visegrad relay was lost last night. All signals flatlined at 26:00 hours. I responded with trooper fireteams that have since been declared MIA."

The SPARTAN in the falcon gave me an odd look but not nearly as skeptical as the look he gave Noble Six. "And now you're sending us." came the reply. It was the gruff voice of a freshly aged man, growing into his register and undoubtedly the voice of Noble One, Carter.

"The Office of Naval Intelligence believes the deployment of a SPARTAN team is a gross allocation of military resources… I disagree."

"Commander." said another voice, a woman who glared at me as I approached.

"So that's our new number Six." an even gruffer voice huffed.

"And a babysitter, as well" said the woman, Sardonically.

"Kat, you read their files?" said a SPARTAN, a grim skull carved into his visor. I shivered a little, more fazed by the cold weather than the cold reception.

"She wasn't invited but I've read his, even the parts she wouldn't want me to." the one named Kat said, jerking a robotic finger at me.

"Anyone claimed responsibility, Sir?" Carter said, ignoring us.

"ONI seems to think it could be the local insurrection. Five months ago they pulled a similar job on harmony - hit a relay station to take out our eyes and ears then stole two freighters from drydock. That cannot happen here, reach is too damn important. I want that relay back online, Noble One."

"Sir, consider it done."

"Good, then I'll see you on the other side. Holland out."

Carter put the laptop into standby and turned, folding his arms. "Holland didn't mention an ONI attache but he did say the office does not approve of this mission."

"Yeah, I heard" I replied, "but luckily for everyone involved, I don't particularly care what the rest of the office thinks. I came to see if there's more going on that we need to worry about."

"Like what?" Jorge asked, his expression hardening, "Reach is a fortress. Nothing's coming for us here."

"You really believe that, big man?" the skull-faced SPARTAN said, "what are you, section one?"

"Three." I replied, folding my arms. It was true, of course, SPARTANs were section three so they knew what I meant. I meant trouble.

"Sounds like you're not giving us a choice, Ma'am. I'm assuming you want to come along for the ride?" I nodded and the SPARTAN sighed, "alright, follow me."

Then, just like that, I wasn't there.

"Lieutenant?"

"Commander. Sir."

"I'm Carter, Noble Team's leader. That's Kat, Noble Two, Emile and Jorge, Four and Five. You're riding with me, Noble Six." he looked at me, "you too, Ma'am." The small and sleepy base was alive all of a sudden, it's blood pumping as men ran about. We clambered into the nearest Falcon.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, Lieutenant. You're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled. Me, I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength. Just one thing. I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. I'm glad to have your skill set, but we're a team. That lone wolf stuff stays behind. Clear?" he said, hanging out the side and signalling for the pilot to take off.

"Got it, Sir." Bee said, glancing at me as we walked towards the falcons.

I smiled as I sat beside Jun. The sniper looked at me, his eyes as precise as his rifle as they darted between myself and Noble Six.

"Welcome to Reach." he said.


And we're back!

Hope you're ready, because I'm really excited about this one. I'm fresh back from a little break and didn't write as much as I had wanted during that time but screw it, writing these ad-hoc has always been a fun challenge.

For this story, I figured it was time for Maddie to finally face the demons she's been cultivating all these years. Our hero stands on the edge, looking into the abyss, a final decision looms.

Star Wars fic is on hold for now, want to focus on seeing this through.

Thanks for sticking by the series so far, it's been fun!