Shin regarded the Marines as they transported their equipment into the hangar under Lev's guidance. A few more tanks and scout vehicles had arrived earlier in the morning on board the UNSC's multitude of gunships. Morning had caught the first group of several hundred marines out on a perimeter patrol, with some running laps around the FOB like they owned the place. That Major Milizé hadn't called to ask anything told Shin that they were probably running diagnostics on the network of EWS Radars around San Magnolia's walls.
He exited onto the porch of the base, sitting himself down and watching the Marines in full kit exercise, their boots hitting the concrete in unison, like a dozen hammers striking stone. Heavy duty, gunmetal green armor, all the pouches, the helmets, the backpacks, even the guns gave the impression of a complete force of professionals that had fought through hell and back.
"Mama, mama, can't you see! What the Corps has done for me?! Put me through the Crucible! Made me fuckin' invincible!" The Marines chorused their Sergeant's words as they fast-marched to the sung cadence, smiles on their faces, "Yet, if I die in a combat zone, box me up and bury me there! Ain't got nowhere left to go, but by the side of the men I led to war! There's no medals upon my chest! No fanfare, ain't no one calling me the best! But, dear mama, there's nowhere else I'd rather die! For the Marine Corps was the best damn life!"
"Well, they've got a grim outlook on things," Raiden's voice took Shin's attention. The young man held a bent tin cup with what smelled like coffee inside of it in one hand. He sat himself down next to Shin on the stairs and offered, "I still can't believe what we're looking at. I'm waiting to wake up and hear that this was all a prank and we're still stuck fighting alone..."
"Hm..." Shin shook his head, then looked to the Marines again, "I did a double-take myself this morning, when I saw a new platoon arriving."
"What's that, thirty tanks now?" The man inquired, taking a sip from his coffee, "Too bad we can't use them."
"It appears we can," He hummed, causing his old friend to choke on his coffee. Shin explained, "A Marine Lieutenant explained this to me... They have a specialized communication system called 'Single Beam communication'. A stream of data, like a message or voice communique is transmitted via a directed beam, focused to the asset on the ground they want it sent to... It's not as effective as their normal com systems or our para-RAID, but they think it should do for coordinating small units. And they can't directly talk to their fleet while the Eintagsfliege are around, but to each-other? It may not be a problem."
"Damn..." Raiden grinned, "So, next scouting op and we'll see tanks rolling with us?"
"So it'd seem..." Shin hummed.
The others joined them outside, with Anju noting, "They're certainly making themselves at home..." as she noticed a few of them building bunks in the hangar's rearmost areas. Lev, the team's engineer and repairman, strolled up to the kids, arranging his brown coat over his black shirt and watching as the Marine company continued its seemingly-usual morning routine.
"Yo, Old Man," Theo waved, "They're pretty coo-"
"Don't..." The man sighed, looking to Shin. He spoke, "They settled into the damn hangar like they owned the place. I counted thirty new tanks that I'm gonna have to maintain thanks to that and now, I'm looking at several hundred new mouths to feed and house... It wasn't enough with you lot..." then he sighed and turned to the Marines. He spoke, "The hell got into you, letting them in here, kid?"
"It was not exactly an open negotiation with the Admiral," The boy replied, leaning back as his teammates stifled laughter.
"... Well..." Lev sighed, "I'm not surprised. They're hardy bastards. Their officer cadre must be the same to keep them reined in. So their 'negotiation' skills must be good. Not to mention the arsenal these folks are packing. 90mm Smoothbore cannons, coaxial .50 cal MGs, autoloaders, rifles with FMJ AP, 50 cal GPMGs for ground troops... They're an army, alright."
"Sure gonna be interesting seeing them swinging those sticks when the time comes," Kurena smirked. Several Marines that now passed in front of the porch on their little exercise streak turned to the kids and greeted them with salutes and loud greetings of 'Good morning'. While Shin replied with a simple nod, the others waved to the men and women of the Corps as they passed by, with Lev crossing his arms.
"Ain't nothing like the sound of boots hitting concrete to remind you you're on a military base," Lev whispered, "Especially a joint FOB..."
"You familiar with the noise, Old Man?" Theo inquired.
"I've heard the crunch of boots on concrete before, yes... Mostly from MPs in the Eighty-Sixth district 'keeping the peace'," He remarked. The others let out snorts, though their faces now wore sour smiles. Lev continued, "But these folks? I guess it's true. They are different to the Pigs upstairs. Maybe it's for show, maybe they've got a hidden agenda, or maybe I'm just a cynical old bastard..."
"Not gonna lie, I think we all know what the answer to that one is," Daiya whispered to Anju, who chuckled.
"Don't know what to tell you, old man," Theo shrugged, "Frankly, they seem pretty cool to me..."
"First time I'd hear you admit that kind of thing, Theo," Raiden remarked, grinning, "You getting soft, man?"
"Shut," He replied, rolling his eyes. His friends' antics and quips toward him were funny sometimes. This was not one of those times. Theo added afterward, "All I'm saying is... We may actually have a chance to survive this if they're who they are making themselves out to be. I ain't saying we should easily trust them by any measure of the sitch, but we can't exactly look this gift horse in the mouth, can we?"
"Guess you're right on that one," Lecca offered as she looked over the Marines' kit, watching them continue their bit of fitness training. A pair of Marines approached the group, toolboxes in hands. More specifically, they approached Lev. The man noticed some of the insignias they bore on their armors and soon, both he and the kids deduced they were engineers.
"You the lead engineer here?" One of them asked. He was a taller man, well-built and still bearing the faint stains of motor oil on his cheeks and face.
"I am. Name's Lev Aldrecht. First Lieutenant and mechanic assigned to Spearhead Squadron. You are?" He raised a brow at them.
"First Lieutenant Samuel Sharpe, UNSC No Inch Spared's vehicle engineer belonging to the second Construction Battalion. This is my apprentice engineer, Mary Forrester. She's a Sergeant," The Marine replied calmly, arranging the scarf he wore around his neck and motioning to the ginger girl with blue eyes and freckles to his right. She waved, then looked to the crew. She smiled at them, which seemingly caught Theo's attention.
Anju saw the boy blushing, his green eyes focused on the UNSC Engineer girl and his mouth slightly drooping. The silver-haired girl smiled broadly, then elbowed Kurena. The nutmeg/red-haired girl raised a brow and looked to her. She was pointed toward their red-cheeked comrade by the smiling 'mom' of the team, soon tracing where the boy's gaze went and meeting the face of the smiling UNSC girl.
As her mind put together the dots, miss Kukumila began to giggle silently, with Anju joining her. Daiya, Lecca and Haruto looked to one-another, shrugging, while Raiden and Shin both sighed, shaking their heads at their comrades antics. They'd all pretty much tuned out Lev's discussion with Lieutenant Sharpe. The two did seem to be getting along and understanding each-other, though.
It took Theo a bit, but he registered the two giggling girls to his right, raising a brow as he looked to them. They waved it off, with Kurena covering her mouth to stifle the laughter she felt bubbling up in her belly. He felt oblivious to an in-joke between the two girls and, looking back to their three other comrades, he saw they shared in his confusion. Least he was not alone.
"... Interoperability shouldn't be a problem, honestly," Lev remarked, "Disregarding the Para-RAID systems... You folks gonna get those?"
"Last we heard from HighCom upstairs?" The Lieutenant hummed, "Admiral's cooking up a plan for that. Fuck, I'd love for the boys and girls to have coms out there in case shit hits the proverbial fan while they're searching for good positions to have our Firebases deployed, but at least we got Single-Beam, so..." He then shrugged, "Here's to hoping whatever the good Admiral's planning, she'll get what she wants out of it."
"Heh. Gonna be interesting, hearing from the Major once you folks make contact with her..." Theo quipped, leaning forward, "You planning on appearing with one of your ships above the capital? Spook the Pigs a bit, make'em squeal?" He then chuckled. The Lieutenant laughed, as did the Sergeant, which caused a slight change of color in Theo's cheeks once more. One which didn't go unnoticed.
"I like the kid," Sharpe remarked after calming down, "He's witty."
"He's also a pain in the ass when it comes to mech repair, but..." Lev remarked, "Nothing beats captain Nouzen over there..." and he motioned to Shin, "Seriously, the kid does a number on the legs of his machine every time. Damn sure he keeps his limiters offline, too, for the love of..." Lev sighed, while a few of the kids snorted at the quip. Ahead, the Marines had finished up their lap and, sweaty as all hell, marched toward the hangar to drop their kit.
"Sounds like a handful," Remarked the Lieutenant, crossing his arms.
"He damn well is... But he is our best," The old man replied, "Our own Reaper."
The Lieutenant saw a faint twitch from the soldier-boy at that. He ignored it for now, noting, "We'll be in the hangar, helping the lads. Someone has to maintain the kit, so. We'll see you there, Lieutenant Aldrecht," and departing with the Sergeant. Before the girl left, however, she turned to Theo, smiled, then winked at him before following her CO and causing the young boy's face to glow red, much to the surprise of the other kids, each of them grinning at their friend. Raiden patted him on the knee, giving him a look of reassurance, while he groaned.
"I'm never gonna hear the end of this..." He murmured to himself. Lev hummed, then bid a quick goodbye to the team and left for the hangar, leaving the crew to start joking about the newfound crush of one of their comrades. All of them, again, except for Shin, who was staring at a group of Marines now approaching them. Each of them was wearing sweat-laden tank-tops, baggy combat pants and combat boots, but no armor.
"Yo!" The leader of the gaggle-fuck of sweaty, laughing Marines, a thirty-something Lieutenant of an Eastern descent, waved, a smile on his face.
"Hello," Lecca waved, "What can we help you with, lads and ladies?"
"Y'all got a shower in this FOB? Sarge had us running cadence for most of the day," He requested, looking to them. Lecca nodded to them, then showed them to follow. Opening the door, the Marines piled in behind her as she led the way. Kurena continued to tease Theo for a bit, while Anju and Daiya looked over to the hangar, to see the rows of UNSC vehicles standing opposite their own, their 90mm cannons' muzzles and muzzle breaks covered by a knapsack when not in use while other UNSC Engineers tended to them.
"I do think these folks will be fine allies," Anju offered her opinion.
"I agree," Daiya nodded, "Heck, they've only been nice so far."
"A little suspicion in your diet of optimism would be nice, kids," Raiden quipped, then seemed all the more serious, being the voice of reason for the team while Shin listened. He spoke, "Much as I like them being around, too, we still don't know what their end goal is or why they're even on and above our world in the first place. I can't imagine they just saw our planet being run by the Legion and decided that a courtesy visit, followed by troop deployments, was in their plans."
"That's fair," Theo noted, "Hey, if the next op involves them tagging along with us? I'm thinking we take it as a test for them."
"Sounds good to me," Haruto grinned, "Now... You folks wanna prep lunch?"
Raiden nodded, grinning, "I'm gonna go make sure we have enough food for everyone. First row of Marines that just went to the showers may well join us if they haven't got MREs with them. Kurena, mind giving me a hand with it?" before turning to the 'younger sister' archetype of the team. She was always a welcome respite from the gloom of battle, always bringing some form of jokes or acts and, sometimes, the lighthearted, but well-meaning jabs of her comrades which she took in stride.
"Let's get to it," The girl nodded, smirking, "Was starving, anyway!"
Raiden laughed as he stood up, "'Course you were... Anju, Daiya, wanna tag along, too, or are you going to get some ingredients from the garden? I'm thinking of maybe making a pasta dish today, seeing as the major saw fit to send us some of the stuff in a care package, alongside some actual mince-meat from pigs... Hahaha! I just got that!" He then laughed louder again. The rest of the team, sans Shin, followed up with their own joyous laughs.
"Yeah, we're going to get the tomatoes!" Daiya smiled widely, excited like a puppy.
"I'll help make the sauce after we gather them," Anju offered. The whole group then turned to Shin, who was looking at them with an impassive expression that was his standard. The wait for a response from the man was weighing a bit on the group. His response was quick, concise and easy to interpret. He gave a simple thumbs up, which caused the entire group to sigh in relief. Shin was never one to dislike food... He just couldn't cook very well. And they didn't know how he liked Pasta.
Shin looked over to see Theo walking toward the hangar. He asked, "Are you not going to join them?"
"U-Uh..." Theo staggered, almost doubling over. He turned to Shin while pitifully failing to suppress the blush on his face. He pointed toward the hangar with a trembling hand and said, "I think I forgot my drawing book and pencils in there..." to which Shin stared at him, slightly suspicious. Theo felt sweat pooling at his armpits as he stared eye-to-eye with his CO and waited to see what it was he was going to say, or how he was going to mock him about the situation. He shook his head, then remembered that, no, Shin wouldn't mock him. He just wasn't the type. His humor was more dry than a freaking desert.
Still, even so, Shin surprised him by saying, "Okay..." and stepping into the building, shutting the door behind him. The young man looked to the door with disbelief etched across his tomato-red face. His CO had just not even bothered to ask any questions. Just let him go, like that, despite the fact that Shin probably saw the way the rest of the Squadron was laughing at him. Either Shin was dense as tungsten, or...
Eh. He shook his head to clear the thoughts. Shin was Shin. He was an enigma even to those he had served with for the past years of his work in Spearhead. And it wasn't like Theo had lied, either. His stuff was actually still in there. He'd mistakenly taken it with him during the search and rescue operation and hadn't had time to go retrieve the damn things.
He strolled across the courtyard of the walled-off FOB and toward the Hangar itself, only entering it after a moment of slight hesitation. He found it occupied by the hundreds of Marines, their bunks lined up against the cavernous place's wall, just behind their MBTs and other vehicles. Khaki-green-colored boxes sat, stacked, in-between the vehicles, each labeled a different thing. Some were for ammunition, others were the empty boxes with the stuff meant for the assembly of the bunks and the 'tents'. Said 'tents' more-so referred to the separated sections of male and female personnel by specialized walls made of tarp. The hangar was big enough to accommodate the four hundred soldiers of the companies deployed to their FOB, somehow.
He watched as Engineers tended to the vehicles, making sure everything was in running order. From each nut and bolt on a tank's wheel to the tank's gun and auto-loading system, to the ammunition, spare parts and other equipment currently sitting in unopened containers that had been brought in with the second unit of tanks and troops around early morning, they wanted to make sure that their war chariots would be ready to go.
Theo hadn't realized it, but he'd been scanning the UNSC's section of the motorpool for that ginger engineer he'd seen before. He shook off the thought, approaching his Juggernaut and climbing into it. He hunched down into the cockpit, looking for the damn notebook and his pencil. They'd left in a damn rush to rescue the ODSTs and he hadn't been able to deposit it in his room properly. Dumb of him.
He found the thing taped to the forward console. He'd done that a couple times before for safety's sake, when similar things happened. Sure, a random piece of Shrapnel or a stray bullet could've torn it and his favorite pencil in half, but if that was the case, he would've probably been dead along with it because his cockpit may've been hit, in which case there were only two ways out:Being Legionified or getting popped by Shin.
He clawed at the tape, yanking it off alongside the old, worn paperback notebook with mostly blank pages and his blue pencil. He grinned, then pulled back to exit and slammed his head against his console. Falling back into the uncomfortable chair of his Juggernaut, the boy grabbed onto his noggin and spoke, "Gawddammit... Ouch... Smart of you, Theo... Taping your stuff to the bottom of your console... May as well do Shin the favor and put a round in your brain stem yourself... Oww..." in a murmur, then groaned.
"... Y'alright there, pal?" He heard another voice with a heavy accent, almost like that of a hick. It was female, but it was melodious, warm, welcoming. The boy blinked, turning to see where the voice had come from and immediately freezing up. There she was, that beauty of an engineer, her cropped ginger hair now fully visible with her helmet off her head. Her face had its own small smidges of oil and in her gloved hand was a monkey wrench. She was smiling at him, a beautiful smile enhanced by the freckles on her cheeks. She asked again, concerned, "Didn't think t'wear a helmet, didja...?"
The boy blinked, his heart racing as his mouth stood open, agape. He blinked again, then shook off the stupor and said, "I, uh... I didn't... Think I was gonna need it..."
"Heh," She smiled, "You alright?"
"Yeah... Hurts a bit, but I think I'll be right in no time," He offered, climbing out of the vehicle as gently as he could, so he didn't make a fool of himself any more han he already had. He looked to her, holding his notebook and pencil in one hand, then said, "I'm Theoto Rikka, though most of my comrades call me Theo. I... Don't think we got a chance to meet properly..."
"That, we did not. Hey, Theo. I'm Mary. One of the new engineers here," She smiled brightly. She pointed to his mech, then asked, "I take it you're one of the pilots for these things?"
"Yeah," He nodded, "I'm part of Spearhead Squadron... Callsign Laughing Fox."
"I'm... Genuinely sorry for you folks," She offered sincerely, "Those things have armor thinner than paper. Can't be fun having to fight in it, knowing one bullet's..."
"It ain't," He shook his head, "But we mostly make do with speed and not getting hit."
"How fast are they, usually?" She asked, looking to him. He shrugged.
"Frankly, I don't think we passed any road radars to tell us how fast we were going," He then replied, crossing his arms to his chest, smirking. The girl let out a melodious laugh, validating his snappy quip and him, causing his heart to skip a beat for a moment as he looked at her. She looked at him, too, causing him to stop dead in his tracks yet again, his heart rattling off like a machine gun.
"So... Ya mind tellin' a girl what you're doing with a notebook?" She inquired, looking at him. He jumped slightly.
"I, uh..." He seemed embarrassed to admit it, "I... I tend to... Draw at times? Take my mind off the war and whatnot..."
"Ooh..." Her eyes grew wide, "An artist, then! Nice! Can I see some of the pieces you've made?"
"I... Uhm..." He actually became flustered. Nobody had ever asked him to see his art and it felt a little out of the blue. Yet here this beautiful gal from another world was, asking him to share his work with her. He narrowed his lips, his mind racing for an answer as he looked around. He paused and focused upon his Juggernaut's side. While it was rusted away, his own symbol was still decently visible on the side. He nodded his head to it and said, "I did most of the emblems for our mechs... They're a bit faded, but..."
She approached and examined the paintjob, then whistled. Turning to him and smiling, she said "Looks cute," as calmly as if she was breathing. His heart skipped three beats and he was pretty sure he was gonna die on the spot, both from embarrassment, for some reason, and the fact that a very pretty girl had just complimented his artwork. Sure, it was a simple emblem of a laughing red fox, but it was his work, still.
He blinked, then said, "Uhm... Thanks, but it's a really simple one..."
"Then you must have a lot more stuff in that notebook of yours. Also, don't downplay your art..." She offered, smiling still, "It can be simple or complicated, it's still your artpiece. And if your comrades asked you to draw their emblems as well, honestly? Heh, that can tell you more than I can about how good your artwork is," and Theo could swear his entire face must've been tomato red. She approached him, then asked "C'mon, will ya show me what else you drew?"
The fact that Theo had not only managed to talk to, but impress Mary, gave him a major confidence boost in his own abilities, despite his definitely-lacking social skills. It was better to be awkward then to be a gloat, he thought, at least around girls. God, the UNSC just drop in and they got the cutest girls. And she was eighteen! She was barely two years older than him! Score!
... She also had major Kurena vibes, but, frankly, that worked in her favor. Seriously, she was giddy as hell when he was showing her his art!
Entering the mess hall with a surprisingly large smile on his face, Theo felt the scent of cooking pasta sauce. He looked ahead, seeing his comrades staring at him with surprise as he walked up to them, humming, his notebook under his arm and a smug smile on his face. Kurena and Anju looked to one-another, then grinned, proud of the boy, while Daiya, Lecca and Haruto both smiled. Raiden himself looked back, a smirk on his face as he shook his head.
First person Theo falls in love with and it's a space girl... Typical of the Artist of the team...
Aboard the UNSC Serene Mind
Bridge
The Admiral settled herself into the CIC of the ship, with her staff gathered around her. Said staff included the captains of the rest of the fleet, with their commanders, as well as the members of the ONI presence aboard the small combat fleet, which included the good doctor and her superior, a major Tatyana, a member of ONI's Section One. She looked to Nakano, hands laced together and leaning against the table in the briefing room of the bridge.
"Covert infiltration may be possible, provided we know what the leading subset of humans that lead San Magnolia looks like," The woman explained calmly to the Admiral, "My suggestion would be the deployment of a team just inside the walls of the Sectors, made up of SPARTAN-III Headhunters, to provide us immediate access to the wider 85 main districts. They'll act as our eyes and ears and give us a picture of how the Alba look, act and operate for the deployment of proper agents down the line."
"Could the Threes find this major Milizé? Talk to her? Introduce us?" The Admiral then inquired.
"Possible, but that would mean them keeping their SPI armor's camouflage systems on at almost all times as they infiltrate the San Magnolia military headquarters... Which we've yet to identify. Again, groundside deployment could provide us with eyes and ears and allow us to identify the Staff of San Magnolia's military, as well as the country's command and control center," Tatyana replied calmly.
"What of the other nations in the world?" The woman asked.
"We've yet to attempt to make contact with them," The Captain of the Phoenix-class troop ship, Nowhere to Run, replied, in his hand a cup of coffee, "But from what little we can discern, they're all actively fighting the Legion on multiple fronts, similarly to the Eighty-Six and the Republic. The machines are maintaining that blanket of jamming across the world that we cannot pierce, but we could attempt communication with the other countries via deployment of forward scouts."
"Similarly to how we've deployed to meet the Eighty-Six?" The Admiral hummed, "Or closer?"
"Closer, preferably within the supposed territories of other nations. Orbital imaging is still possible, if outright messy right now, ma'am, so we've detected and have approximate locations of their FOBs. A dropship landing just outside their perimeter defenses to try and initiate contact with at least one of them should be possible, if risky. They may think we'll be attempting to invade them," Captain Ambroz voiced from her left, in aid to his fellow captain, "However, in and around those areas, wireless should work at short range for us to make contact. Tell them we mean no harm."
"Maybe we'll get a friendly nation to evac the Eighty-Six to..." The Admiral murmured, then spoke, determined, "Very well, as the current highest authority in the fleet, I approve both missions. Prepare a scouting team led by an Army officer, preferably the rank of a Colonel, and deploy them to the nation farther east from San Magnolia as an away team. Tell them their orders are to open coms between us and them. If that works, we'll attempt contact with other nations... Major Tatyana, I trust you can ready a squad of Spartan-IIIs for infiltration duty. Get us intel on the Alba and locate and, if possible, make first contact with major Milizé."
"Aye, ma'am," The shady, black-haired ONI Agent replied, "Already have Fireteam DAGGER ready to go. Waiting on your word."
"The Para-RAID device is currently our main objective, both to ensure we are able to communicate with the units we've deployed and will deploy to assist the people below in the defense of their homes. DAGGER Team is authorized to reveal the existence of the UNSC and our orbiting forces to major Milizé, if they can manage to convince her not to say a damn thing about us to the rest of their command structure. Once she's contacted, we're to build up trust and an intelligence network within the San Magnolia military and civilian command structures with her help..." The Admiral spoke, looking at his officers, "Once we have that and a way to reproduce the Para-RAID device for broad use between our forces... Our operations can begin in earnest."
"Ma'am," The entire room replied.
"Major, rally DAGGER Team in the hangar. I'll give them the briefing myself in regards to their objectives. Do you have a Stealth Craft they can insert via? Seeing as the San Magnolian Radar may soon be back online, according to ground reports, I'd like to avoid a diplomatic incident that isn't necessary," The woman requested. The table in the middle lit up with a holographic, three-dimensional image of a sleek, arrowhead-shaped craft that had all the makings of an ONI Stealth Ship, including an apparent Stealth Field Generator similar to that of the SPI suits, which meant the ship could cloak in flight. Good.
"Seven of these insertion craft are spread out among the fleet, ma'am," The Major offered, smirking, "One is currently being brought aboard the Serene Mind, alongside the crew needed to operate it. DAGGER Team will be waiting for you in the hangar, as per your request, alongside the vessel."
"Thank you, Major. Captain Thorn, what's the status on the Rome?" The woman then looked to an elderly, dark-skinned man with nutmeg eyes and bearing captain's pins on his dress-whites' collar. He was the captain of the UNSC Marathon-class currently holding the right flank of the Carrier Group and he, much like everyone else present at the table, was a veteran with several battles under his belt.
"She's running fine, ma'am," He replied. A more silent type by nature, Mathew Thorn had captained the UNSC Rome since the earliest days of the ship's existence. Never once had he been switched out for another captain on the Cruiser and it showed, with the crew trusting the man enough to let him lead them into hell and back. He spoke on, "Squads are just waiting orders for a hot drop, is all."
"What about that primary asset that the good Major's keeping hidden from us. GRAY?" She smirked, causing Tatyana to freeze while the Captain stared at her, surprised.
"... Ma'am," He then smirked, "Gray Team is officially MIA as per ONI Directive 930. We all know what that means."
"Yes, we do," She nodded, then looked to Tatyana, "This non-existent, possibly 'MIA' fireteam of three could probably be useful in the future, maybe as a support, espionage and sabotage unit to damage the automated Legion war efforts from behind enemy lines... Perhaps... If they were still around," and stared at the ONI agent with an ice-cold glare befitting of a veteran like her.
"... You play a mean game of poker, admiral Nakano," The ONI Agent laughed darkly, "They're under NAVSPECWAR, Section 3, but were given to us on loan... I guess it's more permanent now..."
"Mhm..." She nodded, then tapped a few lines onto the holo-table's interface, before noting, "Their cryo-chambers are to be immediately transferred to the Serene Mind. Seeing as they were meant to be deployed to specialized Wetwork ops behind enemy lines, I see no reason why we should not utilize them as we have them at our disposal. We also have several dozen Spartan-IIIs working with us, so, I am giving the following order. New directive, form and ensure the cohesion of a Spartan generational fireteam made up of IIs and III-Gammas for the dangerous operations we may need them to undertake. Code-name VICEROY."
"Aye, ma'am," The ONI officer nodded.
"As for the rest of our units, we will deploy them as we can. I want our to Phoenix-class vessels to begin preparing Firebases and the deployment of those modified Cyclops exoskeletons that were being tested for the defense of Earth. As soon as we get Para-RAID systems online and connect to the wider network, our forces should be ready for continuous operations across the planet. Final note to all of you:Our targeting sensors can't pierce that soup down below that's made up of those weird bugs, so, if you ever receive a request from ground regarding the utilization of MAC rounds, ask them to lase the target... Focus your entire sensor suite on their location... And fire only when you're sure," She ordered, "Otherwise... That is all. Dismissed. I'll be in the hangar, briefing DAGGER and GRAY."
"Ma'am!" The others saluted. She saluted back quickly, stood to her feet and was the first to walk out from the meeting room onto the bridge. Walking out behind her, Michel smirked.
"You're scary, you know that, right?" He raised a brow at the woman.
"Oh?" She chuckled as they approached Charon.
"How did you know about Gray Team?"
"I know everything that happens on board my fleet, even if ONI doesn't want me to," She chuckled, then said, "Good morning, Charon."
"Ma'am, sir. I take it the decision on what to do next went through?" Charon inquired, still seemingly busy on adapting their sensor suites to counteract the Eintagsfliege swarms below. It gazed upon the Admiral, its ethereal expression shifting to what she could only call a form of joy. The woman gave a nod to her AI, then brought up the fleet on the three-dimensional Holo-display and watched as the ONI Sloop was being hand-delivered to the ship. On it, five life signs. Two pilots and the three cryo-pods belonging to Gray Team.
"Do you think Spartans will fare better against those things below?" The Captain then inquired.
"Of course," She nodded, "They're Twos, my friend. Gray Team was a specialized sabotage unit which had so much Black Ink on their file, it took me several favors from my ONI friends to read up on them," she then remarked. Looking to the Captain, she said, "As usual, you have the bridge. Keep me appraised of any new developments down below... I'll go greet our new crew members."
The Captain nodded, turning back to command his vessel as usual while the woman marched down the familiar path to the hangar, to be greeted by the UNSC Marines and Navy staff as she travelled. Marching beside her, a new unit of Marines was also heading out into the Hangar, probably to mount up for the scouting operation. A colonel was leading them, as per the symbol on his cap and collar. The two superior officers gave each-other quick salutes before separating as they entered the hangar.
Sat on a platform ahead, the sleek, small stealth craft belonging to ONI sat, already unloaded, the trio of cryopods of the SPARTAN-IIs she had aboard her fleet sat, lined up before her. Several techs were looking them over, one of which noticed the admiral and turned to salute. She saluted quickly, then said, "At ease. Status on the pods? Can we wake them now?"
"Yes, ma'am," The man responded, "It's going to take a minute, though."
"Do it... We're gonna need everyone we can get," The woman ordered. Without another word, the engineer walked up to and began getting his team to work on the pods. Slowly, as they punched command into the holographic interactive keypads on the right, the woman took a ramrod straight position, ready to greet the Spartans that would soon be walking among them again, alongside the new generation.
The pods hissed as the inner life support kicked up the heating systems to thaw the Spartans. Then, they opened, high-pressure steam blowing out through the sides and causing the engineers to take a few steps back. They watched the pods open, the heavy mist inside dissipating and revealing the three behemoths clad in matte-gray armors, each of a different variation. The first of them took a step out of the pod, landing onto the titanium floor of the vessel with a hard clang. Two more followed, with the comrades of the UNSC Spartan looking around.
The Spartan in the lead of the team, number 006, then noticed the Admiral sat in the middle of the hangar just as a Pelican took off above them. She smiled at them, then saluted, to which they replied in kind, firmly giving her the respect they knew UNSC Staff should usually receive. The woman spoke, "Sierra-006, Sierra-111 and Sierra-120. Good to see you're awake. Forgive the quick thaw."
As the Spartans got their bearings, with the female of the group, 111, stretching to release the tension in her muscles and the 'armor lock', 006 spoke to the Admiral, "Take it there must be a good reason we were awoken, ma'am? Nobody on the battlegroup save for ONI was supposed to know we were here until we arrived back to Earth. Even then, we were kept under wraps."
"Nothing escapes my eye aboard this Battlegroup, 006," The woman offered, maintaining cordial respect by not referring to them with their names. She knew only Spartans had the right to do that, generally. Spartans and those they deemed fit for the role of knowing their names. She continued, "Your services are required because we are in an extraordinary situation."
"Ma'am?" 111 inquired, looking at her.
"We're above a foreign planet, One-Eleven. One occupied by humans... And under attack," She spoke, then noticed the Spartans tense almost immediately. She continued, "Folow me. I'll brief you along the way to the crew deck, where you can stow your gear," And she began leading the way while the Engineers turned to the ONI Sloop, to ensure it was fit for the operation soon to be undertaken by the other SPARTAN-III strike team in the area.
"We've arrived over this world less than two days ago," She explained, "When we did, we found that our scans could not penetrate the upper atmosphere properly, due to the fact that they and our communications were openly being jammed by the enemy we're facing planet-side along the local population. They're named the 'Legion' and they're a conglomerate of robotic, semi-autonomous war-machines, as it'd seem. Thanks to some of the first allies we made on the ground, I think we'll be able to get you a full briefing on the enemy's capabilities before long."
"Take it you want us on one of our standard ops, ma'am? Reconnaissance, disruption and eliminating targets," 006 inquired.
"You know us too well, Spartan," She smirked, "That will be part of your future operations, yes, but right now? We have another assignment for you. The enemy's forces are spread all across the world. We will need to be able to cover and engage whatever important asset pops up, or at least be able to scout it out. While I know you three could handle these ops alone, seeing as you love to operate outside the chain of command, only sending reports and doing things your own way... I figure you may need a boost..."
"Ma'am?" All three of them voiced, confused.
She stopped, then smiled at them, "We have fifty new Spartans aboard. They're generation Three... According to reports, designed to be more easily produced. What I want you folks to do is train up a group of your own choosing to assist you in the sabotage operations. We already have a scout team made up of them deploying to perform an operation within one of the main countries of the planet, which you will also be briefed on before you are sent out on your mission, but I want you to select and train however many of the remaining forty-seven Spartan-IIIs on board our fleet to assist you."
"Take it you figure it's best to have more boots for sabotage ops, eh, ma'am?" 006 didn't show it, but he was grinning behind the helmet, "And you're saying we get to train them."
"Yes," She nodded, "You have the experimental Virtual Reality systems near the Crew Quarters at your disposal, alongside a few of the programs made by the eggheads when they first installed them on the carriers. War Games, they're called."
"Alright... How long have we got to drill the kids?" 120 inquired, crossing his arms.
"Until we recover, reverse-engineer and are able to mass-produce the specialized communication device of the country we're currently in geosynchronous orbit of," The woman replied as they stopped by one of the mono-rails of the ship and mounted up, taking a cart all the way to the crew deck, "Which will allow us to ensure communications between all forces, no matter the types of ECM the enemy are running. So, by all accounts and purposes, perhaps a couple months, maybe less."
"That'll be fun," 111 commented, "Think it'll be easy to adapt?"
"Hoping so, One-Eleven," Nakano replied. As the cart came to a halt in front of the main crew deck. In there, lined up in the main hall, forty-seven Spartans' Ident Tags flashed on the HUDs of Gray Team. The Admiral then spoke, "Until then, again, Gray Team... Select and train those you see fit. Their dossiers will be in your hand soon, so you can see who you can best adapt for your team. Those you select will... Well, they will also receive a MJOLNIR set each."
Gray Team scanned the outline of youngsters, hearing the thunderclap of their armored boots. 111, Adriana, stepped up to 006, Jai, and said, "Those armors look paper thin compared to ours. Frankly, if they're really Spartans, I'd say they need to get the kit."
"Ma'am?" Jai looked over to the Admiral with Adriana's thoughts in mind.
"Yes?" She raised a brow.
"Do we only have enough to outfit the entire fifty-man group? Or are we stuck with only a limited number?" He inquired.
"Currently, three Spartans may receive MJOLNIR. SPI Armor can also be used, seeing as a few of them have the Headhunter sets, which more closely match MJOLNIR Armor in the sense of a mounted energy shield to provide extra protection," She explained. The three Spartans hummed, looking over their selection. Both tall and short kids had been brought in for them to call in as part of their Fireteam.
"I'll leave you to yours, Oh-Oh-Six. Dismissed," The Admiral saluted, leaving the crew deck and the Spartans to their own devices.
Jai looked at them all, scanning each and every one, even with their helmets on their head. None of them flinched, standing ramrod straight as they stared at what amounted to their older cousins. Adrian hummed, then said, "So, we're woken up from Cryo, told we're in a mess and that they need us to train up a bunch of kids to be exactly like us... Man, this is gonna be a long month."
"Sure starting to look like it," Jai shrugged, scanning the kids of the group once more.
"We're gonna be dragging them all through hell. Their files can say whatever they want said..." Michael, number 120, crossed his arms to his chest, "If they wanna be called Spartans, they'd better be ready to show those name tags and numbers mean the damn world to them..." and he watched as one of the kids nearly twitched.
"Agreed," Jai replied, "Any idea where to start?"
"We're no Mendez, but..." Adriana offered, "Since we have those new VR programs opened up to us..." She then suggested, shrugging. Jai hummed, taking a moment to consider what to do with the information available to him. He hummed, then decided that, yes, that would be a good enough start to a training regimen for the kids. In fact, the best choice, perhaps.
They'd take the kids' best twelve in a sim match. CTF. Basic rules.
... The Admiral, all the while, had returned to the hangar to both watch the Engineers working on upping the Prowler's stealth capabilities to ensure that it would not be detected and to meet the four-man SPARTAN-III Fireteam, callsign 'Dagger'. He saw the kids appearing from the belly of the craft, one of them tossing an engineer a wrench of some kind as they descended down the ramp. Looking ahead, the Spartans soon found themselves face-to-face with the Admiral.
Approaching her in a quick march and lining up neatly in one row, the Spartans saluted. Their eldest and team leader spoke, "Spartan-III Gamma Fireteam Dagger, reporting as ordered. Captain James-G012, at your service, ma'am," His voice youthful, but still hardy. She looked upon the boy, looking over his SPI Mark II 'Headhunter' suit, on which he'd replaced the helmet to one more resembling that of the Master Chief. A belt of around twenty Forty-mike-mike grenades sat, wrapped around his waist and, on his chest, were his ammo pouches. His armor was painted a deep teal with red accents on the gauntlets, as well as the team emblem, of a dagger going through an Elite's skull, painted onto the left of his breastplate.
"Lieutenant Samantha-G025, here too, ma'am," The more youthful female Second-in-Command spoke from the Lieutenant's left. Her armor was painted full black, with a single skull painted in a contrasting white on her right gauntlet and the team's emblem on her left shoulder. She was the tallest of the lot, despite being probably younger than James by around a year.
"Lieutenants, Junior Grade, Keely-G111 and Kyle-G112, ma'am," One of the two in the rank spoke. Both of them had the dull green and white of their SPI suits, probably not having wanted to modify them. The two were twins, same height and everything, but of different genders. She nodded to all four of them, then crossed her arms to her chest as she began.
"I have sent your team leader the mission you are to undertake, but in case it wasn't clear enough, you are the tip of the spear for operations that are to be undertaken within the borders of the country of San Magnolia," She spoke, her gaze, of steel, her words hard and her mind set, "I will reiterate your objectives, however. Assess the country's internal working structure, the situation of their people and the disposition of military assets within the capital, which we've discovered is unironically called Liberté et Égalité," And she chuckled at it... She then stated, "Your second objective and, admittedly, your main one, if at all possible, is for you to establish contact with Major Vladilena Milizé, Handler in the Republic military. According to our allies downstairs, she's a sympathizer to the Eighty-Sixes' Cause... She may be an asset."
"Ma'am," They nodded.
"If you find out who she is, make contact, then let our agents discuss matters with her once a Safehouse has been established in the capital," The Admiral ordered, "Let me reiterate... No matter your feelings in regards to how the folks downstairs live their lives, stow those feelings... And get major Milizé on our side with the help of the ONI Spooks that're going to join you."
"It'll be done, ma'am," James replied.
"Good... Dismissed. Get to work."
Republic of San Magnolia, First District
Capital of Liberté et Égalité
The midday sun shined brightly down upon the wide, beautiful streets of the capital city of the Republic. The four-lane-wide main boulevard of the city was busy with the commotion of electric cars travelling to and fro. The storefronts in the beautiful, Gothic-style architecture of the dozens of city blocks that permeated the left and right of the large boulevard were filled with occupants of Alba descent and only Alba descent.
With beautiful, shining silver hair and silver eyes, the only occupants of the First District of the Republic walked without a care in the world about the war going on beyond the Gran Mur, browsing the stores filled with designer clothing and the restaurants, bakeries and other delightful things that one could only find here. Above the streets, the criss-crossing power lines of the streetcars going down the middle of the boulevard itself and in and around the buildings.
A young woman, clad in a Prussian blue and white uniform, made up of a blue jacket that lay draped over her shoulders, held in place by epaulettes and tied together by a golden double chain, a white, frilly undershirt visible down the middle, a blue skirt, garters and shorts and a pair of dress shoes. On her head lay a peaked cap of a blue color and with the emblem of San Magnolia plastered onto the forehead, just above the peak of the cap.
Younger than most officers, the woman bore the markings of a Major, emblems sown onto her jacket's shoulder and on the collar of her uniform's white shirt. She stared at her careless people with little regard. They were her folks, the ones she'd grown up among, yet they were completely and totally oblivious to the hardships of the world beyond the great defensive wall that separated them from the savagery of the outside world.
They were coddled children who'd never even seen of the Legion outside of the television's almost weekly reports of the War Effort.
Major Vladilena Milizé felt almost embarrassed to call herself part of the military and governmental structure of the nation at times such as these, when she remembered that her people lived in blissful ignorance of the situation outside the walls, or where the Eighty-Six had gone and what was being done to them. Above and to the left of her, a massive television screen and large speakers showed and spewed the same propaganda over and over, that the Legion would run out of processing strength and power in two years and the war would be over.
She sighed, holding down the peak of her cap as to avoid looking at the screen and the people around her. Crossing the street toward the imposing, incredibly large building ahead of her, which was the San Magnolia Central Command Headquarters for the Republic's armed forces, the young woman entered into the marble halls of the foyer, passing by a series of couches where a bunch of drunkards were still laughing at her and at the situation around as the TVs spewed more propaganda.
Scanning her ID, the girl entered through the automated security gates of the HQ, walking past rows upon rows of soldiers of the Republic that bore no care in the world. The Palace Blancneige remained filled with the wonders of the old Alba kingdom that preceded this one before San Magnolia herself led the revolution against their horrible leaders some three hundred years ago. A single statue stood high at the fountain, that of San Magnolia herself.
The whirr of machines filled Lena's ears as she passed by the Handler rooms on her assigned floor. Some people repairing something or other, probably.
She sighed, checking the clock on the wall, then turning toward the halls. She marched down them, toward the rear areas of the HQ and to the R&D sections of the Palace. Stepping inside, she found her close friend, a short-haired beauty with glasses and a labcoat over her uniform slumped over at her desk. Lena smiled at her friend, then said, "Good morning, Annette."
"Mooooorniiiing..." The girl groaned, weakly raising a hand to greet her comrade.
"Been up late again?" She inquired, setting her bag aside and sitting down at the table in the middle of the spacious laboratory, which was filled with state-of-the-art technology, including a specialized system designed to test the Para-RAID's capabilities. Her friend sheepishly raised her head from her console, two black bags under her bloodshot eyes. Lena winced, "Ooh... That bad, huh?"
"... They had me running diagnostics on the damn Radar until five in the morning..." She whined, "Seriously..."
"Those glitches still happening?" She asked as she took her cap off. Annette stood to her feet, arranging her messy hair and huffing in confirmation. Lena cupped her own chin between her fingers, murmuring, "How many glitches is it now...?"
"Sixteenth unidentified was about two hours ago... I'm starting to think these aren't glitches. That something up there's really buzzing our radars..." Annette offered, pouring herself and her friend two fresh cups of coffee in the cute cups she usually poured them in. Handing one to Lena, Annette dropped herself back into her chair. She shrugged, "There's been things flying in and out above Spearhead FOB, vanishing without a trace at some thousands of meters into the sky."
"That's impossible," Lena rebuked, "Nothing, whether ours or known from the Legion's ranks, can fly that high."
"Yes, I understand... I'm speculating while running on two hours of sleep and three..." She looked at her current cup of coffee, "Make that four cups of what amounts to that old Death Wish Coffee archetype... I hope it's just a glitch, Lena, but... Frankly? I'm not sure. Even in the state I'm in, it certainly doesn't look like it. They had to take the Radars down temporarily to make sure it wasn't, but..."
"I'll talk more to Spearhead's commander about this, then," She offered, "No more Legion on long range, though?"
"No. Radar says they've gone quiet," She replied, leaning onto one hand and damn near ready to fall asleep on herself. Lena smiled at her again, taking a sip from her own coffee once more. She felt the bitter aftertaste of the extra caffeine in it and wondered how in God's name they'd even gotten fresh beans. She wasn't sure the Republic could grow the damn things. Annette added, "It's been uncharacteristically quiet, from what other Handlers also tell me, for the past day or two. Something should've happened by now. A Legion patrol wandering too close, or a scout group..."
"Maybe they were spooked by the UFOs we have on Radar," Lena quipped, smiling
"Oh, ha ha..." Annette rolled her eyes. She looked to the girl, then asked "How are you?"
"Just fine. Been dealing with my own set of problems caused by our radars going on the fritz, namely having to write reports in regards to the Eighty-Sixes' situation with them offline," Lena replied, relaxing into her chair a bit as the warmth of the hot drink finally got to her, as did the double or triple-strength caffeine, causing her heart to patter off like a standard infantry-hauled GPMG.
"Does anybody read them...?" Annette asked almost absentmindedly, garnering a frown out of Lena. Of course, command would not really care about the Eighty-Six...
Her little self-flagellating regarding her own country was stopped by Annette yawning. She smiled at her friend again, then said, "I'll tell general Karlstahl and his staff that you're overworked. Get some sleep, Annette. The R&D area needs you at one hundred percent as much as I and the other Handlers do," before standing up. Her friend looked to her, wide-eyed, then smiled.
"Thanks... I'll just..." She spoke, before her face dropped onto the desk. The girl rolled her eyes, moved behind her friend and took her coat off the hanger, wrapping it gently around the girl's shoulders and letting her sleep. Taking her cap off the table and drinking half the coffee in one chug, she immediately regretted the latter while making her way to High Command's offices.
Marching into the man's office, her heart racing still, she saluted him, then called out, "General Karlstahl, sir!"
The man looked up, showing the two scars he wore proudly alongside his short hair, chin hair and thin mustache that all fit perfectly on his chiseled features. He was clad in a General's blue uniform with all that it entailed, including the campaign ribbons and regalia on the left of his chest and the stars on his shoulders. He nodded, stood up and saluted back, then said, "Major. What can I help you with?"
"I came to speak to you about Annette, sir," She replied, "Girl hasn't been sleeping for the past two days, trying to figure out the issues with the Radar... She doesn't think they're glitches and I'm starting to believe her."
"I see. A break would be in order for the poor girl," The General stated. Wow, Lena thought, that was easy. She smiled at Karlstahl and the man smiled back, nodding, then turning back to completing some req forms. He said, "You've certainly been sending a lot of supplies to the Eighty-Six in Spearhead Squadron. Take no offense in what I am about to say, Lena, but perhaps you should stop doing that."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't," She replied, "Anyways... I'll let Annette know she can rest and then I'll go run my usual errands..."
Karlstahl shook his head, chuckling, then said, "Very well. Dismissed, Major. Take care of yourself... And maybe take a day off yourself. Radar keeps telling me that, while the UFOs we keep pinging, if they're even real, are not doing anything beyond flying by, the Legion has been eerily silent for the past couple of days and, thankfully, it doesn't seem to show signs of changing any time within the next day or two. If we can believe the Radars, then..." He shrugged. Calmly, he added, "Papers are already signed for your leave." before setting a filled form aside.
She smiled, then whispered, "Thanks, uncle..." before departing. She walked down the halls, a smile on her face, as she went to tell Annette.
Some time and a short trip back home later, Lena found herself sitting at her desk and writing in her diary again, her Para-RAID device on, just below the scruff of her neck and under the collar of her white night-shirt. What looked like a collar with a strange mechanical ball attached to its rear, the Para-RAID communication device was simple in design, with said ball having four azure lights separated by a cross. All of them would light up when coms were underway. The strap that held the device in place was a kevlar material, resistant to cutting and colored white and blue to match the uniforms.
As the sun set, Lena closed her green notebook, setting it beside the corkboard where the drawn faces of all the members of Spearhead sat, with a small glass box down below it containing all those who have died. She looked over to her clock, which sat in the corner, on a shelf, then hummed. Scanning her room, she found it to be the same it had usually been. A queen-sized bed with blue silk curtains and intricate designs sat, flanked on both sides by white, wooden nightstands with marble tops. Beside the one on the left and near to the two giant windows of her room, through which the last light of the day peeked, a similarly-colored wardrobe sat.
Opposite all that was her work desk, the shelves on which she kept her books and the picture of her deceased father and herself from when she was younger, as well as a small cabinet below it with certain supplies and items. The rest of the room was just as ornate, with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern marble floor and walls looking straight out of the old books about royalty.
Sighing, the girl let the sun's final rays pierce through the windows before standing up to close the large blue curtains with gold frills. After she did so, she sat herself back down and activated her Para-RAID device and spoke, "Good evening, everyone!"
"Ah, Major! Just in time!" She heard Daiya's voice, bombastic and excited as usual.
"Good evening, major," Anju's more calm, elegant voice came next, "Today has been silent, hasn't it?"
"Thankfully so, ensign Emma," The woman replied, smiling.
"Major. Good to know you're still calling," Raiden.
"Yo," That was Theo.
"Evening!" Haruto.
"Heya," Lecca.
"Mhm..." Kurena, of course.
"Good evening, Major Milizé," Finally, Shin. He always pressed on the word 'Major' and added her family name. She was very familiar with his voice at this point, too, having heard it in her head a dozen times over. He spoke, calmly, "How are you feeling? Busy day today?" as she felt him at ease. He was probably reading something or other again, considering she felt that he was focused on something.
"Thankfully, no, Captain Nouzen. Good to hear your voices, all of you," Lena replied happily. She had to be honest to herself, she was very glad she didn't have to send them out into hell once more today. Ever since she'd missed that scout mission against the legion a couple of days ago, she felt like the world somehow grew way more dangerous than before. That, or safer, she really couldn't tell, "And I'm feeling just fine. You?"
"Fine," Shin replied monotonely.
"Good. Good." Lena nodded approvingly, "Captain, I have to ask... We've been looking over the Radar arrays for the past few days and nothing out of the ordinary came up. Our R&D and Engineers seem to think there's nothing wrong with the system now and that there was nothing wrong to begin with. What really were those things on it? You can tell me."
"Like I said, Major, we didn't see anything, which is concerning enough if you say they passed over our base," The boy replied calmly. She heard another page being flicked, then frowned.
"Strange," Lena shot back, "Really strange, but if you say so..."
"Chill, major. Nothing big's swung by here since our last op. I'd think we scared them good," Theo offered confidently as he worked on his art. Or she thought he was working on his art, considering she was hearing a pencil scratching against paper, "And if the pigs with the Radar say they saw something, let'em think so. We ain't got anything flying out here..." Theo then added. Several voices, save for Shin's, echoed in agreement with him.
"Understood," Lena sighed, pressing her head against the pillow on her office chair, playing with a lock of her silver hair. She hummed, then smiled and said, "How are the supplies we sent?"
"Surprised you found pasta made with real flour, major," Raiden laughed heartily, "Had one hell of a lunch..."
While Lena didn't know it, 'one hell of a lunch' referred to the massive group of around sixty or so Marines that had joined while the rest of their four hundred comrades had been running errands across the base and doing physical fitness tests to ensure that they were all good on that front. Lena's smile grew wider as she said, "I figured you deserve a filling meal... Can't imagine the processed things they send you normally."
"Actually, we grow our own veggies and fruit," Daiya replied, shocking the girl.
"Really!?" She gasped
"Haha! Yep! Tomatoes, potatoes, a bit of corn, heck, we also have a couple of hens over here making us eggs! Saves us from eating those dreary MREs that command keeps tossing over the border. Y'know, some of'em are already expired," The man explained, then boasted with a smile, "You should taste some of the tomatoes that Anju manages to grow over here! Or the fries we make when we have enough potatoes!"
Lena's stomach groaned audibly, despite her having just eaten dinner. While the girl's cheeks glowed red, the squad laughed heartily at their Major's little moment of weakness. Of course, she was going to be attracted to fresh ingredients! She loved actual food! She pouted, crossing her arms at the laughs, before hearing Shin ask with the faintest hint of concern behind his words, "Have you had dinner, major?"
"Yes..." She replied, slightly surprised by the man's inquiry. And slightly embarrassed, her cheeks tinged red.
"Very well... Do you mind if we call it a night for now? We've got some business and then we'll go Lights Out," Shin offered.
"Not at all... Good night, Captain," She replied. After Shin bid good night, she shut off the device and stood up, her stomach groaning again. Rolling her eyes, she stood to her feet and murmured, "Perhaps one snack won't hurt me..." as she left her room and descended from the first floor over to the kitchen. The staff of the mansion that her family(namely, herself and her mother) lived in had left earlier today, just after her mom fell asleep.
Lit only by the dim light of the half-moon in the sky, the halls of her house were massive and with similar flooring as her own room, reflecting the white light of the moon onto her. A young girl, a major in the San Magnolia military and, currently? She was alone, her mother sleeping on the other side of the house. She entered the kitchen, a large room that would usually be staffed by chefs, then approached the smallest fridge.
Kneeling and opening it, with the moon as the only source of light still, the girl was almost blinded by the fridge's golden light. She looked over the containers filled with food, picked one full of an apple tart made by their best chef, shut the fridge and set the food on the island counter in the middle, before going to grab some silverware so she could eat. As she prepared, she heard the faintest tap on the marble floor to the left.
Her head turned on a swivel as she looked to see where the noise could've come from. She blinked, trying to focus her eyes in the darkness. Pressing a button, she turned on a small light in the room, enough not to attract attention, then looked around. Nothing was to be found in the large kitchen area. She frowned, then turned to her food with a fork and a knife, slowly starting to dig in and listening for movement.
For a moment, nothing seemed to be there and then, as she was taking a second fork-full of apple tart, she could swear she heard another footstep, much closer and to her right. Straightening up and with all color draining from her face, the girl's grip tightened around the knife she had. She looked around, seeing a faint distortion in the air ahead of her. Electing to ignore it for now, though her senses were now insanely focused.
Enough so that the next time she heard the faintest noise to her right, she turned and thrust the blade. Gasping, the girl felt her hand caught mid-stab by something. Wide eyes locked with a figure clad in heavy armor as they decloaked, their weapon stowed on their back. To her left, another figure appeared, causing her to prepare herself to scream aloud. The man holding her knife hand put his other gauntlet-covered one over her mouth and spoke, his voice young, "Major Milizé, we mean you no harm. We wish to talk."
"wah?! " She yelled, though her voice was muffled. This was clearly a guy.
"Yes. Talk... I am going to let you go now, but if you try and stab me again, or cry out, let me just advise you in as friendly a manner as possible, it is not a good idea to do so..." He offered. Gently, the girl nodded, taking the hint, with the man gently retracting his hands from her mouth and hand wielding the knife, gently removing the blade from its owner's grip and setting it on the counter.
She stared with disbelief, asking in a whisper, "Who are you...?"
"Spartan DAGGER Team, ma'am. I'm DAGGER Actual," He replied calmly, raising his hand. Two more figures decloaked, covering the door with their silenced, futuristic assault carbines. He spoke, "Your Radar may have spotted a few contacts flying high and low around the Forward Operations Base of squadron 'Spearhead'... That was some of our comrades, ma'am. We've been authorized by the Admiral of our Battle Group to brief you on who we are."
"... Holy... Those things coming down were your aircraft...? And..." She whispered, realizing Shin hid a bit more than she'd bargained for.
Oh, she was gonna have a long talk with him.
"Captain Nouzen and his team were asked directly by our admiral to keep quiet about the arrival of our forces," He replied, showing his team to maintain a perimeter.
"... How many of you are there...?" She stared with disbelief, "Who are you!?"
"Active on the planet are over four hundred Marines, thirty tanks and several Force Application Vehicles belonging to the Second Armored Division. We've yet to take a full census, but our numbers are believed to be around the tens of thousands in infantry, with hundreds of combat-ready vehicles, if not outright a thousand," The Spartan offered, watching as the girl sat herself down and listened. He added, "All of the other units are currently aboard our fleet, in orbit..."
And, before she could protest, the man lifted up a holographic device and showed her the position of their fleet, as well as their planet, in full three-dimensional space. That kind of tech was usually reserved for the realm of Science-Fiction, as was the soldiers' cloaking systems. She blinked, whispering, "... This is incredible... A First Contact scenario... And you look human."
"We are," Offered Dagger Actual, "Long story..."
"... Your faction...?" She raised a brow.
"The United Nations Space Command, ma'am."
"Why... Why are you here? In my house?"
"Captain Nouzen directed the Admiral to you as a possibly trustworthy member of the San Magnolia officer cadre. She has tasked us to make First Contact," He replied, causing the girl's heart to skip a beat. He continued to speak, "He believes you are compassionate toward him and his team. To all Eighty-Sixes..." and Lena immediately grew paler than bone at that. He nodded to her, "We know of what the Alba did to the Eighty-Six, ma'am..."
"I do. I do care," She replied, her voice growing firm, "Are your forces here to help us...? Help them...?"
"Yes," The man nodded. For a moment, Lena's heart fluttered, full of joy at the news.
She paused, knowing better as she asked, "Why?"
"Beyond basic humanity, ma'am? We're stuck here until we deal with a certain... Issue..." He replied, then paused for a moment and looked to the side. As his squadmate lifted up three fingers, he spoke, "Sorry, ma'am, but we're going to have to cut our meeting short, but you'll be briefed by our own Intel agents as they arrive in country. I have two more things to ask you, after which we will depart and you will have never seen us."
"... Okay..." She nodded, trying to take this as in-stride as possible. It was almost impossible. There were a dozen new pieces of information she needed to process, chief among which the presence of this UNSC in high orbit, with a fleet of a dozen ships and tens of thousands of troops about to be deployed on the planet. It was freaking overwhelming.
"One... You must never tell anyone about us unless directly instructed to do so by the agents or if you believe it may be of value to both of our peoples to do so," He spoke calmly, "Command wants the UNSC to maintain a low profile in the eyes of the San Magnolia military and populace for now, due to the treatment of the Eighty-Six. Will you comply with this request, major?" and he eyed the woman, or so she thought. She wasn't sure where he was looking through the polarized visor.
She nodded, "Yes..."
If it meant helping Shin and his people survive...
"Good," He nodded approvingly, "Good. Second, you will meet agents of our intelligence service that you will have to cooperate with. Do you understand that this, by extension, makes you an asset of the UNSC meant to help give the people of the Eighty-Sixth District better lives and also meant to help defend the sovereignty of not only your state, but that of our people?"
"Yes," She replied.
"Very well, major..." He stated calmly, his voice giving the faintest hint of joy. He then stated, "The ONI agents that will be approaching you will be disguised as Alba. They will call to you and identify themselves by stating the phrase 'Hell of a long day, ain't it?'. Your answer will be 'I've had worse' and then comply with their requests, because they will give you a briefing and tell you what they're there for. Understood?"
"I understand..."
She did, except for the 'alba' disguise. Hard to fake hair color and eyes without contact lenses and hair dye... Then again, intelligence agency. The Spartan gave an approving nod, then one hand signal. His squad all vanished back into active camouflage, save for him. He spoke calmly to her, "Welcome to the ranks, Major. This is gonna be your fight as much as it is ours or the Eighty-Sixes'... Farewell. Stay safe."
"You, too, Actual..." She nodded, still dumbfound. She watched the last man of the team vanish, only knowing that they departed because of the faint echo of armored boots hitting the floor. She swallowed, then pinched herself to assure herself she was awake. Indeed, that had been real. She didn't want to believe it was, but it was. She was just engaged by an infiltration squad, which had departed as they arrived, in active camo.
Finishing up a piece of the apple tart, she put it back into the fridge, turned off the light and walked back to her room, her mind racing as she thought over what she had been told by the elite soldiers that so calmly and gently broke into her house. She was going to be cooperating with an extra-terrestrial human force currently orbiting their planet, both to assist the Eighty-Six and to combat the invasion of the Legion. And they already had boots on the ground, with Captain Nouzen having kept it secret by request of the fleet's admiral.
The girl fell into her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she parsed through the thoughts she had about the matter, namely that this was insane. First contact with an alien force and they already know that San Magnolia did a lot of shady things. She was surprised that they'd decided not to outright bombard them from up above. Shin and his team had presumably told them, to absolutely no-one's surprise.
By Magnolia's grace, her stomach now churned. They were pretty freaking close to a world-ending event... All because of the Republic's dumb policies.
And she couldn't tell anyone she trusted just yet. Not without making sure the agents that were coming down to meet her would know they could trust the people she talked to. She'd want to tell Annette, her uncle, maybe even a few of her non-bastard people in the officer school of San Magnolia! She was already spreading news of what kind of treatment the Eighty-Six were getting. She'd just have to make sure she got the agents to understand it'd be best to have more allies.
Heavens above, this was becoming too much... Even for her...