The UNSC had soon discovered that the enemy had simply sent a probing attack their way, with a few others having hit several other squadron bases as the UNSC was spreading out their own Para-RAID Devices among the troops. The Legion must've been testing the response capabilities of the Eighty-Sixes' new allies when the first strike came around. Spearhead HQ had learned of the enemy's attack some days ago, with Shin receiving a letter from Brísingamen Squadron's Captain, Shiden while they were doing basic maintenance of their vehicles.
A Warthog was returning from patrol with two of their members, Haruto and another girl with glasses and short brown hair. The UNSC had slowly started shipping in their own Para-RAID Devices to units around the Eighty-Sixth sector. First among the ones running the still-in-beta-stage devices was Brísingamen and their own UNSC Scout Force. They'd used it against the first enemy incursion and, when word reached that it had worked as it was supposed to, the UNSC had started mass-producing the devices and shipping them to other units on the third week of their ultra-rapid development cycle.
The first proper mass-production batch had gone, surprisingly enough, to Spearhead. Each Marine now carried in their kit one of the UNSC's own Para-RAID Devices. Shin had half-expected them to deploy alongside the units without any Para-RAID communication, instead having them rely on single-beam and hand signals to communicate. He felt more at ease, seeing their new allies adapting so fast. Still, even with what Shiden wrote in her letters about the UNSC's brazen rescue of a wounded comrade, the good Captain Nouzen could do little but wonder what their ulterior motives were.
Lecca had taken to playing 'Soccer', or their version of football, with some of the UNSC Marines near the back, with Daiya, Raiden and Theo as teammates. They were playing against a team made up of the engineer Sergeant, Mary, her Lieutenant and three other Marines. Currently? The score was two to one for Lecca's team, but they weren't playing for anything else beyond the fun of it... At least they weren't.
Some other members of Spearhead, about a dozen of them, watched the game and cheered their team on, while also betting on them towin. The rest of the crowd was mostly Marines, cheering either side as they played and betting for fun when the officers weren't looking. Meanwhile, on the tarmac, UNSC transports still shifted up and down, between the Fleet and the FOB. Some times, Shin had to wonder what the people thought of with the radars all being down.
Marine engineers worked on a Pelican whose front engine nacelle had an issue with a few too many holes in its side. They'd flown a bit too close to the ground and were also spotted by Legion CIWS, so that nearly got them shot out of the sky. One of the engineers swore to himself as Shin passed by, then looked to see the boy. He gave him a salute and said, "Captain Nouzen... Can I help?"
"What happened?" Shin inquired, pointing at the machine's damaged engine.
The man sighed, then stated with annoyance, "Legion Twenty-Mikes ripped through the plating, almost hit the main fuel supply and caused this thing to explode mid-flight. They still hit some important components and the main VTOL thruster isn't working so well. Keeps spewing smoke half the time when we test it... I'm looking into the damage and it... Kind of does seem minimal beyond a twenty-mike round that I pulled out of the main thruster fuel line's armor..."
"Good thing it didn't penetrate all the way," Shin remarked. The man snorted as he dived back in to repair . The captain then inquired, "Can't the old man help? Or the Lieutenant and his group...?"
"Too busy looking over our tanks or playing Football, as is the case," The man replied calmly, "They think that Spearhead and our unit are about to depart for battle."
"It's... Likely," Shin remarked, crossing his arms to his chest. Indeed, the Legion grew louder and louder as the days since the first engagement between them and the UNSC had passed. Now, Shin could hear them more clearly than when their new allies first dropped into the middle of nowhere and got themselves killed. He heard a few new voices among them, too. Repeating the last words after their deaths for some, but others were more coherent, directed. He also still heard a Shepherd's voice, though it was far away, too distant for him to process now with the myriad others around.
He sighed, then said, "Take care, engineer," before departing and letting the man deal with the repairs. He marched down toward the hangar, watching as the football/soccer game grew tense once the Marines evened out the score and forced his squadron mates into the defense. Entering the hangar, the man found some of the UNSC Engineers doing work on checking the main guns, cleaning them, ensuring the auto-loaders of the 90mm cannons fed and so on. Meanwhile, Lev had been working alongside some of the Corps and their own Engineers(and Fido) to maintain the Juggernauts and ensure they'd be ready for the next deployment.
Some form of music played from a radio in the back of the room as the Marines worked with Lev and co. Lev had noticed him coming in, then waved him over toward his own Juggernaut. Approaching it, Shin also remembered that the letter he'd gotten from Shiden(which had come with a UNSC Courier on a four-wheeler ATV) had mentioned the fact that their little ambush was countered by the presence of a second squadron of Ameise and Löwe, as if they knew that area or expected the ambush.
Perhaps the Legion were finally learning, which meant Shin and his squadron would need to counteract that as it came, prepare multiple ambushes and a QRF... Gazing back upon the UNSC AFVs and Tanks, he soon realized that may be easier now with their allies and their seeming willingness to engage in crazy endeavors to both protect their own and the Eighty-Six. If Shiden's letter was to be believed and the UNSC hadn't just rewritten it, that was.
Skeptical as Shin was of their allies' intentions and actions, he approached Lev and the mechanics he was teaching about the Juggernauts. The man nodded to Shin, then said "Looks like some of the new crew is starting to learn the knowhow for our own vehicles. I'd wanna say they're probably going to try and replicate them, but I kind of doubt that they'd want this stuff in their inventory."
"We don't," A Marine engineer replied as he worked on one of the legs of Laughing Fox. He turned to Shin and Lev, then stated, "But it's good to know what kind of technology your allies use. With that knowledge, we can provide more spare parts and modify the vehicles if so requested by your pilots... Plus, it's funny to see four-legged mechs based on these kinds of hydraulic systems."
"That's good to know," Lev sighed, "Not to mention help with maintenance, eh?"
"Yup," The man nodded.
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" Shin inquired, looking to Lev.
"I heard that letters can now be sent between the lines," The man replied, crossing his arms to his chest, "That and the UNSC has finally given their boys and girls Para-RAID Devices. Means you kids are finally going to get proper backup, doesn't it?"
"It does," Shin nodded, "Tanks, infantry... It'll be interesting."
"I agree," Lev nodded, his expression showing he was just as unconvinced of the UNSC's motives as Shin was. The old man hummed, then crossed his arms to his chest. He then stated, "I understand they're also going to be delivering some new vehicles built in the factories they have up above, not to mention reinforcing our FOB with a few buildings of their own."
"The next San Magnolia supply drop may get them to reconsider that... It's supposed to come in within two days," Shin replied calmly.
"Nah," The UNSC Engineer replied, grinning, "Command won't back down... And some of our boys will probs rough up the Alba if they even so much think of speaking about us to their higher echelons of command..."
"Well," Lev snorted, "That's bound to be fun to watch."
Shin sighed, then nodded to them and excused himself, only watching as two others from their ranks dismounted from their Juggernauts, smiling and laughing together all the while. The Marine Warthog that they'd patrolled with was a Gauss Hog. The Marines greeted the girls with waves of the hand and smiles before stepping out and heading to their barracks.
Outside, the two crews seemed to grow ever closer as far as comrades went. Daiya and Anju had, after the football game, taken to walking together and watching the Marines fixing up stuff around the base or just shooting the shit. Watching a Marine helping one of their other comrades haul something off of one of the other Pelicans in the place. Anju smiled, then said, "It's good to see them getting acclimatized."
"I'd be surprised if they didn't. Half our squadron welcomed them with open arms," Daiya replied, smiling too, "The other half liked them the moment the new foodstuff came in. MREs and the likes," He then quipped, garnering a chuckle out of the girl. A few of the Marines that were passing by gave the blonde boy their approval in the form of grins and raised thumbs.
"You always think about the food," She spoke softly.
"Can you blame me?" He shrugged, "Who knew tuna in a can was that tasty?"
"Heheh..." She chuckled. The two paused as they watched Kurena chasing their little cat around. The small creature had white paws and legs, with the rest of the fur on its body being a pure black. Its eyes glowed amber as it stopped to look at them, before bouncing out of the way of a tailing Kurena just as the girl pounced to catch her, causing the most childlike teen of their squadron to land face-first on the tarmac.
The two chuckled, then walked up to her to assist her.
Lecca and Haruto also walked together, with the former humming a song that she'd heard the Marines singing a while ago, her towel draped over her shoulders and her jacket tied around her waist. The two walked without saying a word to each-other, all the while Haruto was bouncing around, grinning ear to ear as he watched their comrades go about their business as well. The Marines had gotten closer to Spearhead Squadron's remaining Processors, some of the veterans seemingly becoming like parental figures to many members of the unit.
Summer in this part of the world was always hot, Lecca thought as she wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead. She then watched Myna, another one of their comrades and a close friend, step out onto the Tarmac and look at the sky, squinting. Lecca elbowed Haruto, then showed him to follow. The two marched up to Myna and stared up as well.
"What's going...?" Lecca started just as she saw the faintest of black dots in the sky.
Then a dozen transport ships broke through the clouds. Heavy UNSC craft moved in with what looked to be the parts to a series of modular military bases. With automated construction devices seemingly strapped to the bottoms, the UNSC Firebases were deployed by their massive, four-engine carriers just beside the tarmac, digging themselves into place and apparently deploying members of what the UNSC called the 'Construction Battalions' or SeaBees in for work.
The massive constructs of concrete were somehow safely deliverable through orbital drop ships the size of houses. That was the most surprising fact of the matter. Not the modularity, not the fact that they were practically burrowing underground to create an intricate series of tunnels, it was the fact that the UNSC had decided to finally deploy these FOBs out into the field.
Shin approached Lecca, Haruto and Myna, watching as the aircraft touched down and linked the two pieces of the first Firebase together before departing back into orbit. He hummed, watching as the SeaBees and several Marines rushed to continue the construction of the seemingly highly-important complex just as the Lieutenant of the Engineer corps appeared to their right and stated, "Command's finally decided to give green light for the deployment of Firebases onto the planet. Each Eighty-Six squadron FOB will be expanded with underground facilities based on UNSC designs and fortified in case of attempted Legion attacks."
"... Well, that's a bit sudden," Lecca remarked, "How come nobody let us know about this?" she then inquired.
"The Admiral said she'd contact you the moment the last of the tests for the Para-RAID's shipboard links were completed," The man offered, shrugging, "I assume she'll fully brief you and major Milizé when she's going to be calling. The UNSC line can tap into Republic com links directly, so it should be easy to patch in and talk to the group on the nightly call y'all seem to have."
"I see..." Shin hummed.
"What'll be next on the agenda after the FOBs are set up?" Haruto raised a brow.
"They have the ability to produce equipment and even vehicles, if need be, provided we can get the supplies," The Engineer explained, "Not to mention we would more easily receive supplies from upstairs with the pads that can be constructed as sections within the base's limited number of pads," and he looked to the Marines as they continued their work. He hummed, then added, "Not to mention it'd be a useful lab if tecchies ever wanna come downstairs to study the Legion proper..."
"Provided any of them remain whole when we fight them," Lecca offered, grinning.
The man nodded, then looked to Shin and said, "Don't worry, captain. The Firebases will provide the UNSC the groundside basis for the deployment of all available assets to assist the Eighty-Six in the war to reclaim the Sector and keep the Legion back. We'll be with you every step of the fight from now henceforth, what with the new communication devices we got."
"I understand," Shin nodded, still somewhat skeptical, "What kind of vehicles could we see deployed?"
"Experimentals, I'd say..." The Engineer hummed, "Rumor has it that command is preparing some heavier artillery to be spread out among the units. Five-cannon batteries and the likes for close-range and counter-battery support... By the way, we appreciate the reports on the known Legion types and their weaknesses. It's good to know how to prepare in countering enemy artillery like the Skorpions..."
"Funny name, ain't it?" Haruto smirked, "Your tanks were named the same, right?"
"Yeah. M808B MBTs are nicknamed Scorpions, alright," The man smirked, "But they're written accurately on the reports and on the files. And they actually look like the damn bugs."
"Hah," Haruto laughed, with Lecca crossing her arms to her chest and shaking her head. Myna, meanwhile, seemed enamored with the deployment and construction of the FOB. That such modularity existed in the UNSC's arsenal to allow them to deploy a fully-built forward operations base on the planet was nothing short of incredible. Shin had to admit that, even with any kind of motive behind their work, the UNSC committing so many resources to helping them was incredibly welcome.
He blinked, his mind flashing back to those he had had to put down with his pistol, his hand caressing the reinforced holster on his thigh and causing some clear unease among those present. He sighed deeply, squelching any thoughts of the ones he had had to 'put into the ground' as their 'Reaper', then excused himself and left for the base. The voices of the Legion sounded in his ears, still. And he said he'd reveal that he could hear them. He would do so tonight, at the chat.
Sighing, he entered the building. It was a week or two before the Revolution Festival, he recalled. He wondered if the Major was going to go to any sort of party. He remembered faintly the day he'd gone to see fireworks with his brother, before squelching that thought as well. He wondered, instead, what kind of artillery the UNSC would bring into the fold as he entered the base, heading for the kitchen.
There, he found Raiden, working on a soup made from what was once a canned whole chicken. Shin took a moment to himself to ponder how in the hell does one can a chicken, but then left it as it was, seeing as the bird had been carved and all that was left on the board were two wings, two breasts, two thighs and two drumsticks. Bones and less meat-filled, but more fat-heavy sections of the bird had been dropped into a pot of salted, boiling water alongside vegetables like carrots, onion and the likes.
"Yo," Raiden waved as he stirred the large pot's contents, which looked like it could feed an entire battalion. Shin guessed that was the plan, considering their not-so-new-anymore arrivals. He spoke calmly, "The Marines eat like damn hogs... Half this thing's gonna go to First Platoon, since they're the ones being fed today. I swear, if they gave me a couple more cooks, we could feed the entire base fresh food."
"I take it the supplies they're sending in are coming in handy?" Shin inquired, leaning against the counter in front of the kitchen.
"For canned food, the stuff ain't half-bad," Raiden remarked, smirking, "Still, I've never heard of someone canning a whole rotisserie chicken, but... I guess you make do?"
"I'm going to presume they need non-perishables for however long their trips through space take," Shin remarked, his thoughts wandering yet again to the same subject as before:Why would a space-faring version of humanity even bother coming to their aid? Much more, what could warrant such a massive force deployment from across their interstellar empire?
He'd have to ask around. The Marines may answer him, so he thought.
"You doing okay, Shin?" His XO asked, gazing upon the thinking boy with a concerned raise of the brow, "I've seen you giving less-than-pleasant stares to the Marines at times..."
"Caught me red-handed on that one, huh..." He murmured.
"Yeah," Raiden remarked, "You still don't trust them?"
"It's hard to, without more tangible evidence of what they say. Theo's camp could've been a political ruse... Even Shiden's letter could be..." Shin sighed.
"Skepticism's really gone of the rails, huh?" Raiden raised a brow at his friend. It was eerily concerning to see Shin like this. Sure, maybe the new 'voices' of the Legion were getting to him, but that was another matter entirely. The UNSC had, so far, proven to be quite openly friendly toward them and understanding of their plague, of the war they were forced to fight. Raiden, even though he'd learned to trust Shin's gut long ago, just couldn't on this one.
He wasn't going to say it to the brooding boy's face, of course, but the fact was that Shin was overthinking this way too hard. He'd have expected Theo to be the conspiracy nut among the group, but even he took in the UNSC with open arms after they'd... Well, really, after that girl, Mary, came around at first, then he learned to care for them as comrades in arms the moment they evacuated his camp to the ships up above.
Shin hummed, then stated, "Yes... It's gone off the rails..." before straightening up, "I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now... No point in seeing enemies everywhere..."
"Heh. Atta, boy," Raiden noted, before turning back to the soup and tasting it. He hummed, narrowed his lips and gave an approving nod. He spoke afterward, "For canned chicken... Tastes decent."
"Hm," Shin snorted, "Thanks, Raiden. I'll wait for the lunch bell to ring," and he straightened up, turning to leave. Going out the front door of the building once more, the man regarded the arrival of the UNSC Firebase's other modules with somewhat vested interest. Automatic turret systems were being deployed, seemingly fitted for anti-armor defense, with TOW ATGMs mounted in tubes on each side of a three-gun system with an optical single-eye down the center.
The tall stalks had three heavy-duty machine cannons mounted in a triangle around the optics and sensors suite of the turret itself. They were armored up, too, meant to tank a lot of fire. In fact, if Shin looked better at the two mounted weapons flanking the Optic, they weren't machine-guns. They were lower caliber railguns designed for anti-armor operation. The smallest gun sat at the bottom and it was a 12,7mm machine gun.
Several more of these gun turrets were being installed, it seemed, with the most important structures of the Firebase already being activated, such as the supply pad onto which transports would bring everything from spare parts to ammunition once more, not needing to rely on the airstrip of the base as much for the deployment of their supply craft. It was interesting to see a military force fully deploying its assets as it was, honestly.
More Marine engineers arrived to help build up the station and its defenses. Before long, Shin was looking at about a hundred engineers and specialized machines that had been dropped off to build the Firebase completing their work. The snap-crack of an aircraft exiting mach popped in above them, then roared. They watched another Pelican swinging in for landing, its hind engines powering to the maximum to slow down the craft's descent, its bow scarred by carbon burns after re-entry.
Shin hummed, then walked toward its landing spot and watched it drop off another box of supplies. It hovered over the tarmac for a bit, before boosting its engines and lifting off once more, high into the sky. Shin soon realized that much of his crew got used to the presence of the UNSC and their actions, such as air-based resupply and the deployment of aircraft, even through the San Magnolia radars.
He hummed, then stopped and listened. Faint voices in the distance. They'd be here by nightfall, he presumed. Right now, he'd need to ready up.
Theo and Mary watched as Shin moved back toward the hangar, with the girl remarking, "He's something, ain't he?"
"He's our Reaper," He smiled sadly.
"I heard you folks called him that... It because of the Undertaker emblem?" She inquired, crossing her arms to her chest.
"No," He shook his head, then looked to her and said grimly "Shin's gonna have to brief you folks and the Major about a few things on the Legion for you to understand why his personal name is 'Undertaker'. It's a bit... FUBAR is the term you folks use," before the lunch bell rang. He smirked, then said, "Alright, lunch time! Let's go!" with the most jovial of attitudes. The girl chuckled, then looked to see some of the Marines joining alongside Theo's squadron-mates, all of them moving to the mess hall of the FOB.
And to the scent of chicken soup.
UNSC Serene Mind Medbay
The planet that was the home of mankind for so long floated in space, lit only by the warm light of the star it called its home. Miko, still woozy from whatever had happened to her, looked out the window at the shimmering blue gem that had been her home planet for all her life and she figured she must've been tripping, or dead, because there was no way she was seeing that.
"Woah..." She murmured, her gaze looked at the glittering orb and the sea of stars beyond it.
"Beauty, ain't it?" She heard a voice. With a yelp, the girl turned to see an elderly woman clad in a white dress uniform standing in the doorway to her small room. The two shared a few facial features that denoted they were probably the same subgroup of humans, but alas. The woman approached her and said, "How are you feeling, ensign Miko? I understood from the shipboard physician that the damage was... Extensive..."
"I..." She paused, "You're... The Admiral, right?"
"Eiko Nakano, yes." She nodded, "So? How are you? Any pain?"
Miko shook her head as she felt her right leg with her hand. She gasped, feeling bandages placed over it below the blanket, then she looked at herself. Clad in a white medical gown, the girl found herself in the medical bay of the ship. Sterile white tiles shined under recessed LEDs that beamed down from the ceiling. The window of the medical bay was many inches thick, reinforced, it seemed. Several other beds lay in a row with hers, to her right. She saw other kids being checked up, ranging from nine-year-olds that were once in the camps to people her own age that had been hurt by the Alba's experiments.
She had a few machines and devices stuck to her, as well as an IV Drip which fed through a port in her left hand a clear liquid. She tried to bend her left knee and felt it was normal, even saw it rising with the white blanket she wore. She then tried to lift her right leg and, to her surprise, it, too, lifted the white cloth. A faint pain shot through the calf. She looked over to the Admiral, who simply smiled at her, waiting to see... Something... Clearly.
Slowly lifting the blanket, the girl gasped...
Smooth metal mimicked the shape of a lower right leg and attached to a reinforced ball joint where her knee had once been. The prosthetic limb had white plates surrounding what looked to be artificial muscle that connected through specialized ports in the main joint to her own muscles and acted as her normal muscles would. The only things separating this leg from a real human one's function were the metal plates in place of skin and the lack of opposable toes on the foot-shaped plate that would allow her to walk.
"Like it?" The woman inquired, raising a brow, "Doctors figured that a girl your age should be able to live her life unimpeded by the damage she took while fighting alongside our own. It's a prototype prosthetic limb made out of titanium plating and it's semi-powered, so it's not a pain to lift. The musculature's made from carbon fiber weave that allows electric signals to travel through it, telling it when it should bend, move, things like that. It's also got actuators to boost movement, so if you ever feel the need to kick someone or something..."
"... Why...?" The girl could only ask, looking up at the woman.
"They care," Her closest bunkmate offered. A young woman was laying back against her pillow, one of her arms set in a cast. She was a Pyrope, seeing as she had blood-red hair and irises. She was an Eighty-Six like her and her file, on the right side of her bed, read her name, 'Samantha Irons'. Miko knew Sam. They'd been in the same damn camp before they were deployed...
"Hey, Sam..." She waved awkwardly, still dumbfound.
"Nice to see ya, Mik... We good?" She raised a brow.
"Yeah... I'm just..." She looked around the medbay once more, laying eyes upon fellow Eighty-Six soldiery, some of which had also lost limbs in combat. Arms and legs, replaced by steel and fake flesh. Some of the kids, members of other squadrons that had run-ins with the Legion, waved to her and saluted, smiling. She turned back to the Admiral and asked, "... Why us...?" still dumbfound.
"We don't leave people out to dry, kid," She stated, "Plus, we took a liking to you lot..."
The girl had now noticed she was wearing a com device of some kind on the left side of her face. It was a UNSC Para-RAID Device, from the looks of things. She blinked, then whispered, "How long have I been out...?" before gasping as she remembered her squadron. The Admiral showed her to stay calm, then leaned forward, took her file off the bed and handed her it.
"About four days since you were brought aboard. Corpsmen must've given you an extra-strong dose of Morphine when they pulled you out of your Juggernaut," She offered, crossing her arms to her chest. She hummed as her Para-RAID device winked to life, then tapped it with her fingers and said, "Nakano here... Mhm, yes. Yeah, she's awakened, finally. I'll ask if she wants to, but I'm... Eh, alright, doc, alright," She sighed, exasperated, "Nakano, out..."
The Admiral noticed the girl feel for her own Para-RAID device. She found the ear-cuff exactly where she'd left it, untouched. Nakano hummed, then offered, "Want to test out the new limb? You know, make sure it works as you want it to work? Because our French scientist decided she wants you to come see some of the stuff we've been working on... You know, so you can tell your friends when and if you want to go down."
"... Alright..." She nodded.
"Okay," She nodded, "Take it easy with how you get out of bed."
The girl slowly shifted her legs over the edge, starting with the right. She felt the slight weight increase of the lower half pull the whole limb down somewhat. Gently as she could, she set the flat plate down onto the floor, followed by her natural foot. Nakano approached the girl while Samantha watched, then took the girl's hand and gently helped her off the bed. She stumbled a bit at first, but slowly started to acclimatize.
A smile grew on her face. She laughed and heard the clapping of her fellow Eighty-Sixes, Sam included. The Pyrope girl gave her a thumbs up with her good hand, then said "Baby steps, eh?"
"Hooah," Miko nodded, smiling, "You gonna be alright, Sam?"
"I got some shrapnel in my gut that the docs have to take me into the OR to remove, but I'll be fine otherwise," She replied, "We'll talk more when ya swing back by medical so you can get your final checkup..."
"Yeah," Miko nodded. She looked to the Admiral and said, "Shall we?"
"Get dressed first," The woman smirked, pointing toward the standard-issue UNSC fatigues on the bed. The Admiral pulled some drapes that separated the beds from one-another and let the girl change, powering on her com device as she waited for her to change. She watched the girl step out, clad in UNSC fatigues and wearing boots as well, then hummed, "Outfit fits you, kid."
"Thanks," She nodded, "So... What're we doin'?"
"Follow me," She motioned, "I want to show you what your comrades can expect as far as reinforcements go."
The girl smirked, then turned to wave to her comrades and joined the Admiral. While she was changing, she'd noticed the bandages wrapped around her gut and chest and assumed that the UNSC docs had had to pull some shrapnel pieces out of her, too, unsurprisingly enough. The two marched down one of the massive corridors of the UNSC vessel, passing by the working men and women of the Navy as they coordinated with and talked to each-other, while Marines clad in full BDUs patrolled the many titanium-reinforced walkways. Some of the men and women stopped to salute the two, offering reassuring smiles to Miko and then stepping away.
The Admiral looked to the girl, who was taking in every detail of the ship, from the recessed lighting to the presence of the foreign officers and crew of every race, creed and gender aboard and to the armor plates and different shapes and sizes of the place's walls, the images, the recruiting posters on some of the holographic 'corkboards' and even the different rooms they were passing by, out of which and into which crew walked, doing their daily routine.
Much of the staff around was the medical crew, the girl noticed, meaning they must've been in the ship's medbay still. They passed by a place that had the words 'OPERATING ROOMS' written in bold red above the main door. Inside, doctors clad in tight, sterile uniforms and assistants carrying trays filled with various necessities for ops carted patients in and out of the rooms and prepared for their next work.
One of the patients that were being taken into the first OR was one of the Eighty-Six, from a camp. Her camp. She recognized the young man's face, even with the opaque oxygen mask placed over his face. He disappeared behind the door to the OR just as the two women passed it, too. The Admiral turned to her, then asked, "How does your new leg feel?"
The girl paused, then realized she was walking like she didn't have a hunk of metal and tech strapped to her leg. She hummed, then looked down at it as she walked, watching a leg covered by saggy, khaki combat pants moved as naturally as it had the day before. She hummed, then smiled and said "Like it's my old one, honestly... Did you folks install sensors into these things?"
"No, but I do think that's the pressure you're feeling in your thigh being simulated as a sort of phantom pain... I'm no doctor, though," The Admiral shrugged. The two took a turn to the right and entered a cavernous section of the warship they were on, finding themselves face-to-face with a maglev tram with two cars sitting on a single rail in one of the two stations.
The Admiral said, "This is the Serene Mind's tram system... Should take us across to the Labs quickly."
"Uhm... Right," The girl nodded, hesitant. The Admiral raised a brow and was about to ask what was wrong before the girl's stomach groaned. Embarrassed, Miko wrapped her arms around her belly, to which the Admiral smiled. She led the girl into the tram and set it to depart for the Mess Hall, first things first. The girl needed to eat something right now and the good doctor could wait for a bit.
The tram left the station, with Miko watching as they moved at high speed, past a lot of sections of the ship. Nakano looked over to her, then asked, "How are you feeling? It must be odd, to see your world like that... From up above."
"Heh," She nodded awkwardly, "Yeah, it's... Awe-inspiring... Not to mention what you folks are doing... I... I didn't get to thank any of you."
"It's fine, Miko," The woman replied calmly, "We're here to care for you and your kin, like we promised."
The girl chuckled, then said, "We appreciate the thought, but... Just as an FYI, we're all fighting still."
"A few of the civilian Eighty-Six we brought aboard told me as much," She nodded, "That it's a matter of pride for your kind to fight at this point and that you will, until you either win or die," and she sighed, leaning against her seat in the tram. She stated, "We understood that when we told one of your friends, Samantha, that we were planning to bring every single able-bodied Eighty-Six up here, too, for their safety. Hell, I think we subconsciously understood it when we started deploying our troops to assist you lot."
"I wouldn't be surprised, ma'am," She replied, "We give off the vibe of the scrawny rebel underdogs..."
"Well, you just got a massive set of reinforcements for 'scrawny underdogs', my girl," She smirked. The tram slowed to a crawl, then stopped at the crew deck. The woman stood to her feet and showed her little Protégé to follow. Once the two entered the first section of the crew deck, they were met by the sight of Eighty-Six, teenage and kids alike, eating at the mess's tables with the crew and soldiery.
"Ah, looks like the ladies and gents found the mess... C'mon, let's go get you something to eat," She offered, Miko following close behind. Once the crew noticed the Admiral, there was a cry announcing her presence and Miko gasped as she saw the hundreds of UNSC Personnel stand to their feet and turn to salute her. She saluted in kind, then barked, "At ease! Back to what you were doing, ladies and gentlemen! I'm just doing a tour with miss Miko over here, so she can get some food."
The soldiers nodded, smiling, while some of the Eighty-Six in the mess waved at Miko. She responded in kind, still dumbfound by the sheer size and the presence of the people around her. As the two went to the buffet and retrieved trays, the Admiral had asked Miko to pick what she'd want to eat. The girl awkwardly replied that whatever the Admiral would be best for her healing body would do, so, the girl now had a beef hamburger and fries on her tray, with a cool soft drink.
Sitting herself down with some of the other officers at the behest of the Admiral, the girl was met by the Squadron leader of Sledgehammer. The young man was missing an eye from the combat, a piece of shrapnel having struck him during the operation. He smiled at Miko, then said, "Didn't know we'd be getting a member of Brísingamen up here... Last we heard half of your squad was wiped."
"We lost two more and I was injured, so no, not wiped..." She replied awkwardly, then bumped her knuckles against her new metallic leg twice, two clanks echoing from under the table.
The young man hummed, then said, "Damn. They dragged you outta there, though..."
"They did," She smiled, "UNSC Corpsmen, as they're called."
"Saved my ass, too, despite not having a damn com device... They drove all the way to us and pulled me outta my Juggernaut, then drove me back home while the others staved off what was left of the Legion's small incursion," He explained calmly, tending to a haphazard pile of spaghetti and red sauce on his tray, "One more of us didn't make it, but she got pasted by a hundred-twenty millimeter round from a Löwe."
"Shit luck for the Legion, then," The girl remarked, grinning.
"Yeah, tell me about it," He chuckled.
"I think I'm gonna need an explanation for why it's bad luck the Legion scored a direct hit on one of yours," The Admiral seemed somewhat dumbfound, then added, "But I guess I'm going to get those answers tonight, when entering the chat with the Major and Spearhead Squadron, so, don't spoil it for me," She then smirked. The Captain of Sledgehammer laughed, then nodded approvingly.
"Gotta admit, I like the UNSC. If anything, you folks are as crazy as us... The hell drove you to be like this, anyway?" He raised a brow.
"Long story, Black Bird. We'll prepare a briefing package if our Marines don't tell your people about it first," She remarked, taking her own burger into her hands and taking a hearty bite out of it, sauce spilling onto the tray and onto some of the fries. Miko watched the woman eat and just realized she'd removed her white jacket as not to stain it, leaving herself only in a black undershirt.
"Fair enough..." The man nodded, then paused.
The hard slamming of boots on metal floors echoed from the hallways, followed by heavy, hearty voices singing in a foreign language, growing louder and prouder as they approached the mess. The Admiral smirked, while some of the Marines around let out chortles and muffled laughter from full mouths. The Admiral had known they'd be reorganized, but she didn't think they'd take to this formation so easily.
Za Seregu iz Ryazani, Za Kolyana iz Permi, Nasha pamyat', nashi rany… Slysh', bratok, na grud' primi!
Clad in black uniforms, although lacking the heavy-duty armor that separated them from the run-of-the-mill Marine on the ship, with cocked blue berets on their heads and emblems pinned to their black shirts which spelled the initials of their force, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers marched onto the deck, a company's worth of them, led by none other than Major Volkov in their song.
Pod pyzhukhoyu — tel'nyazhka, Pod tel'nyazhechkoy — zheton. My po krugu p'yem iz flyazhki Za desantnyy batal'on!
"Who are they?" 'Black Bird' asked, leaning back.
"Trinadastaya brigada Udarnykh Voysk Orbital'nogo Desantirovaniya," The Admiral spoke, her Japanese accent somewhat getting in the way of the pronunciation of the name of the unit, but she quickly translated, "The Thirteenth Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Brigade. Our reorganized air assault force on board the UNSC Serene Mind. Feet First into Hell, rifles in hand and smiles on their faces."
The Major noticed the Admiral and gave her a salute, his face still scarred by the encounter with the Legion. She saluted back, nodding to the man as they passed through the mess hall and toward the trams, taking one that was going to the ODST deck, where their pods were. They must've used the other mess hall while this one was occupied. There was no distinction between the officers and grunts here.
"Orbital..." Both Miko and Black Bird repeated, dumbfound.
"They drop with pods made of metal from orbit to kick ass planetside," The woman smirked as she took a sip of her own drink, a hot coffee, as the two kids stared at her with wide-eyed looks. The UNSC was beyond the point of crazy right there. Sure, Miko had heard quips and jokes about the UNSC's forces being elites, hell, even rumors of letters now being available for the Eighty-Six to send between the squadrons.
She never thought, though, that the rumors of suicidal bastards dropping into Hell in nothing but tin eggs would be real...
The little revelation caused the meal between the officers and Ensign to go by much more quickly and silently as they all focused on eating. Following that, the Admiral and Miko once again departed on another tram toward the ship's hangars. As they rolled ever-forward, Miko looked at the Admiral now, noticing the woman had a handgun on her person, a high-caliber pistol like those the Marines had. Self-defense was important to these folks, huh?
"Where to next?" She inquired.
"Hangars, like I said... I want you to see what we've got coming in to reinforce you and your people next, girl," She smirked.
The hangars themselves were massive. Big enough to fit the gathering Marine units, the transport birds that were being utilized to ferry stuff to the planet and several vehicles that were neatly lined up. At first, Miko thought they were like the Scorpions that the UNSC Marines had shown them pictures off, but then she saw them. Three sets of tracks interposed over one-another, a very intricately-designed turret with a very strange-looking cannon mounted inside and heavy armor. They resembled the Scorpions slightly, but...
"Beauties," The Admiral remarked with a smile, "We found these files on an old ONI Computer system we have aboard. They were behind lock and key, but thanks to the fact I'm part of the Admiralty, we were able to unlock and read them. They were blueprints... For possibly one of the most dangerous guns we could deploy to assist. Miko, say hello... To the UNSC's M145D Rhino self-propelled two-mode artillery gun."
"... Artillery...?" She looked back, "As in actual guns with range...?"
"Yeah," She nodded, "Several kilometers range, plasma ammunition. Should burn through the Legion mighty nice. They can act either as tank destroyers when not deployed, or as actual heavy artillery pieces for supporting frontline troops from the rear. The first batch rolled off the assembly lines today, but we're limited on resources for now... Our main objective is gonna be gathering raw materiel."
"Ah..." She stared on, dumbfound, at the machines being tended to by the UNSC's Engineers.
The Admiral stood up and approached the window through which the girl was looking just as the tram stopped. Other machines were also being verified down below, including modified Pelicans and dumb bomb payloads for their Longsword bombers, just in case they needed to make a carpet bombing run later on without needing to rely on anything that the mayflies would jam.
Still, that wasn't the only thing they were here to see.
Exiting the Tram with the girl in tow, the two came upon the sight of a bunch of soldiers clad in heavy armor training. A sixth of Gamma Company had once stood in this hangar, undergoing their SPARTAN-IIs' rigorous selection process to become part of GRAY Team. Now, there were only four members of the company's contingent left in the training. They were in a two-on-two hand-to-hand fight under Jai's supervision.
The Admiral spoke, "At ease, continue as you are," as she approached Jai and the Spartans, to let them keep up the fight. She turned, with Miko at her side, to watch the two teams fighting together. She raised a brow at Jai, then asked, "Scimitar team? That's all that's left?"
"Hardiest group of four... Part of me's considering letting them all in, provided we have enough MJOLNIR sets," He replied, "Adriana also concurs. Michael's not so sure about it, but... Look at them..." And he motioned to the kids as they threw strikes and punches that shook the very floor they and their new compatriots were on. Miko watched, awed, as the unarmored young men and woman fought each-other, tooth and nail, cooperating with their partner as they tactically feinted and struck at openings that their comrades quickly covered up and countered.
"She one of the Eighty-Six, ma'am?" The man asked, looking over at the young girl.
"Yes. Miko. Callsign Odin. She's from the first squadron we sent the testbed Para-RAID Devices to... Said devices look like they may've been part of the reason she's walking today," She explained, crossing her arms to her chest. She watched Scimitar Lead knock out Three with a haymaker, before parrying a long-winded, tired strike from Four and grab his arm. He jumped, dragging his team lead to the floor and kicking up into Two's face, sending him staggering back and out of the 'ring' that had been drawn with chalk around the combative Spartans.
Lead grabbed Four by the arms, pulling him close and slamming his forehead against his teammate's nose. The boy was staggered just enough for Lead to sweep underneath his legs and knock him off balance, before putting an elbow in front of the boy's throat. Miko blushed as she saw the young man that was Scimitar's TL, grin at his comrade. Four laughed, then said, "Hell of a fight, Matt," as his friend pulled him to his feet.
"Sorry, I may've made you uglier," Matt quipped, grinning.
"Him?" Two inquired with a whine and a thick Russian accent, holding his bloody nose in place as he stumbled toward them, "What about me?"
"I forgot we're still wearing steel-toed boots when out of armor, Borya, sorry," Laughed Four, watching as Three stumbled into a seated position, eyes wide. She blinked, rubbing her face, then looked up at her TL and lifted a single digit in an archaic, if a bit rude of a gesture. Matt chuckled, then grabbed the girl's hand and hefted her to her feet, while Four noted, "Oh, come off it, Sue. He could'a done worse."
"Not the point, James," The girl rubbed her cheek, then cocked her jaw, "Shit, boss... You got a mean right hook..."
"And you kick like a goddamn mule, Sue, so stop whining. Pretty sure one of my ribs is cracked," The boy laughed, then turned to the Admiral and the Spartan-II and saluted. His team lined up to his right, all of them bruised and bloody, but all of them wearing smiles on their faces as they, too, saluted. Jai, though his arms were crossed, gave an approving nod.
He leaned to the Admiral, then spoke, "They ain't Twos like us by a long shot, but they can fight... And the TL is smart..."
"Guess you'll get to test them soon enough," She stated, then saluted back and said, "At ease, Spartans... Good fight."
"Thanks, ma'am!" Chorused the boys and girl.
"So... Spartan, did you pick?" She turned to Jai, watching as his teammates joined him from farther away in the hangar. He looked to them, receiving a nod from Adriana and a more hesitant approval in the form of a weak thumbs up from Michael. He nodded to the woman, giving her reason to smile as she turned to the Spartans. The young girl beside her was still locked on the TL, a handsome young lad with jet-black hair and azure eyes, as well as a hardy military man's smile.
"I'm not going to lie," Jai started, somewhat surprising the kids, "You four surprised me. Out of all of ONI's new toys, I didn't think I'd see the S-IIIs fighting this balls-to-the-wall, especially against fellow team-mates. I can guess you have a bit of a taste for blood, all of you, and your combat skills and endurance have proven themselves to be quite... Adequate for our job."
"Sir," Matt nodded, "Thanks, sir... But..."
"IF you're about to say 'but there's only going to be three of us joining you', well," He smirked, watching as the kids tensed, hopeful eyes staring at him. it was his pride to say, "You're in luck... Your latest performance has somehow gotten the rest of my team and the Admiral to agree that we'd need all four of you to maintain efficiency in this team... Welcome to Gray, kids."
The four-person team smiled broadly, beaming and patting each-other on the back as the Admiral stepped up and stated, "I'd suggest reporting to the Nowhere to Run. They're carrying a shipment of MJOLNIR Armor meant to be for spare parts, though the UNSC has so many redundancies for the damn things... I'm sure they can spare them for a bit more wetwork-oriented groups."
"Oh, hell yes!" Sue grinned, "Finally! I told you, lads!"
"I'll admit, you were right," Laughed Matt, "Thanks, ma'am, sirs," He nodded to Gray Team.
"Heh, take care of yourselves, kids. And prove to GRAY that they didn't pick you for nothing out of the entire lot," She stated, then looked to Miko. The girl's cheeks were a healthy red color as she stared at Matt, the Admiral noticed. She chuckled to herself, then walked with Miko out of the place while the girl still looked at the boy. He, too, turned from the celebration for a moment and noticed Miko. Offering the girl a smile, the young man caused her heart to skip a beat, which the Admiral noticed. She rolled her eyes, smiling.
Entering the Tram once more and heading for Medical, the Admiral asked, "So... Fancy any one of them?" so suddenly, Miko stumbled hard enough for her to think the tram had braked. The woman giggled, then teased like a mother would, "By god, are kids easy to read nowadays... You liked the Lieutenant, then. I can't blame you, Matthew always looked like he would've been one of the popular boys at school..."
"... Admiral... Please..." Miko whined, covering her face with her hands, "I can't believe I'm that obvious..."
"Girl, I've been where you are," Nakano laughed, "Every single adult has been in the place of the child at times, no matter how much you think we couldn't have been..." And she sighed, pushing herself back into her seat. Miko peeked at the woman from between her fingers, her face still a healthy shade of red, much like her hair. The Admiral sighed, then pulled out a packet of something and handed a strip of it to the girl. She said, "It's gum. I tend to chew it when I'm out of sight. Helps calm the nerves."
The girl gently took the strip of gum and peeled away the wrapper, taking the gum and starting to chew down on it. She breathed in and out, feeling the minty taste of the item imbue her tastebuds and slowly calm her down. She blinked, then looked to the Admiral again as the woman carelessly chowed down on the thing, of course, without swallowing. She heard gum was pretty bad if it got stuck in your system. Sighing, the girl let the trip back to medical pass without any further conversation, content to keep it that way and chewing on her own thoughts as much as she was on the minty strip of gum.
She'd seen her own being treated better here than ever before. She'd seen her planet below. Hell, she'd seen enough for her to tell her friends tales for a few days. She'd have to ask to take pictures or something so she could bring them back downstairs and talk with Shiden. She was sure the girls and boys were probably worried about her... That or the UNSC kept in touch with them.
"Oh, right..." The Admiral hummed, then extended the girl a holo-device and said, "Your comrades told me they wanted to send you a few messages, though it's captain Iida reading them," and watched her take it, surprised. She smiled, then said, "It's good to know your friends care about you, Miko. If you folks have to fight... I'd rather you people be close to each-other. And to our own, but that goes without saying..."
"Mhm..." She nodded, "Thank you..."
"No problem, kiddo," The woman nodded as the tram came to a stop. She spoke, "Guess this is your stop. I'll be on the bridge. Send for me if you need anything else..."
"I will... And... With what I'm seeing, Admiral? I think our folks already like you plenty," She smiled warmly, "So don't worry. We'll all be just fine..."
"Hah... Happy to hear, kid..." She noted, watching her disembark from the vehicle and walk back toward medical. She called out, "Hey!" causing her to turn around, then grinned and said, "Matt's gonna be groundside, in case you were worried you are not going to meet him again!" and let out a laugh as she saw the girl's face go completely red. Thumbing the button to head for the bridge, the Admiral was content.
Miko sighed, meanwhile. Should've expected it...