Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Halo Universe and all the Halo franchise is property of 343 industries. I take credit only for my own ideas that I bring to life in this story. This story is simply for entertainment purposes of the FanFiction audience.

Disclaimer: I do not own the cover image for this story. I have been granted permission to use it and this permission does not go to anyone else unless you contact the artist and speak to them yourselves. You'll find their Instagram name at the bottom of the chapter.

Side-Note: This edit was made after this chapter was posted as somebody left a very lovely review for me. I have been ever so bluntly told that I am F****** up the spartan persona by making them all too mushy. What was the basis for this you ask? Because I have written dialogue where after only having known Kelly and Fred for a week, Noble six is calling them by their first names. Now, whilst I understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, there is no need to swear at me for my choices if you do not like the story then I would prefer you tell me in a respectable manner instead of acting like a child and leaving a guest review so then I cannot PM you about it : )

On multiple occasions, it has been acknowledged that James calls the other soldiers he serves with by their first names if he is dealing with them on a regular basis. Obviously, this is my own choice as I don't believe he ever did this once in the game due to him being portrayed as the silent, reserved type. Might I remind you all for future reference that Kelly and Fred have been treating James as a friend for over a week and have visited him multiple times whilst he has been recovering. I would also like to point out that Spartans are not machines they are human like the rest of us and as such aren't emotionless. I refuse to personify Noble Six as this emotionless being who can't see who his friends are. If you wish to see such a story, then write it yourself because quite frankly someone who is cold towards everyone, they meet for the entire story is boring. Also, Noble six who had been a lone wolf was suddenly given a team, people to bond with and by the end they were all ripped from his grasp one by one. Spartan or not that does some stuff to a man so I'm deeply sorry random person that I dared to try and incorporate some psychological torment into this story. (For those of you who don't understand sarcasm, I am very much not sorry haha.)

Apart from that I have received another review correcting my use of Naval officer ranks which I am very grateful for so whoever you are, if you read this, I would like to thank you.

"Sir down there!" the marine on the turret shouted as he opened fire on some covenant forces. They had engaged with some marines who had only just come out of their escape pod. Reacting instantly, Sergeant Johnson shifted into a higher gear and swung the Warthog into action as he splattered a line of three advancing Jackals before they had the chance to flank the marines. Chief however, had already hopped out of the Warthog and had begun sprinting over to two Elites who were picking the Marines off one by one as though they were mere children. Reaching them, the Chief picked one of the Elites up by the waist and continued to charge into the second Elite throwing them both to the ground before engaging them in hand to hand combat.

Sergeant Johnson drifted the Warthog around a tree giving the marine on the turret a clear line of fire on the brunt of the enemy forces as he tore through them with the repeated fire from the minigun turret. Even as the Covenant began to fire back, he did not stop to duck behind the safety of the turret. No, he continued to fire upon the enemy as though it were his last day alive. Johnson took this opportunity to get out of the Warthog and used his DMR to fire a few well-placed rounds into the heads of any Covenant who had found cover from the turret fire. The Covenant had numbers, but Johnson had experience, and it wasn't long until the last grunt fell from a bullet to the brain.

Chief ducked under a wide swing before jumping and bringing his foot down on one of the Elite's ankles shattering it instantly as the beast fell to one knee. Chief went to end its miserable life there and then, but he was picked up by the other Elite and thrown over its shoulder. Despite this, Chief used the momentum from the throw to roll back into a combat stance as the second Elite turned and roared before engaging him again. The Elite sent a flurry of attacks at the Chief forcing him into the defensive until he noticed Johnson sneaking up from behind. Using the knowledge that he was now only up against one Elite, he ducked under the next attack and pivoted behind the Elite before grabbing it and body slamming it into the ground as he finished it off with a snap of the neck, whilst Johnson shot the first Elite in the head.

Standing the Chief rolled his neck a few times before picking up his Assault Rifle and proceeding toward the third pod they had come across as they checked to see if any marines had survived the ambush. Unfortunately, the only marines to be found were dead ones; only one was alive and even he was quickly bleeding out. "Save your breath soldier, I've got you!" Johnson growled in frustration as he quickly put pressure on the marine's laser wound. The dying marine was having none of it and he gripped Johnson firmly as he forced himself to steady out, Chief had seen this a million times before, the actions of a soldier about to utter their final words. "Sir… cav- cavern. They went through the nearby cavern… frien... friendly forces through there, gotta' stop em'." The marine breathed his final breath as his eyes went dark and he slumped down against the outside of the pod he had arrived in.

Grabbing the tags of the dead marines, Johnson stuffed them in one of the compartments on his belt. He would make it off this damn ring, he would do it for those who had lost their lives, he would do it in their honour and after he escaped, he would make sure their sacrifices were recognised. Getting back into the Warthog the trio stayed silent as they found and entered the nearby cavern, which, being judged by the infrastructure of it all, was quite clearly made and not naturally formed. "Chief I've hacked into the Covenant battlenet, they're actually transmitting battle tactics on unencrypted channels. Let's show them who they're dealing with. I'm going to use your suits transponder to monitor their comm chatter." Chief didn't respond as he looked around at their surroundings with narrowed eyes. He didn't really care for the infrastructure of it all, he was more concerned with how perfect of an opportunity it was for them to be ambushed. It was then they came into a huge clearing in the cavern. "Johnson! STOP!" Cortana exclaimed over comms as the Sergeant quickly slammed his foot on the breaks stopping the Warthog within an inch of falling off into the deep, dark, abyss-like chasm just below them all. Chief spotted something that looked to be a control panel to the obvious looking bridge mechanism on the other side of the gap. Hopping out of the Warthog, Johnson and the marine stayed behind to guard their transport as they eyed their unusually quiet surroundings carefully. The young marine so far hadn't let the fear of death get to him, but he could feel something was off, as though the enemy was watching him. His breathing became hitched and he began to sweat, drawing the attention of Johnson who had seen this too many times in the past, he was getting overwhelmed now that the adrenaline of combat had worn off. They had to get out of here soon or this marine was going to start making some stupid decisions.

Chief had just now reached the top of a ramp that had him now placed on level with the control panel, and all he had to do was walk over to it. Yeah right. Placing his rifle on his back where it magnetically connected with his suit, Chief quietly unsheathed his combat knife from his chest and crept forward. Instinct told him to roll; experience told him to stay and wait a few seconds. Flipping the knife so he was holding it in a reverse grip, the Chief let out a long breath as an Elite dropped down from above and attempted to stab the Chief who simply stepped left and placed his back against the wall as he kicked the Elite in the jaw before stabbing it in the head, hearing the chilling crack of his knife piercing its skull. "Ambush!" Chief shouted as grunts, Jackals and another Elite stepped out behind all the columns around the Warthog.

"Marine! Stay calm and keep your head down. Pick your targets wisely and don't let any flank us." Johnson ordered as he ducked, just narrowly dodging a needle as it screeched over his head and shattered against a wall on the other side of the chasm. The enemy fire was coming in too often now and Johnson and the marine had no choice but to stay in cover else they guaranteed their deaths. The chief had now made his way over to the control panel and patched Cortana into the system as she quickly attempted to decrypt the language so she could activate the bridge. By now however, the remaining Elite had begun to push the Warthog towards the edge trapping Johnson and the marine as their deaths edged ever closer. "Chief. CHIEF!" the marine shouted as he and Johnson desperately tried to use their feet to slow their impending deaths. "Cortana." Chief rhetorically stated as he attempted to shoot the Elite down in vain as its shields were too strong from this distance. "I got it, I got it."

"Sergeant, it's been an honour." Johnson could not reply. His usual reply would be to tell the marine to 'shut his trap' but even Johnson was beginning to accept that these may be his last moments as the edge creeped ever closer. The Elite was laughing in confidence now as its enemies' end drew near and then as it made the final push all it found was silence, no screaming. They were braver than most in the face of death. And then came the fire of UNSC weapons once more as the Demon attacked them from behind with the two soldiers behind the vehicle returning fire as well. And before they knew what had happened, the covenant forces had fallen. "Cutting it kinda' close there hey Cortana?" Johnson sighed as they all took a moment before they once more hopped into the Warthog, the exit to the cavern now in sight.

Accelerating out of the cavern the trio came across another lifeboat only to find nothing, not even bodies. Those bastards were beyond cruel to defile the dead like this. If there were no bodies then there were no tags. No tags meant no honorary burials. Collecting some ammo and a few extra weapons they continued on until they heard the distant sound of gunfire and laser fire, one final push, that's all it would take and they would have found the last of the escape pods. Pushing the Warthog into the highest gear, Johnson floored the gas pedal and practically flew towards the nearby firefight. As they arrived on scene, they found a similar structure to the one Johnson's escape pod landed at. The Covenant had surprisingly been defeated before they could get there, as Foehammer had flew in for some air support. Exiting the Warthog, Chief walked off towards the edge of a cliff as the marine followed him whilst Johnson went to report the situation to the remaining marines.

Chief sat on a rock and looked out to the seas below as he checked his weapons and made sure to take a minute to reload and clear the bullet chambers. The marine, sat next to him on a separate rock and sighed heavily as he bent over, using his gun as support. John looked over at the marine from the corner of his eye and mentally nodded at the bravery of the soldier as he addressed him. "You're not a Spartan. You are not augmented or trained to even a margin of the degree that I am and yet, you showed just as much dedication and courage that I could have asked of any of my fellow Spartans. For that marine, you have earned not just my admiration, but you have also earned my deepest respect." The marine didn't look to the Master Chief, but instead nodded solemnly as he silently cried tears of joy at both his own survival but also the praise he had earned from his hero. "Sir, if I may, I would like to request that I join you personally on any mission I can, if you would permit me?" the marine replied looking straight at John's visor with all the courage he could muster in his voice. "Your name, soldier?" the marine was taken aback slightly by the sudden question and stumbled to stand a little before regaining his sense. "Cooper Sir. Private Michael Cooper." The marine saluted in the traditional sense as you do when introducing yourself to a superior rank. "Well then Cooper. I'd be lucky to have you by my side on the battlefield." John replied as he placed a hand on the marine's shoulder before standing and walking over to Johnson and the now landing Pelican.

Johnson took his hat off and scratched his balding head before sighing and replacing his hat on his head. It had been a stressful few hours, and yet the bad news continued to roll in. "Chief, Captain Keyes has been captured by the Covenant and is being held on the Covenant cruiser that I disabled before we fled the Autumn. It's landed in some sort of desert apparently further up the ring." Cortana suddenly proclaimed as everyone began to climb aboard the Pelican. John knew what this meant and turned around to find Michael climbing into the Pelican behind him, He'd get him off this damned ring, he'd get him back with the UNSC where he had earned his rest. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and get him." Chief stated as the Pelican began to lift off into the sky.

James opened his eyes slowly as he grunted in sudden pain at his side, but his arm was grabbed before it could reach the stinging area, causing his eyes to open fully only to be greeted by a smiling Jun and a very angry Kelly. Halsey was working on his injuries and there were a few other medics as well as Fred. His memories were still a little fuzzy due to the mild concussion he suffered whilst fighting the Elite a few hours prior. "What were you thinking!" Kelly screamed as James shut his eyes as though he were about to be punched in the face. "No armour, major injuries, a single magnum magazine and no support, and you take on a fucking Zealot. Alone!" Nobody else said a word to defend him, not even James himself. He knew what he did was reckless, but he didn't care at this point. "What would you have had me do Kelly? Sit here whilst you all fought out there, risking your lives while I am lying here in safety? I'd do it again if I was given the chance, I would rather die in combat knowing I contributed to make a difference than sit here and await the news that once again my comrades died."

James' words sank into each and every person in the medical room with him, and a silence ensued as Kelly tried to think of something to say back and yet she couldn't speak against him. From the stories Jun had told them all whilst he had been unconscious, Kelly knew what type of man James was. He was exactly like John. He had risked his life an unbelievable amount of times fighting for something that wasn't even a part of his life, and yet he fought simply because he could. She walked over to the other side of his bed which was vacant, and as Halsey continued tending to his wounds, Kelly gently placed her hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "I understand James, more than you think I do. Hell, I would've done the same thing given the situation. But please try to understand this, you aren't alone here and even though Fred and I have only just met you, you are our friend and fellow soldier. Don't go dying on us." And with that, Kelly and Fred left the room.

"They were taken as children James. Just as you were, except they were taken from families they already had and even though most of them no longer remember their families, they still understand the losses that they have been through. I ask that you remember this the next time you decide to throw your life on the line, even for as good a reason as you did earlier." Halsey bluntly stated before wrapping up his final injury and leaving with the other medics. James looked to Jun and as he too stood to give his brother in arms some space, James called out to him. "I saw him again. Emile, I saw him die again. Jun I could've saved him, I could've saved them all…" James said as his voice broke towards the end. Jun didn't reply, didn't even turn to look at him as tears threatened to break from the stone-cold soldier himself. After a moment of just standing there in silence he placed his helmet on and looked over his shoulder at the broken Spartan. "Get some rest James, I don't want to lose you too."

Jun arrived at the room he had been sleeping in whilst they were trapped at this outpost, and once he had closed the door he removed his helmet and chucked it onto his temporary bed before sitting down next to where it landed. For most of his military life, Jun had simply been the means to an end for taking out targets for the UNSC, Head-hunter they had called him, one of many. It wasn't until joining Noble team that Jun finally felt like he belonged. In that fucked up team of broken soldiers, together they formed a strange bond, not exactly family, but more than friends. And so, after hearing that he and James were the only survivors he was angry, he was still angry. However, he was naïve to think he was the only one feeling like this, and he had only now just realised this after hearing that James was carrying the weight of their deaths as though he had personally caused each one of them to die.

"Jun." came the voice of Fred from outside his door. Jun quickly calmed down and opened the door, looking at Fred he saw a withering smile as he motioned with his head for Jun to follow him. "Come get something to eat, I know it has been stressful today." Jun nodded and exited his room as they both walked to the biggest room in the outpost which was serving as the mess hall since there was no official cafeteria. Upon reaching the room, Jun was surprised to see it so empty after the battle that had ensued only hours ago. Then again, it was getting late and the shift change had most likely already happened, so the marines who were getting to sleep must've already eaten.

As the two grabbed themselves some rationed stew they sat down next to Kelly who was trying her best to gain an appetite after the recent battle. As Jun and Fred sat down with her, she attempted to perk up but seeing their faces she realised now wasn't the time. "How is he?" Fred asked as he took a big spoonful of food. Jun didn't really know how to answer. Not because he didn't trust his fellow Spartans, but because he himself didn't even know how James was doing. Nevertheless, he tried to answer as best he could. "He er… He won't really say, just keeps going on about the other members of Noble. I wasn't there, but I will say this without a doubt, whatever happened out there, James won't ever be the same again." Jun slowly explained before he too began to eat as best, he could.

Fred and Kelly looked at each other. They both knew what the other was thinking about… Sam. None of Blue team had ever been the same after Sam died, worst out of them all was John, so they could understand that James, who had witnessed near enough all of his team die, would also be missing a part of himself for the rest of his life. The best thing for him now, was to find something else worth living for, something else that made him want to get up and fight, because right now the only thing fuelling him was pure rage for the enemy and that often enough led to a person's downfall.

"I'm going to get some shuteye whilst I can. I suggest you two do the same." Kelly said as she stood and after returning her tray to the kitchen staff, left towards her room, leaving the two Spartans to sit there both reminiscing of their late teammates.

Author's Note: Hello there.

I hope you enjoyed the fourth chapter to this story as much as i enjoyed writing this one. This chapter was heavy on the combat, and obviously, more focused on the Chief more than James. I'm doing this for a reason. I have changed the timelines a little bit for this story. See according to the official Halo fandom site, the battle for Installation 04 only took place over three days and so this obviously causes a loophole in the story as James and Co have been at the hidden outpost for over a week now. So, whenever you read anything about the Chief whilst he is still on the Halo ring, know that this is prior to the timeline of the characters on reach. So, all the events he is currently going through aren't in sync with the events unfolding on reach. their two timelines will synchronise once everyone is reunited.

Furthermore, I plan to only really write maybe a chapter or two more before Chief and James meet and then the main part of the story can begin as this story is all about James joining up with Chief as they take on the original events of the Halo games. I don't know when I will end this story, as to be fully honest I have lost track of how many chapters I want this story to be. I am however, more than likely to end this story with the ending of Halo 3 when Chief arrives at Requiem, but I am still not one hundred percent decided on that one. But anyways, I will see you in the next chapter.

Furthermore after editing and reuploading this chapter I only just realised that I had uploaded my other story so for those of you who have read chapter four within the past day or so then you would have gotten the full enjoyment of my star wars story hahahahha hope you enjoyed it.

Until then Spartans.

Cover Artist: Instagram - anjum_faiz please make sure to give them a follow. They are incredibly nice and have some beautiful art on their page.