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.

"So, you're the Master Chief," James spoke his voice calm and cold as usual. James stared at Chief, not blinking even once as they both stood and remained in silence. John had met two people now who were clearly Spartans, and yet he had never seen them before in his life. 'A new Spartan Program?' John internally questioned as he continued to stare. "I am. You are?" John briefly yet sincerely asked the soldier in front of him as he watched his eyes flick to the left before staring back at him "Spartan B-312 James." James returned not caring or even wanting to ask another question to keep the conversation going. Sure, he had heard about the Master Chief and had thought about what he would say should he ever meet the man, but right now he had to prepare himself for the coming mission. John noticed the man before him was rigid and quite possibly disturbed in some way, it wasn't very often you came across a Spartan like this. Then again, John doubted anyone else had noticed this about the man before him. "I presume you were on your way to the mess hall, I'll let you get on your way," James said acknowledging the growing silence and thus ending the encounter as he moved past Chief and towards his room.

John moved off once James was around the corner and out of his sight. John had seen his fellow Spartans change over the years, but he never thought he would meet a new type of Spartan, let alone two of them in one day. Shaking the thoughts from his head, John slipped by a few marines as he reached the mess hall and took note of the lack of people there since it was late, as John felt a weight lift off his shoulders that he could eat in relative peace. John took a moment to think of what peace really meant, he knew what it was supposed to entail yet it had never resonated with the Spartan himself.

John took his seat after grabbing some basic rations for his evening meal and slowly dug into the food before him. It wasn't long after John had begun eating that his peripheral vision caught something of interest as he raised his head to find one of the younger Spartans he had met earlier entering the mess hall as they both locked eyes and gave a terse nod to each other. Not a few minutes later the Spartan had grabbed his food and approached John casually, yet there was a still a hint of caution in his steps. "Mind if I join you?" the Spartan asked, his voice and eyes both conveyed how tired he looked and that was something John could resonate with. "Sure."

John came to discover that the Spartans name was Jun and that he was part of a team of Spartans apparently. It was initially surprising to John that the Spartan program was being continued, yet it made sense to him from a logical point of view. "Are the rest of your team here?" John inquired as he took a small bite of whatever it was he was eating. Jun looked at John and gave a small shake of his head before wiping some food from his bottom lip and looking at the legendary soldier in front of him he continued. "They died in the battle for Reach, only two of us survived, the other just barely." John nodded with understanding and acknowledgement for his fellow Spartan. There was no need to apologise or to say "I understand", they were soldiers and this was, unfortunately, part of their lives. However, having others there with you always gives a soldier something to fight for, Johns team was living proof of that and he suspected Jun and the other Spartan he met were the same. "Well, it was an honour to meet you Chief. I'll let you be." Jun nodded this time with more familiarity and friendliness than before as he left the mess hall. John cleared his plate and cup before he too left to finally head for his room, some sleep sounded rather good right now.

James entered the gym again, thankful for a new pile of clothes to have been delivered to his room the previous night. As he walked towards the weights, he caught sight of Millie in the octagon cage falling on her ass as her sparring partner laughed at her failed attempt to kick him. Remembering their deal, James changed course and walked over to the octagon grabbing the attention of the few marines stood outside watching the sparring match. "You tryna get killed out there Ritz?" the man she was fighting taunted which seemed to work as Millie frowned and threw an overhand right aimed for the guy's chin, only for the man to block with his left forearm, punch her square in the face, sending her to the ground. James hated to admit it, but she was only going to get herself killed if she tried to take on an Elite.

Millie sat against the cage wall as she wiped the blood from her nose and leaned her head back, breathing heavily and drenched in an ocean of sweat, James would be disappointed for sure if he ever did take her up on that deal. "Get up." came a voice and in her anger, Millie mistook it as her sparring partner as she stood grunting and... "Oh." James was stood in front of her, gym clothes on like the last time she saw him, except this time he had gloves on and seemed to be waiting for her to come at him. Millie was positively shitting her pants right about now and so, smiling nervously, she approached him and threw a punch at him. The next thing she knew, she was flying over James and landed flat on her back behind him as saliva came spluttering out of her and her mouth guard seemed to be missing as well.

James shook his head as the marines who stood watching gave unified "OHHHHHHS" smiling and chuckling at how easily Millie was put on her ass. "Your stance is weak and your legs too close together, that punch wasn't carrying any power. Get up." James chastised as he stood waiting. Millie grabbed her mouthguard and put it back in, as she growled, her anger rising. Once again Millie went for James, this time with more power in her punches, and when James again went for the same move on her she stepped back, and with his head lower she raised her back leg in for a roundhouse. 'Got you now you cocky bastard!' Millie smirked as her leg came closer and closer. And then he grabbed it, stopping her kick inches from his face before he swept her other leg out from under her and once again planted her into the floor.

"Fuck! This is such bullshit!" Millie shouted in failure as she stood and removed one of her gloves to take a drink, replenishing some little energy. Bullshit? Yeah, James agreed with her. "It is bullshit. You told me you wanted to improve your skills to help you survive out there. I come here to help you and what do I get in return? Weak efforts at best and childish tantrums. You want survival, then listen to what I tell you and fight me." Millie breathed out, there was no cliche realization that he was right as if she'd been blind all this time. Thinking back to what he said she widened the distance between her legs as she fixed her glove back onto her hand. her stance felt awkward, but it was strong.

Millie approached him again as they circled each other and she nodded at him to let her know she was ready. "Elites are big and this means they're strong, but don't underestimate them, they're also fast. They will come at you to kill and are ready to be killed. You want to take an Elite down, you have to fight smart." James explained as she approached him and threw a shovel hook to his ribs which he easily blocked with his elbow and retaliated with a jumping knee aimed for her chin which would have caught her had she not fixed her stance allowing her to bounce back and avoid the attack. It also meant she slammed into the cage wall which pinned her as James roundhouse kicked her in the arm causing her to drop her guard on the left side before he carried his momentum and spun around catching her on the side of the head with his heel. "You're clumsy, but you have good reflexes and those are key to surviving." James praised as he stood her up and let her have a break.

Fred, Kelly and John all stood in Halsey's office looking at the same 3D holographic image that she had shown James a day prior. Each of them had concerned looks on their faces and each knew what had to be done. "The Covenant are sending more and more patrols out each day, and they've started noticing their forces disappearing around the region where the frigate is located. We can't hide here much longer." Kelly reported as Halsey rubbed her right temple in impediment. Kelly was right, they could no longer hide on Reach, it was time to pack up and leave. "Agreed. However whilst we have the capability to leave today if we wanted, we can't. The Covenant have already set up their long-range anti-aircraft cannons. We'd be blown out of the sky before we even made the atmosphere. I was originally sending James to take out this outpost, he was convinced he had to go alone," Halsey paused looking to a concerned Kelly and Fred before she continued. "But, if the four of you go whilst I and Jun prepare for evacuation, then we can make it off this God-forsaken planet by tomorrow," Halsey concluded with her briefing as all Spartans present and Cortana nodded in affirmation.

The three Spartans walked down the halls en-route to armour up as John stopped and pulled his team to the side as he looked them in the eyes and gave them a questioning look. "What was with you two in there? You both looked concerned as soon as Spartan B-312 was brought up." John requested using James callsign instead of his name, which Kelly rolled her eyes at, John had always been a formal person. "I don't really think I should be telling you this John. He lost his team, he hasn't been combat efficient since." Kelly briefly explained trying not to talk too much about James without his permission. Fred elaborated a bit more on what Kelly had already revealed to John. "He made a suicide charge against a Zealot Elite when he was only a week into recovery from multiple shot wounds and an energy sword through the abdomen." John took this information in and surprisingly found himself almost sympathising with the man. Still, if Spartan B-312 believed he was ready enough for combat that he was willing to take on an entire Covenant base on his own then that was all John needed to have no second doubts about taking him along.

Jun walked around the corner to see the Chief, Kelly and Fred talking amongst themselves and decided he would ask what it was that was happening. They all turned to see him coming as he got to be about less than 10 paces from them; raising his hand Jun greeted them with a nod as he reached them. "What's got you three looking serious?" Jun inquired with a light frown as Kelly looked to him and then to John giving him the 'This one's on you' look that she was infamous for. "Halsey is sending us out to a nearby Covenant base to get the frigate clearance to get us out of here. You've been assigned to stay and help the evacuation and once the frigate arrives here it'll pick us up." Jun nodded in understanding as he listened intently to John's briefing on the upcoming operation, and after John was finished Jun only had one question: "What about James?" John waited a short moment to see if Jun would answer his own question on what he thinks James should do and when he didn't John was grateful that Jun trusted him enough to let him have an input into where James would be posted. "He was willing to go on his own, now he doesn't have to." John declared as Jun hummed in agreement "Okay."

James stood once more in front of his armour, examining the shell as he stroked his left hand across the chest piece listening closely to the sound of his skin gliding across the chilled alloy that had saved his life innumerable times. Looking down into his right hand, James stared at the dog tags that hung from his fingers. "I keep wondering if any of it was worth it: the training, the missions, the headhunting and scouting. All of it was just data that I followed to the letter, eliminating one target after the next. And then I stopped hunting and instead started protecting, yet was any of it worth it if I'm the only one to survive?"

Suddenly, the doors behind him opened and Jun stepped in, joining James as they stood side by side and both looked at his armour in front of them. "I don't know how to feel anymore Jun. I'm angry yet relieved at the same time. They're gone and I could've saved them, however, they finally have peace." Jun smiled as he saw signs of acceptance finally showing in his brother and that maybe, just maybe, he could find a new team. "The Master Chief and his team are gearing up to go and take out the nearby Covenant base. We're moving out finally, but that base needs taking first and they've requested you join them." Jun replied, hoping this mission would be the push James needed to move onto the road to peace.

James didn't turn to look at Jun as he left, nor did he say anything before those doors opened and closed again, swapping Jun for two scientists who were clearly there to help him gear up. 'Jun already knew my response' James internally scoffed with a smirk before his face returned to its natural cold stare. Clutching the dog tags in his now balled fist, James turned and nodded to the two scientists as they began the process to suit him up. Throughout the whole process, James couldn't help but think back on his life right up until the point where he had almost died on this very planet and it sparked a question in his mind. What was he fighting for in his supposed final moments, when all the odds were stacked against him? Originally, James had answered that same question with revenge. However, it wasn't revenge as James thought, as he now saw he simply wanted to survive. "Spartan, you're all set." one of the scientists informed as James exhaled and locked his helmet in place.

Noble six would carry their legacy, they would live on through him, and he would survive this war for them.

"Spartans never die"

Authors Note: I know this chapter was very short in contrast to the other chapters I have recently posted. However, this was done on purpose to act as a setup chapter leading into the next act of the story. I feel that James still hasn't recovered and he still hasn't fully accepted what happened and I don't know if this story will have a good ending for him, as I never have been one to believe in 'good' endings, so please do not continue reading expecting everything to work out. I believe everything has a cost and that for peace to exist in one sense, despair must also exist to match it. James himself is no exception from this philosophy.

Apart from that, I hope you have enjoyed this brief chapter which I doubt any of you have since it is so short haha, I shall rectify this in the next chapter do not worry. The story has been blowing up recently in terms of views with it now being over 2000 views with over 50 percent of you being reoccurring readers, which I am more than happy about. I try to keep the language that I use as general as possible to make these chapters easier to read for all people. If however, for whatever reason, you are having trouble due to my own personal wording I would like for you to let me know please.

With all that out of the way I shall see you next time.

Walk tall 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.