A/N: Who's back from the dead? This guy! I would like to apologize for the massive fucking delay, but not only did I have writer's block, but I also got a new job and that prevented me from actually writing as much. Double fucked. Updates will be slow up until around January or so, and they'll begin to pick up a lot more frequently.

Also, Agent Reach is officially over four years old!

*Chapter 55*

Reach frowned while he slid round after round into the magazines for his Sniper Rifle. Despite them having a semi-decent plan even with a significant lack of intel, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, and it wasn't because the Pelican dropship was currently on autopilot and inbound to a position a few hundred meters southeast of the dig site.

It was the feeling he had of walking into an ambush.

"Hey, are you okay?" South asked from across the passenger bay. "You look a little tense."

Reach sighed, and he finished loading one magazine. "I just have a feeling this is a trap. I don't like it. Who knew about this excavation site? Who hates Project Freelancer enough to go to the lengths of luring any Freelancer personnel who come within range? Something about this screams, 'personal'."

South frowned, and she was silent for a few seconds before she spoke again. "The only ones who knew were the highest ranking Freelancers, the Counselor, and the Director himself. Whoever it is, they certainly have managed to get their hands on very sensitive data without getting caught for this long. I'm not sure whether or not to be impressed or worried."

"Me neither," Reach agreed with a nod. "Either way, we better be careful on this op; there are way too many things we don't know to be reckless. Play it by the plan."

"Don't worry." South smirked, sliding on her helmet. "I'll make sure Mr. Swish over here doesn't wet his panties."

"Hey!" Tucker protested. "I'm not the one acting all paranoid. That's this fucker. Did you kill anyone who now has a jilted ex-lover in the past few months?"

Reach stopped, and he narrowed his eyes. 'Surely it can't be him? But we haven't seen him since the raid on the Insurrection stronghold on Longbeach.'

"South, what's the probability of the Insurrection's leader being involved in this?" he asked.

"I'd say…pretty fucking high, now that I think of it," she replied. "Think about it; we never got CT's armor, and she stole how many terabytes worth of sensitive data about the project? I bet you anything she handed the data over to the rebellion's leader the minute she could, probably after you delivered the fatal blow and they escaped. Fast forward a few months, and while you are busy hunting down the Meta, the rebellion decides to initiate a revenge plot against you. They take out the excavation team thanks to the data they have, and broadcast a fake signal on the Freelancer band."

Reach let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. "You know, if that came from anyone who isn't a former member of Freelancer, I'd order them to be put in the psychiatric ward in a heartbeat. But being a paranoid government sanctioned sociopath was probably one of the requirements to be selected for the project."

"And now I'm suddenly reminded why I've started to keep my sword under my pillow," Tucker muttered.

"Oh please," South said with a scoff. "If we wanted to kill you, we'd have done it by now. You're actually pretty valuable."

"Really?" Tucker asked hopefully. "You think I'm worthy of the team?"

"No, but you do have a ten thousand dollar bounty on you for having an alien child," Reach deadpanned. "If we ever run out of food, I'm sure we could just trade you in and be set for the next thirty years."

Tucker let out a sigh and hung his head dejectedly. "There it is. I knew I should've just kept my mouth shut. Wait a minute, why the fuck do I have a bounty on me!? It's not like I gave birth to it! It's probably not even mine!"

"The DNA test we did last week says otherwise." Reach rolled his eyes, slapping the next four bullets into an empty magazine. "At least you didn't get knocked up by an alien. I'm sure you know how they reproduce."

"Yeah, by infecting their host with a parasitic embryo." Tucker snorted disdainfully. "I refuse to admit that thing is mine. No fucking way, dude."

"So, you mean to tell me you readily admit Kai is a total whore and she got impregnated by one?" South's eyebrow rose.

"Dude, that's honestly more believable than the truth," Tucker pointed out. The Pelican shuddered a little, a slight adjusting of its course, and he pointed at the former Spartan. "I know for a fact he refuses to admit witnessing Junior's birth."

"And for good reason." He scowled at the simulation trooper. "It shouldn't be physically possible. Therefore, I'm decreeing that what I saw was a combination of severe intoxication and lack of sleep."

"Decreeing? Who the fuck died and elected you emperor?"

"I elected myself. So suck it up, Private Bitch." South laughed at Reach's response, as did Tucker.

Even though they were about to execute a mission that was sure to be fraught with danger, it felt good to get a few laughs out beforehand.

Reach stepped up from his seat, sliding his helmet on and slapping a fresh magazine into his rifle. "Alright, Team A. Get your helmets on; we're in for a rough drop off."

The plan was to let the Pelican go ahead on auto-pilot until it was just above the temple, but before that, Team A would jump and let it go unmanned. If this was in fact an ambush as Reach suspected, their attackers would shoot the empty dropship down. It would be a pity to see a piece of equipment get destroyed in such a manner, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

"Mark!"

"Sync!"

South, Reach, and Tucker leapt out the back of the Pelican, and the vehicle soared overhead before it was met by an energy mortar from a Wraith. The dropship exploded in bits, and Reach gave South a nod. "Alright, it looks like they're hostile." 'Just like I suspected. This is an ambush, but is it the Insurrection? Or possibly Covenant?'

Either way, there was a functioning Wraith, and it meant this would be a lot more difficult. Even the MJOLNIR armor wasn't enough to survive a blast from the tank's energy mortar, let alone Freelancer armor. 'One of us will have to get in and take it out.'

"Dude, please tell me you have a plan," Tucker whispered to his right. "Preferably one that doesn't involve me being blown up."

Reach felt one of the three grenades on his belt, and he handed his rifle to South. "I'll take it out. I can use my av-cam to slip undetected and plant a grenade or two in. Wait for my signal."

"Got it." South nodded and took the rifle. "We got your ass."

Reach activated his invisibility and started to creep towards the source of the blast. He doubted the Wraith was foolish enough to stay in one place, though he secretly wished the driver was an idiot; he was long overdue for some good luck.

He passed by the flaming ruins of the Pelican, the flames slowly dying down. The dropship was nothing more than a molten slag of twisted metal, and Reach was thankful he made the call to jump out. if any of them had been in there, they'd have been disintegrated from the deadly plasma.

The temple was large, with at least three dozen men guarding it. His grip on his BR85 tightened when he recognized the uniforms.

They were Insurrection.

"Careful. Don't do anything rash," Eta warned with a whisper.

Reach regained his composure, and he dropped to a crouch, sneaking his way over to the alien tank. He prepped a grenade, jumped onto the back, and shoved it into the engine compartment before leaping off and rolling into cover. 'Fireworks display in three, two, one…'

He was pretty sure South and Tucker would see his signal.

South looked through the scope of the Sniper Rifle, trying to ignore Tucker constantly bitching about the heat next to her. "Tucker, for the love of God, please shut up." 'Why do we need them alive again?'

'Oh, right. Reach and Maine's orders.'

She bet Tex was having one hell of a time shooting at the Reds and Blues with the paint guns while they were working out, and if it weren't for the fact that the blonde was pregnant, South would be a tad jealous.

"Oh, whatever. You're used to this shit, and you have better equipment," Tucker grumbled. He pulled out his sword, the blade coming to life, and looked over at her curiously. "Hey, what do you think he meant by signal?"

"Dunno. Maybe he'll send up a flare or call us on the COM." South shrugged. Reach had long since vanished thanks to his invisibility, and she was alarmed when she saw the current occupants of the temple. 'It is the Insurrection after all. Looks like we have to take care of old business. Dammit, I was hoping I'd be wrong.'

The Wraith suddenly exploded, sending a large column of blue-white flames high into the sky, and a loud alarm started to sound through the desert.

"…or he could do that." South rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to facepalm. 'Goddammit. And here I was thinking the signal would be nice and quiet, not a giant fucking explosion one could hear from the moon.'

So much for subtlety.

South motioned for Tucker to move up. "It's your turn. Don't worry, I'll cover you." 'Well, looks like being stealthy went out the fucking window. Great start to this op.'

"Am I allowed to commit suicide so I don't have to deal with this bullshit?"

"No. Now get moving before I shoot you in the ass."

Reach sank his knife into the chest of an Insurrectionist, pushing his corpse away. The explosion hadn't been as subtle as he normally would've preferred, but there was no way to complete the op without taking out the Wraith.

It did result in every single guard being alerted, so there was that slight drawback.

Still, with four Freelancers (one of them a Spartan) doing the fighting, the chance of them pulling it off was very much in their favor.

Or at least, so he originally thought.

South was providing covering fire with the Sniper Rifle, but for the most part he was doing most of the fighting. He held his BR tightly and fired at an Insurrectionist on a landing above him, and his body toppled over.

A strange alien vehicle piloted by three sped towards him, and its plasma turret locked onto him before firing.

Reach ducked behind one of the temple's barricades, poking out to fire his rifle at the driver. "South, I'm pinned. What the hell is that thing?"

"It's a Prowler," she replied. "Very maneuverable. The Brutes liked to use them back during the war. Looks like we might have a bit of a jackpot for the jellyfish to play with."

"Does it have a weak spot?" Reach asked, slapping a fresh magazine in. "Apart from the one driving it?"

"Hit it in the front engine," South suggested. "One good shot should disable it."

"Got it." Reach fired, and six bullets hit the Prowler's main engine. The machine stuttered and died much to the occupants' surprise, and he took the opportunity to shoot the gunner in the head. He moved out of cover and fired at the driver and the passenger, both bodies tumbling out into the sand.

"We're clear. Maine, Wash, move up and seize the temple," he ordered before leaping over the disabled Prowler.

"Copy that, Reach. Targets engaged. Let these bastards have it!" Wash yelled, his command punctuated by gunfire.

Reach started to make his way into the temple when someone in brown armor leapt down. The newcomer chuckled, drawing a tomahawk from his back. "So, look who finally shows up after all this time. Did you like my little fake distress call? It worked. It got you here for me, CT, to kill you for what you've done."

Reach recognized the voice. It was the leader of the rebellion, CT's ex. 'Well, shit. Looks like South and I were right about this one.'

"I'm not your enemy," Reach returned, drawing his combat knife and sliding his rifle across his back. "The Director killed CT. If you put down your weapon and surrender peacefully, I can guarantee you safe passage to him." 'It's a long shot. But if this can be settled without bloodshed…'

The rebel leader laughed bitterly and drew a second tomahawk. "Please. Me, work with my girlfriend's killer? I'd rather die."

"I'm all too happy to fulfill that request then."

So much for negotiations.

The two ran towards each other, and Reach's knife met the two heavier blades. He was forced back, and he began to remember just how powerful his enemy was from their fight on Longshore.

He wasn't an easy opponent to defeat thanks to the remarkable endurance he had as a result of his ODST training, and he was exceptional in hand-to-hand combat.

CT slammed a his tomahawk down and Reach stepped over it, leaping behind him and punching him in the back while he struggled to yank his weapon free. He left it in the ground and swung his other at the Spartan in anger.

Reach ducked under the swing and blocked the follow up strike with his robotic arm.

"What the hell?" CT was shocked when he saw his weapon being blocked by a robotic appendage, and Reach took the opportunity to slam his fist into CT's head to knock him back. The rebel stumbled and he spat in anger.

"Surprised?" Reach asked rhetorically. "I managed to pick up a few little upgrades since our last encounter."

"So did I." CT activated a hologram, and Reach's eyes caught the faint flicker of it as both of them charged.

Reach rolled under the deadly swing and reached for his rifle, only to have it shot out of his hand. "Dammit!" 'Son of a bitch. I should've expected that.'

"You're not going to be using any cheap tricks in this one, Reach," CT taunted, holstering his smoking pistol. "Not when I had months to prepare for this day."

'That may be so. But, you didn't count on me having my own upgrades,' Reach thought to himself. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his Promethean Vision would be useless, unless CT killed the lights. His rifle lay on the sandy ground some twenty feet away and when he went to leap towards it, CT threw one of his tomahawks at him. Reach let it spin over him and he rolled to his feet, ready to meet his enemy.

CT activated his hologram again, and Reach was forced to move out of the way again. 'Dammit, if only I had some kind of way to disable it.'

He hated to admit it, but CT was able to push him on the defensive for a considerable amount of time. He only had a knife to deflect the heavier blows, and his rifle was out of his hand.

But another weapon was within reach.

On some sort of alien pedestal nearby was a lone katana. The red blade shone vibrantly, showing no signs of use. It had been awhile since Reach had used one, but he was proficient enough with it to hold off CT's attacks. 'Talk about lucky.'

Reach leapt towards it and yanked it from its resting place, facing CT.

"Finally, a blade-to-blade fight. Just the way I like it." CT chuckled. "This is going to be even more fun than I originally thought. I have to give you credit for not boring me to death."

Reach gripped the sword and swung it, being cool and collected compared to CT's brash and aggressive fighting. He'd use his own style against him. 'He leaves openings in his defense whenever he attacks. Effective, but no real strategy behind it.'

It worked perfectly when combined with his hologram ability, but against someone who spent years studying all forms of combat, the element of surprise was lost shortly.

He blocked a few of CT's heavier hits, shifting his body weight and allowing CT to slide off-balance. Reach took advantage and followed up with a knee to the gut. With CT doubled over and winded, he slammed the handle of his weapon into his back.

The rebel leader fell on his knees, and Reach rested his sword against him. "It's not too late to stop."

CT growled in anger and used his armor ability again to try and catch him off guard. Reach sidestepped, and seeing that he had no other choice, finally sank his blade through CT's chest.

CT sputtered for breath, and he fell to his knees. His helmet came loose, and he laughed bitterly. "Killed by my girlfriend's killer…what a shitty way to go. I'm sorry, Connie. I failed you."

Reach shook his head, removing the sword from his fallen enemy and shaking the blood from it. "No, you didn't fail her. We did. Project Freelancer failed her. We didn't listen to her and thought her a conspiracy theorist. We discovered too late that we were wrong, and she was right. For what it's worth, we're sorry."

CT wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, and he looked up at the former Spartan's golden visor. "I don't like you."

"Understandable."

"I still think you're an asshole."

"I'll let you have that."

"But make me a promise, one soldier to another." CT met his gaze firmly. "Make sure you put a bullet through the Director's head. Not for me, but for what he did to Connie. She deserves far better than to be remembered as a fuckin' traitor."

"I will." Reach nodded. "You have my word."

"Good." CT reached into his armor and pulled out a set of dog tags. "Here. They're Connie's. Keep them, in her memory. I sure as hell won't need them anymore."

He finally succumbed to his wound and sank to the ground. The dog tags fell from his hands, and Reach picked them up. 'Another victim of the Director's ambitions. We didn't mean a damn thing to him. He only gave a shit about himself.'

He put them in his pouch with a heavy sigh, leaning down to activate the failsafe on CT's armor. He may have been a rebel, but he fought for the one most important to him. Reach could respect that.

"Reach, come in. This is Wash."

Reach answered the call. "Read you loud and clear, Team B. What's your status?"

"The temple is clear. All hostiles have been neutralized," Washington reported. "We're picking up something on FLEETCOM. Thought you should hear it. Transmitting now."

A soft pinging played through the speakers of Reach's helmet and he tensed up. He'd recognize it anywhere. It was Noble Team's private code.

Jun was here.

"Team A and Team B, fall back to a position I'm marking on your HUDS," he ordered. "We're about to have company."

"Copy that."

"You got it."

Reach started to make his way outside, feeling hotter than normal thanks to the damn desert. "It's been a long time, Jun…"

A/N: Next up, Jun reunion! Hopefully this won't mean another giant fucking break (I know, feel free to throw shit at me). The idea of Reach using a katana honestly came to me because of Halo 3's Hayabusa armor that has the sword on it. Come on, it's fucking cool and you know it. See you soon!

Discord: C. Strife #5371