++July 23rd, 1200 Hours++

The rest of the fighting is significantly easier. The Spartan… Naomi, is a machine. I don't know what kind of armor they've fitted the Spartans with, but by the looks of it you could fire a tank shell at them and they'd keep going. She doesn't talk much, even in combat. I think she's said maybe… two words since introducing herself? That was about a dozen bodies back. I'm trying to keep up, cover here where I can but at this point it's just like shooting Moa from a dropship. Then it goes wrong.

"Eyes on the final position!" I shout.

I unload a few rounds into one of a group working an industrial welder. They've attached the device to the safe room door and are already making progress. The enemy are taking cover behind another heavy barricade and another chokepoint, but this one lacks a heavy machinegun emplacement so I think we're in the proverbial downslope of this challenge. Naomi charges past me, with Chance and Viking covering her. I hear one of the innie's who must be their leader shouting something about a weapon, and then I see him grab something off the floor before charging to the defensive barrier. The weapon looks like a pod of some kind, bright blue and very… alien. No, it can't be. I raise my weapon, intent on dropping the insurgent before he has a chance to prove me right.

The innie leader grins as my rounds impact a bright blue shield that materialises around him, similar to what Naomi is covered in save for the color. Then he fires. Bright blue bolts of energy rip free, burning the very air around them with heat. I've heard the sound before, and his target is the Spartan. The bolts slam into her with aggressive intent, and for a moment it's a lightshow of gold shielding and blue plasma fire. Then Naomi's shielding fails. She doesn't make a sound, but I see the energy bolt impact just below her breastplate. She hits the ground with a thud, one hand moving to her wound.

I abandon my cover and take aim. I charge forwards and depress the trigger of my M7, determined to fire every last round I've got at the innie leader. The other insurgents are turning their guns on me, but it's too late. If Naomi's shields can be broken, so can yours. I see them flicker, then drop, and the wall of my bullets shreds the enemy leader in an instant. I risk a look at the Spartan. She's moving. Her helmet's unblinking visor is staring at me. I realise my celebration will be brief as I hear Chance shouting at me to take cover. The other innie's aren't broken by their leader's death and the first two rounds of return fire hit my breastplate. The impact puts me on my ass, and another round hits the side of my helmet. The loud bang disorients me and for a moment my HUD is knocked out. This is it. Not a bad death.

A shadow appears, blocking my view. It's the Spartan, crouched down in front of my position like a bunker, her armor absorbing the punishment of the enemies' fire.

"Push forwards!" Chance orders, and the others rush to our aid.

One by one the innie's fall, and then the hallways are quiet. The Spartan rises in front of me and for a moment the image reminds me of the recruitment posters that are responsible for me joining the UNSC in the first place- a lone, battle damaged figure standing amongst total destruction. Naomi wordlessly offers me a hand, and I take it.

"I've got the door." Scratch says, ducking down beside the console.

Wink and Chance have already set up a perimeter, covering the two corridors that lead to the safe room junktion. I grab a nearby pry bar and start the work of getting the welder unit off the door. Weapons fire has damaged it significantly in the battle, and the mag locks that keep it anchored are stuck. "This things are really on there." I say between pulling with all my might and strained breaths. I have a suspicion that I'm not making any progress when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Let me." Naomi says.

I clear my throat and nod, then offer her the pry bar. She shakes her head and simply grabs the entire welding unit in a bear hug. Even Scratch stops working for a moment to watch as the Spartan slowly but surely tares the entire four hundred pound welding unit free from the door and tosses it aside.

"Got it." Scratch says a few seconds later, and the door starts to open.

We all stack up, weapons raised but I quickly see that we were in time. "It's just a bunch of scared eggheads." I say.

"It's alright, we're with the UNSC." Viking says. "ONI." He corrects a moment later, approaching what looks like the lead scientist and putting his weapon down.

The man looks to be in his late sixties, bald, with a ruddy complexion and worried eyes. "Thank you!" He says, shaking Viking's free hand. "I knew ONI would come for us." He's smiling until he notices the Spartan which catches him off guard. But he still seems grateful.

"Viking, escort the scientists to-"

"Just a moment, Sergeant." Naomi cuts in, her voice having a surprising amount of strength behind it despite how quiet it sounded. "Doctor Yaric, do you have the data from the latest round of decryption?"

The doctor looks around, and one of the other scientists nods at him. A smaller man, of thin build and with bright blue eyes produces a chip of some kind and hands it to Doctor Yaric who wastes no time in giving it to Naomi. I see her nod, and take the chip, inserting it into the back of her helmet. "You can go."

"Viking, escort them out for extraction."

"Yes, Sir. Please, follow me Doctor. The rest of you as well. Stay focused on me and we'll have you out of here in no time." Viking ushers them out one by one, and I watch as they disappear down a bend in the corridor.

"This is a covenant plasma rifle." Wink says. I turn to see her crouched over the dead innie leader, examining him with a probing finger. "And this is a covenant personal shield."

Naomi walks over to her position and crouches down next to her. She nods.

"Mind telling us what some random insurgent was doing with tech like that?" Wink presses.

"I don't know." Naomi confesses. I think she sounds honest, but Wink seems less than convinced. Chance is hovering just behind the pair.

"This isn't just an insurgent force, it's one armed with covenant weapons and tech. Who knows what they have access to? And why here? Why this facility?" Wink looks at Chance who shrugs.

"Isn't it obvious?" Scratch asks. "The data." He indicates to Naomi with a shrug of his weapon.

"Well?" Wink states. "What's on the chip?"

Naomi doesn't answer and I'm not sure if it's because she doesn't know, or can't say.

"It doesn't matter why they hit this place, that isn't for us to find out." Chance cuts in. "What does matter is how these innies got their hands on covey tech. Obviously they're shipping it in from off world, right?"

Wink and I both nod in agreement.

"So- scavengers. They get the rifles off the field, and then bring 'em here and arm up the insurgent cells." Chance walks through his reasoning as he paces the corridor.

"Probably more likely to be raided from UNSC shipments." Wink suggests. "Remember Harvest? They were always collecting covey equipment and boxing it up as soon as they could, carting it off to research facilities and the like. Maybe the innies hit one of the ships, or a convoy."

"I have been analysing the identities of the insurgent fighters." Naomi says. "An abnormally large amount are employed at the same shipping depot located in Pálháza."

No one says anything for a moment. It's Chance who breaks the silence. "Then that's our next stop."

"I agree, Sergeant. I have already ordered a Pelican to meet us outside." I see Naomi grab the plasma rifle and mag lock the weapon to her thigh. Then she's walking down the corridor towards the exit. Wink stands up and gives Chance a look. He shrugs and turns to follow the Spartan.

"Move out, Kilo-Five." He says. "Viking, get the civvies prepped for extraction, and then get ready yourself. We're going to Pálháza."

"Pelican is already here, Sir." He radios back.

I sit across from Wink on the Pelican. I notice Kilo-Five has gathered together near the back of the Pelican's transport bay, but Naomi has chosen to sit away from us near the bay door. Maybe I should sit by her.

"Ginger!" Wink repeats.

"Hu?" I say, having not been listening.

"What the hell were you thinking about?"

"Nothing. What's up?"

"What do YOU think is on that chip?"

I pause, having not really thought about it before.

Scratch cuts in. "I'm telling you, its enemy movement reports. That place must have been some kinda deep listening post or something." He nods at his own suggestion.

Viking shakes his head. "Thats stupid. Why would the innies give a shit about covey movement reports?"

"Maybe… maybe that's how they locate where to get the covey tech, hu? Did you think of that?"

Viking snorts. "There are easier ways to locate old battlefields than to assault a fucking ONI secret base. Give me a break."

"He's got you there." Wink agrees.

"I think it's about her." I say, pointing at Naomi's back.

"What?" Wink replies.

"The Spartans. Think about it. Halsey said Doctor Amari was a colleague of hers, right? And she just so happens to have access to an entire Spartan fireteam, and Naomi, AND she referred to them as 'My Spartans.' The Spartans just appeared out of nowhere and they're basically a myth as well as the only thing keeping us from getting spaced by the Covenant. If the innies want to hurt the UNSC where it matters? They hurt the Spartans."

No one says anything and I surprise myself with how valid my theory sounds even spoken aloud.

"The Insurgents didn't attack the facility because of the data." Naomi answers. "The facility is the production center for a new weapon. A new type of spacecraft code-named 'Saber.' The data is related to technology incorporated into the ship's design. Technology that Doctor Halsey developed based on her findings at Sword."

"You mean based on that giant alien ship under the ice?" Scratch adds.

"Yes." Naomi nods. "The Insurgents were hoping to damage the spacecraft and set back the program. Years of progress might have been lost."

"You see?" Chance finally joins the conversation. "Not everything is a giant conspiracy theory, Wink."

Wink huffs.

The rest of the flight goes by in relative silence. I spend most of it trying to get some sleep. Viking, Scratch, and Wink passed out half an hour ago. They've always been good soldiers, able to sleep anywhere. I envy them for that. Chance is still awake, but he's crouched over his data pad like a bird of prey. He's probably looking at blueprints, plans, and combat reports. He's a good Sergeant, one of the best. Always well informed and prepared for any eventuality. I realise how lucky I am to have been assigned to his fireteam, especially when you consider the mortality of ODST is so high. I look over and see Naomi is still sitting at the other end of the ship. She hasn't moved an inch since we took off. I wonder what she's thinking about.

"Two minutes till we reach the AO, Kilo-Five." interrupts the pilot.

I see Chance perk his head up then grab his helmet. He pulls it back on and stands. "Wakey, wakey, children! Time to work." He patrols up the Pelican, kicking the rest of the team in the boots to jostle them awake. There are a lot of groans and complaints, but it's mostly for show. The entire team is alert and ready. I pull my helmet back on with the rest of the team and suddenly the sound of the engines are muted. We move to the back of the Pelican where Naomi is positioned, and prepare to move out.

Below me are the streets of Pálháza. It's a smaller city, but it's still a city of a few hundred thousand. The streets are clean and well lit, with the buildings being sleek, angular and mostly made of glass and bright metals that reflect the afternoon sun. To the Southwest is the ocean, big, blue, and beautiful. It's a coastal escape, and a great vacation spot if you can afford it.

The Pelican dips and soon we're setting down in the spaceport. As I see the ground come into view I step off onto the deck with the rest of Kilo-Five. Around us are dozens of workers all milling around, surprised by the military arrival. Most of them seem to be getting ready to leave work, and I check the chronometer on my HUD. It's almost five oclock. The sun is setting and most of the people are getting ready to head back to their families.

"Alright, let's spread out and get this done." Chance orders.

"Sir, we should start with finding the shipping manager. We'll be able to get manifests of anything strange that's come through the starport lately." Wink suggests.

Chance nods. "Good call. You and me. The rest of you secure the landing zone. Look around, see if you can find anything strange." I watch Chance and Wink jog off towards the control tower in the center of the starport.

"Like any glowing lights?" Viking laughs. Chance doesn't respond.

"James…" I look to see Naomi waving me over. I don't think I've heard her use my name before. "We should investigate the loading bay. If the weapons are already in insurgent hands then we're looking for another shipment, one more recent."

I nod. "Alright." It's a good assessment. I look over my shoulder and see Viking and Scratch speaking with a forklift driving who looks equal parts exhausted and terrified.

It doesn't take long to track down the loading bay. It's a large warehouse with all the incoming shipments organised by date of receipt. Crates and shipping containers are stacked in large, intimidating rows. There are hundreds of crates, maybe even thousands, and this is just the recent stuff. I can't imagine we're going to have much luck without more direction from Chance and Wink, but I've yet to hear anything.

"How are we supposed to find anything in this?" I ask Naomi.

"My helmet has a built in scanning suite. I'll be able to see anything covenant."

"Whoever made your armor sure didn't skip on the cost." I comment, but she doesn't respond.

I spend the next ten thirty minutes following the Spartan around, looking over crates and reading packing slips. Firebase Epsilon, Harvest… property of the UNSC.

"That's strange." I comment and Naomi turns.

"What?"

"All these boxes here say they came from Firebase Epsilon on Harvest…"

Naomi walks over and looks at one of the boxes.

"But Epsilon was glassed… I was there." I finish.

She wastes no time in grabbing hold of the heavy crate which looks large enough to fit an entire Mongoose and yanks it free from the rack. She removes her rifle and bashes at the lock. It only takes two hits before the lock falls away in a mangled mess. I move to assist, realising the aid is more gesture than actual help, and together we left the lid free.

"Bingo." I say.

Inside is an entire covenant weapons pod and with a bit of fiddling from Naomi the lid retracts, revealing rows of fresh, clean, functional plasma rifles. I take a closer look, leaning forwards as Naomi moves to another crate and starts pulling it down as well. There aren't just rifles here… there's grenades and explosive charges as well. It's a veritable arsenal of covenant firepower. Naomi is bashing open another and I move to her position just as she removes the lid. It's the same.

"Sergeant, come in, it's Ginger."

"Send it."

"Sergeant, we found weapons. Come to loading bay B-11. Me and Naomi are here."

Container after container it's the same story, till we're all gathered around five opened crates, each filled with two covenant weapons pods each.

"Jesus…" Wink breaths.. "It's enough for a damn army."

"I'm calling it in." Chance states.

"We need to get back to Sword." Naomi says.

Scratch pulls one of the plasma rifles from its position, the weapon transforming into firing configuration in his hands. Wink moves over to examine the weapon.

"Look at this thing. It's brand spankin' new. Doesn't look like it's seen a day of combat." She declares, before retrieving a weapon from the crate herself and looking it over.

"ONI is on the way. Wink, stop messing around. You have the shipping manifest, where are we going?"

"Yes, Sir. I need the shipping number." Wink quickly tosses the weapon back in the crate before pulling something up on the data pad mounted to her wrist.

"Romeo Charlie dash Papa Alpha. Five six two, then niner dash three four two." Chance recites the numbers from the shipping label on the side of the nearest crate.

"Romeo Charlie dash Papa Alpha. Five six two, niner dash three four two." Wink reads back.

"Confirm."

I look at Naomi who is still staring at one of the covenant weapons pods. The helmet's blank expression is completely inscrutable. I wish I could see her face. I wonder if she looks like Frederic…

"Got it. They were dropped off two days ago by a cargo ship tagged ST534 'Another Try.' Nice name. Registered to a Anthony Colbert." Wink scrolls through some additional information on her wrist. "We're in luck. The ship is currently docked for engine maintenance at New Alexandria spaceport."

"Then we have our next target. Kilo-Five, get on deck and into that Pelican. We're moving out."

I shoulder my weapon and start walking when Naomi puts a hand on my shoulder.

"We need to go to Sword." She states.

I look between her and Chance.

"What?" He says, but she doesn't reply. "We have evidence there is an insurgent coup being staged here, miss. I don't know if you missed that but this is enough ordinance to blow a hole in most of the city. The more time we waste-"

"I'm not suggesting, Sergeant, I'm ordering you. Kilo-Five is deploying to Sword."

Chance looks at me, then to the others. I can tell he's confused. I don't blame him, so am I.

"I don't take orders from you." He answered.

"Sir, perhaps we should just check in…" I start to say.

"You're mistaken, Sergeant. I wasn't attached to Kilo-Five as a one-off ride along. I'm your new CO. We're going to Sword. That's an order."

The air is suddenly tense. "You're ordering me to ignore a known threat, and risk innocent lives... Why?"

"I am, but I can't tell you why. Not yet." Naomi's voice was gentle, as always, but there was a firm and lethal edge there that reminded me of what she was. A soldier like no other. A titan amongst us.

"Kilo-Five…" Chance stated, and I can see Scratch tighten his grip on his shotgun. "Get prepped to leave. We're going to Sword."

I let out a sigh of relief, and everyone relaxes. On my helmet's HUD Naomi's icon blinks as she opens a private channel between the two of us.

"Thank you." Is all she says before the channel is cut.

The flight back to Sword is tense, and awkward. Naomi has resumed her position at the front of the Pelican, separate from the group. Viking and Scratch have gone to sleep while Wink seems content to stare at the back of Naomi's head. Chance hasn't said anything, and is just looking at the floor. It's been a long day, and three ops in one deployment this close together is pretty abnormal, even for ODST. I tell myself we're all just exhausted. It's been a lot to take on. A lot of information, and a lot of it bad. I look at Naomi and think about her being the new CO. We join ONI and not even a day later the command of the squad is given over. You shouldn't be surprised. I know… Why would ONI not give us a handler? We're brand new, and Halsey clearly has an interest in our success. And it's a Spartan, maybe we should be honored? I close my eyes and try to relax. The flight is a few hours and it passes. Slowly.

Once we land at Sword Frederic, or Spear One, is waiting for us. He greets Naomi with a strangely cold formality. I wonder if that's normal. For some reason that's not how I expected the two Spartans to get along. Kilo-Five, the non-Spartan part of it anyway, is ordered to get some rest and relaxation. We're assigned individual quarters inside the base itself and soon we're being escorted by on-site ONI security. I see Naomi being led away with Spear One, and I imagine she's going to be delivering her report directly to Halsey.

After being taken to my quarters I step in, shut the door and then, just like that I'm alone. I look around the provided room and I'm… impressed. This certainly wasn't intended to house a bunch of military troopers. Soft furnishings, a personal computer built into the desk. Entainment. A beautiful view of an interior courtyard. It even has its own kitchenette. I remove my helmet and toss it on the bed before moving to cabinets below the microwave. I'm starving. It'll be nice to get something in me that isn't an MRE. There is a box of some kind of sweet sponge cake with cream filling that looks tempting...

There is a knock at the door and I curse under my breath. I grab one of the cakes and stuff half of it into my mouth, letting the other half stick out like a malformed cigar. I jog over to the door and thumb the open button. Wink is staring back at me, her rich green eyes full of serious contemplation.

"You alone?" She asks.

I look around and laugh with a mouthful of cake. "Who else would be here?"

She shrugs and motions for me to follow. "We're all in Chance's room, come on."

I frown and let out a sigh, chewing through the rest of my cake. I follow her down the hall to where Chance's room is. Wink opens the door and I see the inside is exactly the same as my room. Viking is laying on the bed tossing a ball into the air repeatedly, he stops and gives me a half wave.

"I was about to eat." I protest.

"Don't you worry about that, my good fellow." Scratch says in a mocking, high class Harvest accent. "I'm preparing the finest stew."

I look over and see him stooped over a large broth pot he's set up on the stove. He grins at me and gives me a nod of greeting which I return.

Wink wastes no time in finding a chair. She plops down with a sigh of relief at being able to be off her feet for the first time since Kilo-Five was deployed. I look up and see Chance standing by the window. He turns and gives me a professional nod of greeting.

"Ginger." he says.

"Sir." I acknowledge, and then shut the door behind me before taking a seat across from Wink.

"Well let's get started…" Chance states.

"With what?" I ask.

"With what we're going to do." Wink interjects, giving me a 'what's the matter with you' kind of expression.

I frown. "So we're not waiting for orders?"

Chance sighs. "I don't know, are we?"

I look around at the others. Viking shrugs and tosses the ball again.

"Are we comfortable sitting on our asses in luxury with some lunatic arming a bunch of other lunatics with high powered alien weaponry?" Chance adds.

"No." Wink answers.

"No, obviously not, Sarg but... " I try to think carefully about what to say.

"But what?" Wink asks.

"We've been going non-stop since we landed. We're tired. Maybe taking a minute to catch our breath isn't a bad thing. Maybe we're not seeing the whole picture. I'm sure Naomi wants to stop the innies just as bad as we do. Don't forget, we wouldn't even have been able to get to those scientists in time if it hadn't been for her."

"I'm not so sure…" Wink protests.

"What is it with you guys? We all voted the same way, to join up with ONI because we didn't like having our heads in the dark, and then now that we're here what? You want to go back to the UNSC?" I realise my voice is more angry than I wanted it to be. I'm frustrated. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sound like that." I add.

Wink frowns, but her eyes show understanding. She nods.

"No harm." Chance says. "And you're right."

"He's right, to a point. But aren't we just as in the dark as we were before? But now we're just confused, and being told to ignore a target we know for a fact is a threat. The ODST never gave us a target and then told us to ignore it…" Wink vents her frustrations, punctuating her point by throwing her hands up in the air as if giving up.

I don't have much of a counterpoint. This does feel confusing. Feels like I've got half a picture and all the faces have been cut out. We're missing something, and I know if Naomi was here she'd be able to fill us in.

"Stew is ready." Scratch exclaims.

Viking grunts, pushing himself from the bed and joining me and Wink at the table. Chance grabs some bowls and passes them around. Scratch follows him, filling each with a thick broth stew. I grab my spoon and swirl the food around in the bowl before taking a bite.

"What's in it?" I ask.

Scratch grins. "Edibles."

Viking laughs, and Wink smiles. I examine a spoonful of the stuff and determine that one of the chunks resembles some kind of meat protein. I chuckle and simply down another spoonful. It's good, taste of chicken and various local vegetables. A little salty, but good. We all eat quietly for the next half hour, everyone having their own thoughts about the previous conversation. Chance looks a little less stressed now though, and that makes me feel better. Wink is still Wink, and she's always been hard to read.

After everyone's had second, and third bowls things stay calm. Chance is talking with Wink, but the conversation has a lighter tone to it judging by their facial expressions. Scratch and Viking have both moved to the bed and passed out next to each other. I yawn, fold my arms across my chest and close my eyes. A nap will do me good.