14. No Greater Love

*No Greater Love*

*Six POV*

The planet is slowly dying as the purple ships float lazily over the surface, raining flaming hot molten energy upon it. Reach is falling, yet the Spartans are still being hunted, still fighting.

The spartan's pelican rockets through the crimson air with Covenant forces right on their tail. They are less than twenty miles away from the Pillar of Autumn, but they are under heavy fire and taking damage. They lost most of their pursuers as they pushed the Pelican to go faster, but a Phantom and five Banshees still follow closely behind.

Six and Emile stand in the back, shooting and ducking behind what little cover the lowered ramp doors could provide. Six fires a few bursts from his assault rifle while Emile fires a grenade launcher. A barrage of plasma bolts shoots through the back opening and Six hears a grunt of pain emerging from the front of the Pelican.

Fearing the worst, Six runs towards the cockpit, firing his rifle in one hand as he moves. He reaches the front just in time to see the helmet drop from Carter's head. The sight isn't good; the bolts tore through the pilot's seat, ripped through Carter's body and splatter his blood on the forward windshield. The Spartan Commander is losing a lot of blood, the red matter is already leaking from his mouth and eyes, Six could see his eyelids drooping, yet there's still a fire of determination still alight within them.

Before Six could further examine or help him, Carter says, "I'm not sure how much more she can take Lieutenant, you're going to have to get off here."

Six has an idea what his Commander is going to say, but to make sure he asks, "Sir?"

"You don't want to know," Carter says in a slightly pained voice before turning towards the back and shouting, "Emile, go with him! It's a ground game now!"

Emile fires out the door with the grenade launcher and watches in pleasure as the Banshee he hit slams into another flying close to it causing both of them to explode in midair; buying them some breathing space.

Emile checks for another grenade before making a dissatisfied snort and throws the launcher out the hatch as if he is trying to blow up the phantom with it. He turns and places a fist over his chest, bows his head slightly and says, "It's been an honor sir."

"Likewise," Carter says as he turns back to look where he is going, "I'll draw their fire off you boys as long as I can."

Six nods before turning and starts walking back to the rear of the ship. Carter is going to lead the Covenant away from them, nobody wants to voice it, but they all knew the chances of Carter getting out alive are slim.

"Six," Carter calls out, causing the Spartan to turn and look to his commander, "That AI chose you…She made the right choice." Six tries to look Carter in the eye, but the Commander keeps his gaze on the skies, no longer looking at him.

Feeling a heavy weight suddenly falling on his chest, Six lifts himself higher and walks to the back, determined more than ever now to succeed. As he moves towards the back he feels the ship lower its altitude as it dives between natural rock formations, he can see the bulky Phantom trying to follow them, grenade launcher stuck in between the engine and the main body, but it is forced to pull off due to the tight spaces the rocks offer, leaving only the Banshees to follow in pursuit.

"Nice throw." Six says, impressed that Emile managed to make the weapon sail that far.

"You should have seen what I would have done if I had a grenade left." Emile grunts out sarcastically.

Emile then kneels next to the opening of the ramp and Six joins him. Both of the spartans have to grab the floor so they won't be bumped off the ship too soon. They wait for the right moment to jump, all the while ducking whenever a plasma shot comes in too close for comfort. The ship lurches to the right after a mortar round strikes against the side of the ship. Six almost falls off the Pelican but Emile's hand shoots out, grabs his arm and pulls him back into the aircraft.

"Thanks," Six says, before asking frantically, "Is the package still there?"

"Yeah," Emile says as he pats Six's back, "You're good bro."

The ship levels itself; signaling that the time is here. The two spartans rise slightly as they wait for their Commander's orders.

"On my mark," Carter orders as he holds up three fingers. Six and Emile watch the hand, waiting as their leader counts. One by one, the fingers went down, when the last digit was gone, he pumps his fist and shouts, "Mark!"

They don't have time to say goodbye or anything like that, as they follow his final command, and they both jump. As they fall, Six folds his arms against his chest and snaps his legs together in an attempt to prevent himself from sustaining broken limbs when they hit the ground. He has no idea how long they drop or how high up they were to begin with, but it's only seconds after they jump do they land and slide across the surface. As they impact and slide on the rocky terrain, their shields activate and flare up before coming to a stop.

Despite his shields, Six knows he's going to find bruises in the morning. As he rises, he hears the whine of plasma and crouches, waiting for a hail of fire to rain down, instead he hears the impact of plasma bolts on metal and looks up just in time to see the Pelican, wing covered in flames, and practically limping away as the Covenant ships chases it down.

Six wishes he hadn't left the Commander, he and Emile could have continued giving cover fire, but out here, the mission came first.

At the thought of his current objective, Six reaches behind him and pulls out the container. There are no fractures on it and the chip is still glowing, he hopes this means it's still working.

"You ok miss?" Six asks sarcastically.

Suddenly the chip sparks a bright indigo, surprising the Spartan. Was that a response?

Maybe Halsey isn't as crazy as I thought she was, Six thought to himself before replacing the container on his back and observes his surroundings.

They are in a canyon, spiraling upwards towards the dark skies. Six frowns slightly at this, it's barely evening, the sun shouldn't have gone down yet. He feels cold fury well up from within when he realizes that the sky isn't transforming into evening; the heavens are being blocked by plumes of smoke.

"Six," Emile calls. The Spartan turns and sees Emile, shotgun in hand, waiting by an opening in the wall of rock and motions for Six to join him. The Lieutenant walks up next to his fellow teammate and looks out from the gap in the canyon wall.

Approximately ten miles away, Six can see the outline of a human Cruiser resting on the ground.

"Is that…" Six asks before Emile answers, "Yes it is Six, the Pillar of Autumn…"

They both stare at the ship as the evening sun slowly dips behind it, further outlining the space shuttle. Six then hears scuffling originating from below them and looks down.

Positioned below them is a squad of elites, jackals, and grunts, roaming and patrolling the grounds between the Spartans and the ship.

"Only one way to get past them," Emile says as he cocks his shotgun.

Six nods grimly, removes his rifle from his back, and pulls back on the hammer until he hears a round being chambered. This time, the fight they are about to enter will indeed determine the fate of mankind.

*Shress POV*

Shress's world is in chaos; she is being ordered to hunt down her friend, the Hierarch is growing impatient, the males of her race are taking out their pent up agitation against one another and the Zealot brother she is standing next to just won't stay quiet.

"How is it that the humans even know how to steal the holy relic's secrets?" the young Zealot asks, "I would have thought they would be too stupid to be able to steal anything, let alone a holy artifact."

"Silence," Shress responds.

The Zealot keeps talking, "They are like the kig-yar, nothing but thieves with no respect, values or honor."

"Silence," Shress says again, this time making it sound like an order.

The sangheili keeps talking, "The vermin all deserve to be burned alive, especially their pet demons, and they should all rot in the blackest, deepest pits of-"

Feeling suddenly defensive for her human ally, Shress growls "Silence!"

The Zealot flinches, then looking angry with himself as he stands straighter and demands, "Who are you to command me, female?"

"I'm a Zealot just like you, brother," She says in a disgusted voice, "Or are you? You're acting with the maturity of a special operator who has yet to learn his chain of command."

The Zealot growls and positions himself closer to Shress, "Are you trying to insult me female?"

"If you don't know, I'm not telling you."

The Zealot is now shaking with rage when the pilot's voice echoes through the Phantom, "Brothers…and sister," he said in a reluctant voice, "We have arrived."

"Arrived?" the male in front of Shress asks, "Arrived where?"

Shress groans, earning her the Zealot's attention again, "We are back on the Reviving Faith, do you need me to remind you why we are here?"

The male says firmly, "I do not need the help of a female."

They are both silent for a heartbeat before Shress says in a matter-of-fact voice, "You don't know why we're here do you?"

The male snarls but doesn't say anything.

"We're here to resupply and…prepare to chase down the demons if need be." Shress says, hoping the Zealot didn't notice the catch in her voice. The male did give her a strange look, but before he could say anything, the door opened and without thinking, Shress is the first one out, not wanting to be questioned further.

However as soon as she steps off the Phantom, her eyes widen in surprise and she steps back. Sitting on his hover throne in front of her is the Prophet of Regret, with a smug look as he asks, "Did you have a nice trip Zealot?"

Shress wheels in her mind, trying to come up with something to say, but before she can say anything, the Prophet turns his chair around and simply says, "Follow me, my child."

Not again, Shress thought and desperately hoped that he wouldn't make her do another glassing process.

The Prophet leads Shress in silence until they reach the corridor, then he begins the conversation.

"I hear that there was another encounter with the demons," He looks to her and asks, "Is this true?"

Shress gulps in anxiety but calms herself. He must have received a transmission from the planet, she thought confidently.

After reasoning with herself she says, "Yes, it was…unexpected."

"Indeed," The Hierarch replies insignificantly, "Which is quite a surprise, considering they were supposedly killed some time ago."

"Really my liege?" Shress asks interestedly, how was it that he knew Michael and his team were in that city she glassed that night?

"I envisioned their destruction upon seeing the cleansing beam striking their world, I was most disappointed to have been told otherwise." He says in a dull voice.

That's not it, she thought, she knows for a fact that his so called visions are false now, so how is it he was able to know of Michael's location and her secret friendship with him?

"Tell me Zealot, do you still believe our cause to be just and noble?" Regret asks.

Shress glances at him and thinks. Does she think the purge of thousands of innocent beings for the sake of a faulty belief system is noble?

"You hesitate Zealot," the Prophet comments.

Shress instantly shakes his head, "Of course Hierarch…please forgive me…I'm just weary from the day's battle."

"I thought you and your Zealot brothers have not engaged with the demons yet," Regret notes.

Shress curses lightly in her mind before saying, "What I meant to say sire is that-"

"No matter," Regret says and gestures in front of them. It is then that Shress notices that they are standing in front of the portal to the deck. Checking her motions, Shress reaches out, presses the controls and the doorway unravels, revealing the control deck of Reviving Faith. Sangheili crew members' bow at the arrival of the Prophet but soon after return back to work. Standing along the path that leads to the central podium is a legion of sangheili honor guards, standing at the ready with their energy spikes held high. Following Regret's lead, Shress walks forward and glances towards the "ultimate'' warriors flanking her, not moving, not speaking and appearing to not even be breathing. Shress follows slowly, trying not to wonder what it is that the Hierarch has planned for her.

They came to a stop in front of the projector which begins to hum and activates. Shress is startled at what she is looking at. The orb floating in the middle of the air is hideous; its barren landscape is marked by rolling deserts, the skies are choking with smoke and she could clearly see what appears to be the atmosphere outline against the hazy destruction of the planet. Red hot rocks boil and broth on the surface as well, making it into a cauldron of destruction. The planet that she once looked upon is gone, nowhere to be seen are the vast expanse of grasslands and silver oceans; nothing but desolate wastelands remains.

Regret tsks slightly before saying, "Well at least it will no longer be used to house heretics."

Shress is filled with outrage, cursing the Prophet for destroying the planet merely because of the people that live on it. She keeps her mandibles still however, trying hard not to let any emotion show.

Regret presses some controls on his chair, soon after, the miniature planet in front of them enlarges until one portion of the surface is shown, and according to the diagnostics, it's the only region left on the entire planet that's displaying life.

She can see something that doesn't appear to be naturally made, it's big and slightly causing a reflection, it didn't take her long to realize that it's a human ship. All around the spacecraft small firefight rages as Covenant troops close in on the human defenders. As she watches, Shress then spots something of interest, another battle is being waged not very far from the human ship, but what surprises her is that it appears a large Covenant force is assaulting what appears to be a relatively small sized human group.

She figures the fight wouldn't last long, but it does. The battle slowly shifts towards the human ship while leaving behind corpses of various alien races of the Covenant. She only has to wonder who the fighting force is for only a unit before she realizes who it is at the same time as Regret did.

His eyes narrow and he calls out, "Shipmaster Voro, send a transmission to the planet, inform all ground warriors that the demon that possesses the ancient knowledge is making its way to the human ship."

Shress feels her stomach wrench as Voro follows the Prophets commands; he pauses though, looks up and asks, "Sire, does the demon have to be taken alive to reclaim the knowledge?"

Regret shakes his head, "No. In fact, obliterate it."

The Shipmaster shifts back to the terminal, then says, "There is a Scarab close to the demons location sire, if you wish we can have it destroy them."

Regret nods his head in affirmation.

Feeling helpless, Shress asks, "Hierarch l, it appears that I am no longer needed, may I return to the hanger and prepare to reenter the battle?"

"No Zealot." The Prophet says and looks at her. Shress feels fear wash over her as Regret smiles, "I wouldn't want you to miss seeing the destruction of the demons first hand."

*Six POV*

The wraith fires another mortar at the spartan, but Emile outruns the large projectile easily. The brute behind the plasma turret lets out a roar of frustration and fires a burst. This is what Six is waiting for, the brute is now focused on Emile, unaware of the second Spartan.

Six rushes forward from his hiding place behind a boulder and jumps on top of the Wraith. The Brute turns only to be shot a mouthful of lead from a shotgun blast. The Spartan crawls upwards like a spider until he is positioned over the hatch to the Wraith. Years of experience has taught him that the lever used for opening the top is located just behind a small fold in the machinery. When the door opens, the Brute operator inside barely looks up when Six drops three grenades inside; all with the pins pulled.

Six slams the hatch shut and jumps off the alien tank. The door barely opens when the grenades go off, the thumping muffled cries of the brute through the armor plating reaching his ears, as a multi colored mist rose from the cracks around the wraith's interior.

The Spartan takes a deep breath, loads the gun and scans the area. The small portion of the old highway to New Alexandria is now completely deserted, save for the corpses of Grunts and Brutes.

Emile walks out of the cover of a burnt out car and heads towards Six.

The Spartan pumps the shot gun and says, "This is a great gun."

"Yeah it is." Emile says in a light voice before holding out his hand and says darkly, "Now give it back."

Six chuckles but hands the gun back to Emile. He then pulls his DMR off his back and checks his HUD before reporting, "There's a small crevice a little off the highway road, it should lead to the Autumn which is now two miles away."

Emile looks around before pointing towards the rocky wall to their right and says, "Well what are we waiting for? An invitation?" Six shakes his head, and together the Spartans trot towards the wall of stone. As they approach, they soon see the hole within the sedimentary formation, leading to a trail of sorts, which slightly unsettles the two soldiers.

Six crouches down and examines the trail, "Looks like men with boots, Marines maybe, went this way, judging by the imprint and how deep the tracks are, I guess they are carrying heavy loads and were in a hurry."

"How do you know all that?" demands Emile as he tries to read the prints himself.

"Before I was assigned to Noble Team," Six says as he starts to walk on the path, "I was trained as a headhunter assassin, and then reassigned for more training for my role as a lone wolf. I can't tell you how many times I had to read footprints over the years in my line of work."

Emile shakes his head and catches up to Six, both with their weapons level and their eyes constantly scanning the area.

"A headhunter eh? Guess that explains why your file was nothin' but black ink." Emile finally said before scoffing, "Whatever, I'm not one for looking at the ground anyway, I'm the type of guy who prefers-"

"Spartans," A voice calls and they identify it as Carter's, "You've got a roadblock on your path, I'm enroute to assist."

Noticing his tired voice, Emile replies, "Sir, I'm sure whatever it is, we can-"

The Spartans stop walking as a deep rumble shakes the ground, scattering dust from the rocky walls into the air around them. They walk forward cautiously until they peek behind the corner of a bend and have a look at what lies ahead of them.

Positioned right on their path is a Scarab, resting on top of a nearby mesa, its deadly emerald eye blazing as it readies to fire. The purple plating glares at the spartans, its ten story height giving it a bird's eye view as it scans for targets. The cannon on it's back rotates at three-sixty degree angles and the primary cannon in the front looks left and right, searching for prey.

The Spartans pause in their advance and stare at the challenge before them. The massive machine is blocking their quickest path to the Autumn.

"Mother…" Emile begins to growl before getting back on the comms, "We can get past this sir."

"No you can't." Comes back Carter, "…Not without help."

The Scarab must have honed in on their position, as it begins to move forward, trying to move toward the edge of the ledge it is on and makes its way to the Spartans location. Six trains his rifle on the massive target while Emile continues to talk.

"Commander, you don't have the firepower," he tries to reason with Noble One.

The Scarab's eye begins to charge and Six knew they weren't going to make it when a loud screeching fills the air. A burst from a turret slams against the armor of the Scarab, not damaging it, but gaining its attention. The Scarab tries to turn and look for the attacker when a pelican, Carter's pelican, swoops down and flies around it.

"I've got your back." Was all that the commander said.

"Solid copy," Emile says in a strong but respectful voice, "Hit 'em hard for us."

Six realizes what is about to happen and tries to say something but Carter beats him to it, "You're on your own Noble," The Commander says as he brings the Pelican back around, barring down on the Scarab. "Carter out." His final words said just as the Pelican rams into the side of the Scarab.

The spartans watch the sudden display of fireworks, flames, and light, transfixed by the spectacle and the bravery they just witnessed. The pelican burst into a raging explosion, large enough for it to actually lift the thousand ton titan off its feet and fall to the ground hard. It tries to get back onto its feet, but a line of explosions unfold. Soon its legs, head, and back are sprouting flames as a massive chain reaction effect takes place. Finally, the busted legs could no longer support the weight of the super mechanical marvel. The left forefront leg collapses and the whole Scarab falls to its side, but it doesn't stop there as the machine rolls and falls off the side off the cliff, landing with a crash that shakes the ground beneath the Spartans feet.

The remaining Noble Team members stand in shock. Their Commander has just given his life for them, the man they thought that the Covenant could never kill, just gave his own to protect Noble team. His selfless act, the same as Jorge's, just saved his brothers, his friends, as well as the rest of humanity.

Emile speaks first, with an edge to his voice, "It's clear to the east," he lifts his shotgun, "let's go."

Six didn't say anything as he follows Emile further down the trail, getting closer to their objective by the second.

Soon the improvise road leads the Spartans to a cave, slightly dark, but with their night vision settings they are able to see and makes their way inside. As they walk, Six minds begin to wonder.

Almost everyone in Noble Team is gone except for me and Emile, maybe Jun, but with the whole world falling apart, who knows? An even more chilling thought enters his mind, Could they do it? Save humanity before their time is up?

Suddenly Emile holds up a fist and Six raises his DMR rifle, but lowers it when he sees what Emile is looking at. Lying in front of them are bodies of Marines, all slain, all viciously torn apart.

Six lowers himself and examines them closely. Some look as if they had died from plasma shots, but they are all torn to shreds, literally. Six thought it's the work of Brutes but discards the idea almost immediately, remembering they tear their victims' limb from limb; here it looks like the poor souls went through a shredder.

Before Six could ponder on the subject some more, Emile gently nudges Six and says, "Let's keep going Six."

Together the Spartans push deeper into the cave before coming out into a cavern. The dipping sun is casting a multitude of colors to be displayed on the wave like patterns on the wall, but the Spartans paid them no heed as they drop to the bottom. Their feet splash as they land in water, causing them both to freeze and listen. For a few moments there is no sound, but with the rushing of the wind comes the threat.

Flying from around the corner is a swarm of Drones, bug-like alien insects with wicked claws capable of shredding a being to pieces and intelligent enough to know how to use small firearms. No doubt this is the alien force that killed the Marines. They start firing on sight, but the Spartans are quick to respond as well.

The two comrades' take aim and let out a burst of semi-auto shots, each attempting to take out the Drone's body mass. Acting like the insects they are, the green aliens flew in circles, all firing their plasma pistols. The pistols wouldn't usually critically damage a Spartan's armor, but when there's so many being used then it can get dangerous.

Six fires almost mechanically, easily taking down a drone with a single shot, scoring headshots every second; thinning out the hive. Finally the last drone is dropped, leaving the Spartans standing alone in the cavern as they reload.

Suddenly the enclosed area is filled with light and sound once more as unknown hostiles open fires. Reacting quickly the Spartans evade the energy weapon projectiles and scan for targets. Standing at the end of the cavern are three Jackal snipers, standing in the open with apparently no care, fine by the Spartans standards.

Within a minute, the trio of Jackals drop dead and the two super soldiers proceed down the passageway. When they exit the end of the cavern, they are met with a chaotic sight.

The Pillar of Autumn is lying right in front of them, separated by a small mineral excavation facility. They can see muzzle and plasma fire within and know they are in for another fight. Despite this, Six keeps his eyes on the ship, just a few more meters and this mission will be accomplished. He will make sure this mission is accomplished.

*Shress POV*

The entire bridge crew watches as the human aircraft slams into the side of the Scarab and witnesses its tumble into the chasm. Shress winches when she thinks about the poor troopers within and wonders if the human who was piloting the ship was one of Michael's brothers. She has witnessed the sacrifice of the one called Jorge, she has no doubt in her mind that the other so called 'demons' are just as willing to give their lives for one another and for their species.

She is brought out of her thinking when Regret bangs his frail hand against the armrest of his chair and releases a shout of anger. She steps away from the Prophet as everyone else nervously observes the Hierarch, never before have they witnessed one of their holy leaders lose their control before.

Regret is breathing hard when he points a boney finger at Shress and says, "You," he hisses angrily as his dark eyes bore into hers, "You…will go down there, and kill this demon, this Michael, once and for all!"

The on-lookers glance at one another in confusion while Shress feels her eyes widening in shock at what she just heard.

She waits until Regret's breathing calms down before asking, "Hierarch, who is this Michael you are referring to-"

"Don't play games Female!" Regret shouts, "You know perfectly well who…" Regret stops, closes his eyes, and lets out a deep breath. He keeps his eyes closed before speaking again, "La'Vdamee," he says carefully, "You will go…to the surface, and kill these remaining demons once and for all," He opens his eyes, "Do you understand?"

Shress suppresses a shudder as she bows and says, "Completely my liege."

She turns and starts walking out of the control room, thinking of what to do, when Regret calls out to her, "La'Vdamee."

She looks over her shoulder as the Prophet speaks, "I will know if you fail or succeed, I have eyes and ears everywhere."

Wait, she thought to herself, Is it possible, could he…

Shress turns and bows to the Prophet before turning and heads out of the deck, feeling excitement taking over. She may have just thought of how Regret knows the truth, she can go to Michael's aid without giving him an advance warning about it, that is if her theory and newly erected plan works.

With that she turns and starts walking down the corridor at a fast pace, she needs to organize a strike force soon to give the impression she is readying to deploy to the planet, but first she needs to find Kova.

*Six POV*

Six and Emile fire at the same time, the blast from the shotgun and repeated shots of the DMR rifle cause the Brutes head to explode in a spray of blood and gore.

With that threat out of the way, the spartans rush forward until they come to split in their path. One corridor leads to the platform where a pelican is to rendezvous for their exfil. The other corridor leads upwards towards the rooftops; a small sign also indicates that an Onager Mass Accelerator Cannon is also set up on top.

The two team members look at each other before Emile speaks, "The air boys are going to need some help clearing the skies."

"But the Pelican is going to pick us up," Six protests.

"You clear the deck, and I'll clear the skies, there should be a way back to the platform from the gun," Emile replies.

Six hesitates before asking, "You'll be there, right?"

Emile gives a mock salute before saying simply, "Don't go sentimental on me now." Before turning and running down the right path. Six watches Noble Four disappear behind a corner before turning himself and sprints to the left. As he moves through the hallway he keeps his rifle level, yet so far there is nothing. Finally he reaches the pressure doors leading to the outside; he opens it and steps out into what can only be described as a nightmare.

He is on the platform attached to the facility, about five hundred feet from the ground and a couple of yards away from the Pillar of Autumn, but it is a gruesome sight. Blood, human blood, is splashed all over the floor and walls of the building. A stairwell leads to a small plot of land to the side of the facility where the bodies of Marines are laid out. The few trees that shade them are losing their leaves as massive heat waves tore them from the branches and the trees themselves are dying as the moisture in the ground is evaporated. Above Six, human and Covenant aircraft engage in a devastating dog fight, heat seeking missiles streak through the air, plasma torpedoes scream as they shoot through the skies and the cries of the dying echoes all around the Spartan as he watches the world descend into anarchy.

Six suddenly hears a gruff and looks to his left. Position over a pile of prone Marines are five Brutes, four minors armed with spike rifles while their leader, a chieftain, wields a gravity hammer in its hand. The two species stared at each other, daring the other to move. Finally the head Brute gave a roar and the Minors charges at Six, semi-conscious of their projectile weapons they are holding in their hands.

Six knows he should back away, keep his distance and take out the Brutes from afar, but all he can feel is pure rage as the world burns around him. Deciding that if the world burns, then so will they, and with that thought he charges the oncoming Brutes.

Six raises his rifle, firing full blast at the closest Brute, the shields fell after Six empties half his clip before emptying the rest into the Brute's face. A Brute within grabbing distance reaches for Six, but the Spartan leaps to the side, twirls in a circle as he flips his rifle around and clubs the alien with it. Stun, the Brute takes a step back, unaware of how close it is to the edge. Six finishes it by leaping into the air, twists his body and roundhouse kicks the savage alien, pushing it over the edge. It's enrage roar could be heard for a moment before it hits the bottom.

Six turns to face the final two adversaries but they are already upon him. One went for his legs while the other swung at his upper torso. With the grace of a dancer, Six jumps again, and twists his body so both alien's meaty hands miss him. As he falls back to the ground, Six lashes out, he kicks one Brute in the knee while palm hitting the elbow of the other, causing a spray of blood to erupt as it's bone is pushed outwards. Both creatures howl in agony, but before they could recover, Six hands shoot forward and grabs their Spike rifles that they have clipped to their belts. He takes one rifle in both his hands and fires point blank once more as red hot metal spikes bury themselves into the Brute's hides. The two bodies are still smoking as they fell to the ground.

Six is still breathing hard when he hears the bellow and looks up to see the advancing Chieftain. Its golden armor casts a menacing gleam as it approaches Six, hammer raised and snarling what sounds like a challenge. Six lets the two empty guns fall to the floor as he faces down the monster that is almost twice the size of an average jiralhanae. This time there is no hesitation as they both sprint towards each other.

The Chieftain roars and takes a sideways swing at Six, but the Spartan drops to the floor and slides beneath it. As he goes between its legs, Six slams a fist against the creatures knee, hoping to shatter it but the Brute only growls in response as it's shields flare. The Spartan jumps back to his feet once he is on the other side and turns to the Brute again, but this time he has to jump backwards as the Chieftain slams the one ton hammer on the spot where the Spartan had been standing only moments before causing a small explosion of energy. While the hammer is down, Six unsheathes his knife and rushes forward. The Chieftain takes a swipe at him with its paw but Six jumps over its head and with all his strength, he plunges the knife deep into the back of the Brute's neck. It howls but it doesn't die, far from it, it only became angrier. It releases it's hammer, turns to face Six and begins throwing punches. Six answers the challenge instead of backing away; he gets closer to the monster and begins jumping in and out of it's blind spots. Every time the Brute throws a punch and misses its face would be brought closer to Six who will send a Spartan powered fist against it's skull. Six lands nearly a dozen successful strikes, destroying the brutes energy shielding before the Brute roars and jumps up in an attempt to squash Six once and for all. The Spartan rolls out of the way, but not before dropping a primed grenade in his place. The Brute lands on top of the grenade, seeming to be unaware of the threat until it detonates. A flash of lightning and thunder explodes against the monster's chest, pushing it backwards, exposing its destroyed torso. It looks and gawks at it's wound, as if unable to comprehend that it has been hurt. Seeing that it isn't going down Six looks around and sees he landed close to the forgotten energy hammer. Bracing his body, Six bends down, grunts and picks up the massive blunt weapon. Six could barely hold it at hip high, but without further ado, he begins twirling around in circles, gaining more and more speed until he finally lets the hammer go, allowing it to fly away. He watches as the weapon slams against the stun Brute's chest, the energy powered weapon sends a blast against the creature, thrusting it from its place. The Chieftain is knocked off its feet and flew off the end of the platform, it is then did it begins to scream its blood lust, but just like the last minor alien before, the roar is caught off when it hits ground zero.

Six breathes a bit, gaining control of his body and begins searching around for his rifle. As he searches he hears the shriek, the only warning he received. Six jumps and rolls across the platform as energy bolts begin striking the area. Six crouches behind some left over ammunition crates and stays low as some Covenant aircraft fires its payload at him. Six is tempted to run back into the open and look for a weapon to fight back with when he hears the boom. The sound is so close and so loud that it made Six's heart quiver, as if a thunderbolt just struck close to him. That seems to be the case when he hears an explosion and the plasma fire halts.

Risking a peak, Six looks up and is met with a gratifying sight. Phantoms, Spirits and Banshees are being blown out of the air as a strange force rivets across the skies and causes whatever it touches to explode. Six is slightly confused before it dawns on him what is happening and turns to look at the rooftop of the facility.

On the very top Six could see it, a large MAC gun is set up on the roof, spanning over a hundred feet, with its barrel pointing towards the skies. Covenant ships peel off to destroy it, but they barely get off a shot before the MAC gun cleaves the ships. Six watches in awe as Covenant fighters are blown to smithereens before looking around once more to retrieve his rifle.

He is just loading it when Emile gets on the comms, "Captain, Package is ready to be picked up and the platform is clear, over."

There is a heartbeat of silence before a strong and rather aged voice responds, "Noble Four this is Captain Keyes, nice work, I am currently enroute to personally retrieve the package, stand by."

Six squints at the Cruiser, seeing if he can spy any movement. A flash of light catches his attention and he looks upward just in time to see a Banshee explode.

Then a realization strikes Six, he reaches for his radio and says, "Emile, there's still enemy fighters in the sky."

"Yeah," replies Emile, "I kind of notice," he finishes by sending another blast into the air.

Six waits a moment before stating rather than asking, "You're not coming."

There is silence on the frequency, long enough for Emile to fire off a few more shots before saying, "Pelican is inbound Six," in a lukewarm voice.

The Spartan turns in the direction of the Autumn and sure enough he can see two green dots approaching, growing larger by the second.

Unsure what to think, what to say, Six just said, "Emile."

"It's alright Six," for the first time since he met him, Six is hearing Emile speak in a reassuring voice, "I've got your back." Unknowingly mimicking Carter before he died.

Six doesn't know what to think as he watches the Pelicans approach. He did it; they did it. The package has been delivered, but at the cost of his team. His team. Six realizes he has long since stopped thinking of himself as a lone wolf, he was a part of a team; he had friends.

He moves his hand to his neck and feels the absence of his tags: more friends than he thought he had.

Six moves his hands to his back and removes the container and once more gaze at the chip being held within.

"You'd better be worth it." He says to it.

This time, he isn't surprised when the chip sparks, there is something lively about it alright, and it definitely has what appears to be a fighting spirit.

Six looks up just in time to see the first pelican set down while the other continues to hover in the air, protecting the one on the ground. The hatch of the grounded Pelican opens and out files a few ODSTs in their black suits, rifles raise as they scan the area.

In the pelican, steps out a figure that Six instantly identifies. The person is wearing the official suit of a Captain, white uniform with his badges attached. The star and strip insignia shines brightly off the man's coat as he walks forward towards the Spartan in a confident walk. His hair is salt and pepper, his skin looks like leather and his eyes show hurt, yet power at the same time. Six often see this kind of look in fellow Spartans IIIs, people who have been through pain, yet were able to live through it by sheer will power.

Six nods his head, unwilling to salute while in a combat zone and says respectfully, "Captain Keyes sir."

"Lieutenant," Keyes says as he walks forward and takes the package from Six's hand. As the container changed hands, Six notices that the chip sparks brighter than ever, almost as if it's in protest.

"Nice job Lieutenant," Keyes continues, "Your actions should be commended."

"Not just mine sir," Six replies.

Keyes places a hand on Six's arm, slightly startling him. People are usually afraid of Spartans, most don't want to be near them, and yet Captain Keyes, the Captain Keyes, is treating him as if he is an equal.

This must be how Shress feels, Six thought before suddenly feeling his heart ache, more painful than before. What's wrong with him?

"They will be remembered son," Six barley heard Keyes before he removes his hand and looks to his right and the Spartan follows his gaze. Gliding towards them is an enormous Covenant Cruiser, nearly blocking out the sky, Six can see it tilting slightly upwards, trying to rise higher as it powers the cleaning beam, meaning there's only one thing its planning of doing.

Keyes must have had the same thoughts as he shouts into his comms, "Cruiser! Bridge crew, get ready to launch," Keyes looks to the Spartan and gestures to the Pelican, "Lieutenant." He simply says before getting on himself, clutching the container tightly.

Six pauses for a moment before getting on the radio one more time and says, "Emile."

"I've got your back Six," Emile repeats, this time his voice is solid; he is ready for the inevitable.

Six sighs and turns to board the Pelican himself when someone on the radio shouts, "Watch out!"

Six hardly registers the words when the second Pelican bursts into flames as a Phantom comes up from beneath it and releases its salvo of Plasma rounds. The Pelican soon catches on fire, causing explosions to spread along its side as it begins to spin out of control. The Pelican on the ground jerks to the left to avoid being hit by the falling bird. Seeing the falling aircraft angling towards him, Six leaps out of the way just as the Pelican crashes not far from him.

Six grabs his rifle and aims it at the Phantom but before he could do anything, he watches as the side doors open and out jumps two Zealots, landing right on top of the MAC operating station. The glass hatch keeps Emile safe from the Zealot as it tries to slice its way in using its energy sword, but it also prevents Emile from escaping.

Just as Six thought that, he hears a loud bang over the frequency and using his scope, he watches as the top of the hatch shatters as bullets strikes the Zealot. The Elite falls to the ground, squirming around in pain as Emile emerges from the destroyed cot pit and fires his shotgun into the Sangheili's head.

"Who's next?" The Spartan demands, and before Six's very eyes an invisible Zealot switches off its active camouflage and runs Emile through with its sword.

Six could only watch in horror as Emile, Noble Four, his teammate, his friend, goes limp on the energy sword. The Elite is starting to pull the blade out of the Spartan's body when Emile comes back to life. He frees himself from the sword and shouts, "I'm ready!" he twists around and in that single motion; he pulls out his Kukri knife, "How about you?" The Elite tries to subdue Emile again, but the Spartan is too fast, he pulls himself closer to the alien and plunges the knife into the Zealot's neck. The Sangheili stumbles and begins to fall off the operating station, but not before reactivating its sword and plunges it back into Emile as they fall. Six didn't see them land, but he hears Emile wheeze before going silent, filling the radio with emptiness.

Gone, Six suddenly feels numb, They…are all gone. Six feels a mixture of emotions take over, fury, sorrow, regret and pride. Fury at the attacking aliens; sorrow for the death of his comrades; regret for all of his private wishes he made to go back to being a lone wolf and pride, for the Spartans went out the way they would have wanted; fighting for humanity.

Six continues to look up at the now unoccupied MAC turret when the Pelican repositions itself in the air and came back slowly to the platform.

"Lieutenant!" A marine from the Pelican shouts, "Come on! We gotta get the hell out of here!" he yells, holding out a hand to Six.

"Negative," Six replies, "I have the gun, good luck sir." Six takes a deep breath. This is his moment now. If his friends were brave enough to go down that path, then so can he.

Six makes brief eye contact with Keyes, looking grim, but nods to Six. With that the Spartan, turns and heads to the MAC. As he goes he hears Keyes voice over the frequency one last time, "Good luck to you, Spartan."

Six wastes no time, he no longer cares if he runs into danger, he begins to sprint forward. True to Emile's earlier claim before they split up, there is a stairwell that leads upwards towards the roof, Six takes it and begins making his way upwards.

As he went he glances over his shoulder at what is left of Reach. The planet is in its spring season, but now…now everything is dead. The trees are nothing but withered skeletons, the rivers are bone dry and the grass is now gone, replaced by sunbaked sand. They have lost Reach, no point denying it now, but they can still fight.

"Never surrender," his old DI used to tell him, "Even in the face of Armageddon." Six used to think he was kidding about Armageddon, but now with the world looking like a desolate wasteland still burning, he wishes he paid better attention.

Six finally makes it to the rooftop; he is still sprinting when he sees the flash of green light. He slides just in time; the Fuel Rod misses his head by centimeters. He glances right and sees his targets, two Zealots, one with a Fuel Rod and the other with an energy sword. The one with the sword stands back while it's comrade with the cannon continues to fire at the Spartan.

Six knows he didn't have time for this, so taking the direct approach, Six rushes them. The Elite with the cannon continues firing but Six dodges and fires his rifle, trying to dismantle the alien's shield. Seeing Six getting closer, the Zealot with the sword positions itself closer to its comrade and makes ready to cleave the Spartan. Six then changes tactics, he stops a few feet away from the aliens and throws his grenades, Human and Covenant alike. The Zealots throw themselves out of the way, splitting them up just as Six wants.

He leaps forward and attacks the one with the sword. Its barley standing when Six slams into it. He starts to pound his fist against the Elites skull and kicking its legs, trying to keep it down. When his scanner starts beeping like mad, he jumps out of the way just as the Green bolt flew by. It misses Six and instead strikes the semi-stun alien, blowing it to pieces.

Six glances upwards at his remaining target, no longer wanting to waste time, Six aims his rifle with one arm and takes out his pistol with the other. The Sangheili tries to fire off another shot but the Spartan pulls the triggers and releases the bullets from the two guns. The Zealot's shields are already weak; it drops after the first few rounds before it fails entirely; allowing its body to be hit by the multitude of bullets.

Six fires one more bullet into its brain before turning and continuing on with his new mission…his last mission. He turns the corner that leads to the MAC gun and comes to a halt. Slumped against the railing is Emile, the grinning skull design staring at him, but Six knew that Emile is gone, he's getting no reading from his suit, no heartbeat.

Six sighs before looking to the ladder that leads to the controls of the gun and climbs upwards. The command system is a little box set next to the gun, with multiple controls that are easy to operate, what unnerves Six though is that the buttons and switches are now doused in Emile's and Zealot's blood. Six ignores this as he squishes himself into the small box and begins pressing buttons.

"Lieutenant!" Keyes calls out on the radio, "The Cruiser is right on top of us!"

Six glances up and sure enough, rising through the clouds like a specter; the ghostly figure of the large ship breaks the cloud coverage as it positions itself over the ship. Six now works as fast as he could, aligning the shot, powering the magnetic coils, and making sure he isn't touching the wrong buttons.

The underside of the ship begins to turn blood red, the laser is powering up.

"Lieutenant!" calls out Keyes again.

"I've got your back sir." With that, Six types in the firing code and leans back. The main conductor begins spinning to full power, the barrel lights a pathway with blue electricity as the gun begins to shake and with the familiar flash of thunder, the round is flown away. Straight and pure as an arrow, the fifty ton slug hits the Carrier right in the center of the beam, first there's the anticipated explosion, but suddenly secondary blasts soon follow. Plasma begins to bubble and bursts out from the side of the ship as it slowly begins to fall out of the heavens.

Satisfied, Six begins to crawl out of the command box when he pauses and looks to the human cruiser. Booster rockets came alive, washing the ground in extreme heat as they pushed the megaton vessel off the ground. The electric hooks that hold the ship steady release as the vessel begins to move. The booster rockets lift the ship from the planet surface pushing it upwards until they reach one hundred thousand feet. The booster rockets were then released, the canisters falling to the ground as the primary engines of the Autumn turned on, burning lightly until it turns into a blaze that hurts Six's eyes despite the polarized vision his helmet provides. With a final push, the ship blasts away, angling upwards and takes off over a hundred thousand miles an hour.

Six watches as the grey giant flies higher and higher until it finally disappears into the grey ash filled skies.

The radio chatter dies, the gun fire ceases and Six is alone, alone on a planet full of Covenant forces.

Six looks down, takes a deep breath and turns to Emile. He walks to his fallen comrade; rests a hand on his shoulder before kneeling and takes his dog tags. Six doesn't know why he does this, there's no one to turn them over to, no higher rank, just him.

Six sighs again before jerking his head up at the sound of approaching drop ships. Sure enough, what looks like hundreds of Covenant ships are heading to his position, at a fast speed no doubt. They lost, they know it, but it's apparent they want revenge.

Six looks around before his eyes settle on what looks like an abandoned military facility to the right of his position. A sandstorm is starting to close in on the region but he can make out sturdy walls, convenient cover, and what looks like a crow's nest.

That's it, his hard point…his last stand.

*Shress POV*

"You sure it'll work?" Shress asks as she stares at the strange object in her hand; it looks like a regular plasma grenade to her.

Kova nods his head, "Yes Commander, all you need to do is prime it and make sure the target is within the explosive area."

Shress isn't very confident in this piece of technology but Kova has yet to let her down so she nods her head anyway as she pockets the device.

"Thank you Kova, you are a wonderful assistant," she says truthfully.

Kova seems to be caught off guard by the high praise and bows his head, "You are welcome Commander…But do you mind me asking, why is it you need this device?"

Shress considers the elderly technician before speaking, "I think I found a weakness in the Demons," At this Kova looks up at her, "I'm hoping that this device is able to help me slay them once and for all."

Kova bows again, "You have nothing to fear Commander, tonight we shall celebrate this victory over the humans."

It takes all of Shress's being not to balk at this as she becomes truthful and says, "Actually Kova..." She pauses for a bit, wondering how to proceed before finally saying, "I do not believe I'll be returning from this mission."

Kova's eyes widen as he says, "But Commander, I'm sure you're be victorious, you survived such encounters before-"

"No Kova," Shress interrupts, "This time…the Prophet Regret himself told me of a vision he had of my future," She doesn't like to lie to Kova but she sadly knew that if he knew the truth then he wouldn't hesitate to call her a heretic.

She sighs before continuing, "I will be victorious…but my time among the Covenant is at an end," she looks Kova in the eye as she finishes, "You've been a wonderful companion Kova, a warrior that any Commander would be honored to serve with."

Kova couldn't help but swell with pride before he says, "Thank you mistress."

Shress sighs before saying, "Farewell Kova." and turns as she walks out of the engineering room.

"Farewell Commander," Kova answers back before the portal closes behind Shress.

Once outside the Zealot sighs before walking down the corridor, needing to make one last stop before heading to the hanger bay. As she walks, she passes the near panic stricken crew as they rush back and forth, answering calls, delivering messages and other such choirs. Shress hardly pays them any mind as she walks, still trying to think through her newly formed plan.

She stops and enters the room she is looking for; her room. She glances around sadly, knowing this may be the last time she'll ever see it. It's not as if this has always been her sleeping quarters, but it represents what had been her goal all her life, to move up in the ranks and become one of the greatest female warriors to have ever lived. Now she's going to leave it all behind, her title, her people; her very identity is about to change.

She walks in slowly and looks through her belongings, there weren't that many. A small bag that she had made in her youth, a gemstone that she has found on one of the human colonies, a sling that she used to hunt small vermin on her planet for sport and finally a family relic; a necklace supposedly blessed by the Prophets.

She sighs as she holds the necklace in her hand; a small stone held by wire, the heirloom was given by a Prophet to an old warrior of her family's past. Her mother gave it to her, hoping the blessing will keep her, a lone female, safe during the war. Now Shress knows that it's just another useless ornament, even less efficient than the tags the human warriors wear.

She carefully wraps her things in a bundle and lays them on the bed. She can't take them, not without sparking suspicion, she has to leave it here…along with her old life.

She gently touches the bag containing her old belongings once more before turning and walks out the door, not looking back.

She only feels hollowness within her as she walks down the corridor once more, this time heading to the hanger bay. She is deep in her thoughts when she arrives in the hanger and stops short at what greets her. Regret is sitting in his anti-gravity chair in front of her while his twin guards flank him. She tries to keep her nerves as she walks forward, noting that Regret's face is contour in that of one of pure rage.

Shress bows her head, "Hierarch," she begins but the Prophet cuts her off.

"Zealot," he hisses, "I know everything," Shress opens her mouth to defend herself when the Prophet cuts her off again, "I know about this Michael, your alliance and about this so called 'friendship'." Shress feels her insides starting to churn faster than ever as the Prophet speaks. She feels her entire being on the verge of shaking as Regret leans in and says, "You will bring me the head of the demon Michael, or your entire line will be wiped out and disgraced for all eternity…And your entire family will be left behind upon the eve of the Great Journey."

Shress wants to cry out that the Journey is a lie but keeps her mouth shut as she nods her head and mutters, "I understand."

"Do you?" demands Regret.

Shress keeps her head bow as she replies, "Yes."

Regret continues staring at her form before moving his chair to the side and gestures to the phantom behind him, "Then finish it."

Shress bows again and walks onto the ship. She turns her head and looks to the face of Regret before the door closes sealing her off. From her old world.

Don't worry Michael, I'm coming.

*Six POV*

Desert sands moves in on what once was a prairie. A blazing sun bakes the carcasses of fallen men and aliens alike. The wind blows smoke and decay into the air; the scent of death.

Six observes all of this from his crows' nest, set up at least fifteen feet in the air over an overrun base. The buildings are all rubble, filled with holes still smoking from the recent carnage and hidden by the cloud of sand. Spread out across the area is what remains of the fighting men, Six was surprised when he first arrived and found that they aren't men, they are Spartans.

He examines each one thoroughly and finds that they are not III's, they are all II's. Six was surprised to find them, he didn't know any of the original Spartans were on Reach, but here they are…after making the ultimate sacrifice.

Six shivers, all around him their bodies lie, like glaring omens foretelling his future. If a large number of Spartans can be killed, then how long does humanity have left before facing the very end?

The spartan's thinking is interrupted as he hears the unmistakable sound of a low flying Phantom. He turns in a complete circle and sees that he is surrounded. Phantoms and Spirits close in on him, not firing their turrets but swooping in, skimming close to the ground. The map in his HUD indicates massive troop movement as the drop ships release their hordes of aliens.

Six breathes steadily, just like his teammates, his time has arrived. The spartan, no, the Lone Wolf reloads his rifle, checks his grenades and stands tall. When he falls, he wishes to take as many Covenant troopers down with him.

First he hears the excited squeaks and toots of Grunts approaching. Following them is the sound of heavy footsteps mixed with the casual commands of aliens, elites. He hears shrill screeches and shrieks of nearby jackals as well. Not far off he can hear the somewhat muffled roars of Hunters. Noble Team has poked a hornet's nest, and Six isn't annoyed at all with the fact that it is up to him to clean up as much of the mess as possible.

Six waits, wondering which direction they will come in from. The small squeal of a Grunt alerts him to his right flank. He turns quickly and aims. Sure enough, a squad of Grunts being led by an Elite meets his eyes as he pulls the trigger.

The grunts all fall beneath his hail of bullets, but the shields of the elite protects it as it leaps around, trying to get at an angle that will allow it to shoot the spartan. Six spends every round of his DMR rifle and reaches into his pocket for another magazine but finds it empty.

Six drops the gun, upon seeing this, the elite rushes forward, now believing its prey is helpless. Six waits until the alien is a mere few yards away before bending down and picks up the machine gun he found earlier. He holds it the way he's seen Jorge do it, aims from the hip and lets out an explosive blast. The Elite now sees the weapon but it's too late as the massive weapon blasts the alien away.

Six stumbles back from the recoil and heft the gun, grunting a little as he does so. He pauses as he hears the whine of a plasma weapon, a very large one. Six throws the machine gun over the side and jumps out of the crow's nest just as a green bolt destroys the entire top portion of the tower.

Six rolls after he hits the ground and begins scrambling for the machine gun that has fallen a few meters away from him. Six runs forward and retrieve it, no sooner did he have it back in possession did the plasma rounds emerge from the dust cloud surrounding him and slams into his armor. Not really seeing his targets, Six kneels and raises the gun a bit before firing into the swirl of particles. There are cries of pain and the firing decreases. Still firing his weapon in that direction, the spartan stands up and begins to move away, trying to find shelter. He edges his way through the storm towards the place where he last saw a building. However, a startling barrage of plasma and crystal shards begins firing on him from all different directions. Six begins twisting in different locations, firing into the brown clouds, determined to find his targets.

Suddenly a powerful blast hits his knee and forces him to the ground. He grunts as he feels pain blossoming as plasma heat seep through his armor. He tries to rise back to a fighting stance but a concentrated beam of light strikes the massive gun out of his hand. In pain and weaponless, Six grabs four grenades, primes all of them and sends them in the four cardinal directions. After hearing the explosions and the reduction of fire, Six sprints into the swirling clouds and almost ran into a wall of a structure. He feels around the exterior before finding a hole in the side and climbs in.

The place is ransacked and destroyed. There is another opening on the other side and in a spot of the structure where he assumes the door was originally.

Lying in the middle of the floor is a Spartan II, spread eagle and not moving. Six inspects the fallen warrior but already knows it's too late. However Six grabs the spartan's weapons and begins rearming himself. He has a shotgun with a few shells left and a Magnum pistol. He didn't like stripping the spartan of his kit, but knew he would have wanted another spartan to use it to continue the fight.

Soon more blasts of fire shoot through the gaping hole in the wall. Not wanting to waste the bullets for the shotgun that could only fire at short range, he instead throws out grenades where his senses tell him there's a large concentration of enemy combatants.

He pops his last grenade when a silhouette passes out of the corner of his eye. Taking no chances, he flings the grenade behind him. A Jackal tries to jump out of the way but it's too late as it detonates. As the dust settles, a group of Grunts runs in next. Six levels his weapon and fires, pumping in a new slug after firing a round. After the last grunt went down something jumps behind Six, he ducks just as a fist flies overhead. He presses the gun against the abdomen of the Elite behind him and fires twice. The first shot destroys its shield while the second blows its guts out of elite's back side.

Six rises to his feet as he tries to reload the depleted shotgun, but then he hears the whirls and suddenly a dozen plasma grenades sail into the building, sticking to the floor, walls and what remains of the ceiling. Their pulsing's became frantic, warning him of immediate detonation. Without a second thought, Six throws himself out the window of the building, he is about to land on the outside when the building explodes.

Six is thrown over a span of five yards before he crashes onto the ground. His head bangs against a massive stone as he rolls across the surface before skidding to a halt after sliding an additional five yards. Six gasps as he tries to recover from the explosion but his eyes become occupied as his HUD begins to go haywire. There's a huge crack in the upper left hand corner of his helmet, he is unsure if that is the cause of the disturbance as the messages saying 'warning' and 'error' flash across the glass of his faceplate. The last message chills his bones as it read 'shield generator disabled' before the entire system crash, leaving him with no map, no message and no shields.

Plasma and crystal fire begins to criss cross overhead; bringing Six back to his senses. He jumps to his feet but flinches as pain shoots up his leg. He looks for his shotgun but the blast must have thrown it in a different direction for it is nowhere in sight. Six starts moving with a slight limp as he turns and runs away from the incoming fire. Soon the area behind him begins firing shot after shot in his general location as he dodges and hops, trying to avoid them. He is unable to see where they are, prohibiting him from using his Magnum less he wants to waste precious bullets on nothing.

He almost trips over something that he almost ignores before realizing it's the body of another spartan with a weapon. Six doesn't hesitate as he picks up the gun, a sniper rifle with two clips to go with it. He checks to see if it has a working IR setting, which it did. He turns around; switches on the setting and soon he can make out the heat signatures coming off the different alien species hiding in the billowing sand. He swings it around to get his bearings and sees he has what looks like a hundred Covenant troops closing in on him.

Realizing he has no other choice, he opens fire, trying to score headshots. He only shoots one bullet into the ranks of the grunts, making them to panic and causing confusion among the massive attack force while Six picks off the more threatening warrior class aliens. He fires headshots at the elites and jackals, who are clearly unprepared for they have left their shielding tech off. He fires off the four rounds before ejecting the spent clip, slaps another into the rifle and continues firing.

Suddenly a needle shard catches him in the chest, forcing him back and making him remember that he no longer has shielding tech either. Six falls back, shouldering his rifle and begins scrambling for another hard point. He stops when he sees the Phantoms in the air, they did not engage him, however they come in close, making Six realize that they are dropping more troops in front of him.

Six looks around for another weapon when plasma and needles now rain down on him from all sides. He leaps and jumps, trying to avoid it, but he's caught in the open, encircled by enemy combatants and with no hard point, he realizes that the sun backed patch of earth he is on is his final battlefield.

With that in mind, he takes out the Magnum and fires into the clouds surrounding him, hoping to score a kill. The screaming of the aliens confirms that he does.

Somehow sensing his end is near, the Covenant troopers emerge from the sandstorm and try to rush him. In response Six removes the sniper rifle from his shoulder and begins firing once more at the closing in forces. His primary targets are jackals and elites, but he only kills seven of them before the gun runs dry. He takes a page from Emile's book and throws the gun, watching it fly away but not before it smacks into a Grunt and knocks it out cold. Six brings out the Magnum once more but when he fires, only one bullet escapes before the clip runs out.

Seeing this, the Covenant troopers' closes in. Six drops the empty weapon and searches for another, however a shot from a concussion rifle hits him square in the chest, causing the Spartan to gasp. Before he could retaliate another Concussion blast hits him in the head, causing the helmet's screen to be blacken and the crack to enlarge; both effects making it more difficult for Six to see anything at all.

Gasping for air, Six slips off his helmet and throws it to the ground. That motion signifies to the world as much to the spartan that he knew what is coming and accepted his fate. Without the helmet, he allows the world to see his face, sweaty, bleeding and slightly crack skin from the recent blast. Six now wishes more than ever that he could wipe the perspiration from his eyes, but he ignores that impulse as something catches his eye.

He couldn't believe he missed it earlier, but resting close at hand is an assault rifle, with the ammo counter indicator saying it already has a full magazine inserted. Stumbling slightly, Six reaches down and picks it up. He looks up in time to see an elite trying to advance on him, the spartan responds by stepping forward to meet the challenge and fires the newly claimed weapon. The elite keeps advancing, its shield bursts after a moment but it keeps coming until the bullets strikes its face.

Six stares in wonder, trying to figure out why the alien just kept moving forward when he hears movement behind him. Six leans forward just as an energy sword misses him, Six holds the rifle in a different position before running and slamming the end of it against the attacking elite's face, knocking it to the ground. Weak from the day's nonstop fighting, Six stumbles forward but catches himself before wiping out on the ground.

Soon more plasma and crystals streaks towards him, and this time he is too weak to fight back. Six just responds the only way he knows how, he faces the direction where the shooting is originating from and fires. However, plasma bolts and shards find their marks as they slam into Six's chest. The spartan clutches his injuries, the armor stops most of the bolts but not all of it, and he feels blood flowing down his front as pain begins to spread like fire all across his body.

Six keeps firing however, trying to bring as many Elites down as possible. Suddenly breaking from their screen cover, three elites rush him firing their weapons at the same time. Six fires on each of them, taking down all but one. The last one barrels at Six, he fires at the alien only to hear a click, indicating that he is out. Too weak to properly defend himself, he just makes it easier for the Elite to slam into him and push him to the ground. It jumps on top of the fallen warrior, trying to point the plasma rifle into his face, but Six kicks the alien back.

He tries to rise, but the pain is becoming too great, even by Spartan standards, then he realizes he's surrounded, elites, grunts and jackals all watch, all chanting in their alien dialect. Six didn't have to be a professor to know they are calling for his death. Though he is ready, he wishes to take some of them with him to Kingdom Come.

As if answering his wish, an elite rushes forward, a Zealot. It raises its sword and plunges it downward to carve Six in two. The Lone Wolf avoids it; he twists and grabs the alien's wrist. He turns it counterclockwise and squeezes until he hears the snapping of bones, causing the alien to drop its energy sword. The elite howls as Six pushes it away. The spartan starts to look around for the fallen sword the Zealot has dropped when two more aliens came upon him.

He tries to punch them, to kick them, break their bones, or elbow them, desperate to do something to break their grasp. He is still struggling when a new elite approaches him. The lackeys holding Six parted slightly to allow the newcomer to come closer. Six continues to struggle, wanting to attack whoever it is that has just arrived. He looks up and freezes as he stares at the figure standing over him.

Standing there, in flashing armor, full of confidence and what looks to be pride is Shress. She looks down at Six and he feels his heart start to ache. She didn't smile, or frown, or cry, she just stands there, emotionless, giving no indication on how she is feeling towards what's going on in front of her. Her eyes are shrouded by the shadows of her helmet, making it nigh impossible for Six to see them.

She says something, but Six is in too much shock to decipher what she has said. The two elites hoist Six up and push him to his knees and hold him there, but he didn't resist. He continues staring at Shress, wondering what she is doing, wondering if she's going to help, but nothing is giving him any indication what she is planning to do.

No longer caring about his death or the aliens around them he speaks in a tired and almost pleading voice, "Shress?"

The Zealot finally moves; she looks him up and down once as if expecting a prize. She then reaches for the twin blades in her belt and unclips them. As she activates them, the small crowd cheers, all eager to see what is to happen next.

Feeling more confusion and a shred of doubt starting to surface in his mind, Six again tries to speak but is caught off when Shress crosses the twin swords and holds them against his neck, close enough for him to feel the heat radiating off them.

That is then he realizes what Shress is planning to do, she isn't there to rescue him; she's there to kill him. For the first time in his whole spartan career, Six looks down as a feeling takes over, one that he has suppressed for years but now finally lets it roam free. Six…feels defeated.

Now…he truly lost all of his friends.

He feels the angry yet devastated tears gather in his eyes before feeling them spill over and flow down his cheeks. His entire body feels numb and it's not because of his wounds.

The aliens are now going wild; chanting even louder and faster than ever before, all calling for what Six assumes is his death. Shress then shouts something that causes the different species to become silent. Soon all Six can hear is the wind, softly blowing. Unsure whether he's going crazy or not, he suddenly starts comparing the sound of the wind to the sound of music being played. The sound of nature is to be his death song.

He feels the energy swords being placed close to the back of his neck, he can tell by the heat that is being registered there and by the shadow he is observing on the ground. He watches as the dark silhouette of Shress pulls the blades back, getting ready to plunge them into Six's body.

Six takes a shaky breath and closes his eyes, something no Spartan would ever do, but at the moment he is feeling so much pain that is incomparable to any he has ever experienced before; it is just too great for him to face.

"Good bye," he whispers in Sangheili.

*BONUS SCENE*

*Carter POV*

"Six,"

Despite all the attention I needed to keep the damaged drop-ship in the air, I still call out to the newbie.

The blue clad Spartan turns back and looks at me, polarized faceplate gazing straight at me, my vision unobstructed without my helmet.

"That AI that chose you…she made the right choice."

The newest member of Noble Team only continues to look back at me before he turns and, with my signal, jumps with Emile out of the rear hatch. As swiftly as I could I continue to dodge the vibrant plasma blasts that the tailing Phantoms threw my way. Anger and determination were at war inside of me.

"Damn alien bastards."

I keep grumbling as I struggle with the stiff controls of the pelican. It feels unwieldy and crippled as it limps through the air, wing still on fire, trailing thick smoke, a clear marker for predatory eyes. But I was no prey. I am the predator.

I launch my last remaining ANVIL-II missile from its pod at an oncoming phantom as I yell in triumph at its destruction, though it left my pelican with only the ammo for its nose mounted M638 auto-cannon. Not that it made any difference to me.

"Come on you alien fuckers! I'm not going down without a fight!" I yell, my normally professional air of command is shattered once no one was around to hear it.

I watch as the last remaining members of my team fight through an elite squadron. Use a mongoose to evade two scarabs, and blow up a wraith. Then the remnants of Noble Team disappear from my sight into some caves as I have to dodge even more enemy fire from behind. Minutes pass as I attempt to keep the still on fire pelican in the air, while simultaneously shooting down banshees with what remained of my ammunition. When I finally saw Six and Emile they were running toward the exit of the canyon. They were so close to the end now.

If I can just save these two, then it will be worth it.

I dodge another shot from my otherworldly followers as I continue to protect my team. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that the covenant had brought out all the stops as I spotted another one of those crawling monstrosities known as a Scarab, creeping it's way over to them. With a flick the comm is on once more.

"Spartans... You have a roadblock up ahead. I am en-route to assist." I say through clenched teeth, fighting through the pain of my injuries.

I pop the joystick in the direction of the crevice that my team is in and hear a corresponding whine from the stressed engines. I began thinking back to all the missions I and my team had completed. From those first missions with Kat and the first group, all the way down to what is currently left. Countless suicide missions and battles that have built brotherhood amongst us all. I had seen and heard some crazy things over the years, but when I heard my team's newest member, Six, informed me about his 'informant' Shress… A Covenant Zealot...

"Sir. I am sure whatever it is we can-" Emile cuts himself off before he could finish his sentence.

I watched as the giant purple machine started to move off the ledge and toward my Spartans, entering their view. I chuckle as I can almost hear Emile swear all the way up here. Although he remained remarkably restrained over the comm.

"We can get past it sir."

"No you can't…"

I feel more anger at the alien bastards who dared to attack my home and my people and now my squad. I quickly check my ammunition, leading me to realize that I only have ten more bursts of my M638 before the entire aircraft runs dry. Not nearly enough to take down a machine like that. There is only one choice before me that would allow my team to continue fighting. Our species' only chance at survival now rested with Six.

"...not without help."

Emile spoke up over the comms even as the Scarab began to power up its green eye. "Commander, you don't have the firepower."

With one fluid motion I brought the injured bird around as fast as I dared and launched two bursts from the nose cannon. I knew it wasn't going to do a damn thing to the armour plating, but I knew it would get its attention.

"Come on… follow the birdy you ugly son of a bitch."

The scarab tries to turn and look for whatever dared to attack it while I swoop around the massive machine and fly circles around it. Still I had to carefully avoid the back mounted cannon that's attempting to get a bead on me.

Switching on the comms with one hand I hold the controls with another.

"I have your back."

I circle around and fly directly at the one thing that dared to stand between my team and survival. Emile responded a second later, the respect in his voice clear.

"Solid copy. Hit 'em hard for us."

There was so much I wish I could say to them but I know there was not enough time. In the end though I suppose there was one last thing to say.

"You are on your own, Noble…"

I lean my head back into the seat and take a deep breath while staring at the alien form of the Scarab. I realise that I am ready for what is to come, and have made my peace with it. All that was left was to sign off, one last time.

"...Carter out."

With one hand I flip off the comms. My last thought as I look toward my rapidly approaching demise through the cracked and blood stained glass was that I hope Six was right to trust that sangheili. Before the pelican smashes into the scarab, and I see no more.