Hey all, sorry for the long wait. So far this semester has been pretty busy what with rowing and the fact I've got to make three games for my assignments :L
So because of that, updates will be unpredictable, but when it's all finished I can chill and just write :)
Thank you all for the favs, follows and reviews :D
Guest: Thank you, I'm glad you like Six :)
UniCryin: Thank you :)
blaiseingfire: Definitely one of her thoughts, she's not too happy about showing them those videos :L
MrSpatan3398: Thank you, I hope you enjoy this one too :)
Telron: Glad you thought so, unfortunately there will be a few more sad bits, but hopefully they'll eventually ease away :)
BloodDragonKing: That's a shame, my was pretty boring too to be honest. I've thought about bringing in Jorge and in a way I want to, but it might be a little to much of a stretch. We'll see though :)
Guest: Here's your update :)
B312: Thank you, enjoy the chapter :)
trninjakiller: Unfortunately, I've been busy and writing hasn't been been at the top of my priorities. Updates will continue to be sporadic so please bare with me.
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"Speech"
thoughts or words stressed upon
Don't Trust Them
"My God, this is what awaits us in the future?" General Morshower gasped. He and Will both appeared disheveled and shocked by the prospect that this was the future. Six wasn't all too sure. Something about this past wasn't right. The Covenant was defiantly the first contact with alien life that Humanity had had. But if that was true, where was she?
"You are mistaken," the high pitched voice of Guardian called. Everyone snapped out of the daze they'd been in and looked over at him. Even Six perked up a bit. "This video does not show your future."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Major Lennox asked in confusion.
"The device I took from the Reclaimer has the ability to manipulate slip-stream space so that the user may travel to an alternate dimension. My knowledge on the device is limited as its existence was always considered a myth in the Forerunner encume."
Wait-What? I'm in an 'alternate dimension'? He's got to be joking, that's not even possible! An internal battle raged within Six as she tried to warp her head around what she'd just been told. Her mind kept resisting that what the orb had said was true. However, part of her accepted it, as if it made sense when related to her current situation, but now was not the time for her inner debate. She was angry that the orb had decided to spring this on her now, and she wanted to know why.
"Why didn't you mention this?!" Six growled.
"You did not ask," Guardian replied.
Clenching her teeth, Six ground out another question, "how do we get back now?"
"Any teleportation device may be usable with the device, although producing our own slip-stream space engine would grantee us a way back. However, I'm uncertain as to when it shall return us as my information on this device is limited," Guardian explained. His tone was tense and Six had a feeling he was just as annoyed as her about their predicament.
"If I may," the General spoke up. "What is this 'slip-stream space'? You've both been throwing the term around."
Six was about to explain, but Guardian beat her to the punch. "Slip-stream space is a largely used way of travelling the galaxy. There are other applications of slip-stream space, but travel is what we've been referring to. Essentially it involves opening a…'gate-way' to set of seven dimensions that run alongside our own, these make up slip-stream space. Time flows differently in slip-stream space and means long distances can be traveled in short periods of time."
"You use another dimension to travel through across the galaxy?" Major Lennox asked, an eyebrow raised in disbelief.
"Among other applications, yes," Guardian put simply, floating over to Six.
"An impressive feat," Ratchet said, impressed. "Perhaps you could explain it to me in depth?"
"If the Reclaimer allows it."
The statement surprised Six as she gave a questioning glace to the orb.
"You have been defensive about permitting others access to my maker's technology as well as your own. If you refuse them access then I will follow suit, Reclaimer."
Six was unsure what to say. Why was Guardian acting like this? Why was he so dedicated to following her wishes? She needed to know more about its intentions. Why did it call her Reclaimer? Why was that facility there? Why had it not made contact with anyone when the planet was colonised? She had so many questions, but no answers. She was complete lost and that was partially why she was joining NEST. She needed a purpose and defending Humanity was something she had experience in. It was essentially what she lived for.
"I'm curious, why do you follow the orders of Noble Six?" General Morshower asked the question everyone in the room was thinking, including Six.
"Because she is a Reclaimer, a child of my makers and an inheritor of all they left behind. It is my duty to ensure she comes to no harm and that she fulfills her mission."
"What mission?" The General was tense and Six inwardly cursed at the orb.
"To get her to Requiem and the Librarian of course." There is was again, the slight change in pitch as Guardian said Librarian. Six couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about what the orb wanted her to do was off. She wasn't sure why though.
"I assume the Librarian is one of your…makers?"
"That is correct."
Guardian's statement brought forth some of Six's curiosity towards the Forerunners. If they still existed and held Humanity in such high regard, why did they not step in to help them with the Covenant? Why had the UNSC never come across them? They had structures on Reach, which had been completely unused apart from Guardian. Why would they just abandon their creations?
Six frowned, what had happened to these Forerunners?
She was about to voice her question when Optimus asked instead, "Noble Six said that she had never encountered a Forerunner. Why would that be if they still live?"
"My makers are very few in number as many perished during the Forerunner-Flood war and the activation of the Halo Array. Only a few remain, but other than the Librarian their location is unknown to me."
Taking in the knowledge Six decided to stay quiet. The others seemed to want to ask more questions, which would allow her to collect more information on who the Forerunners were and what their motives might be.
"What is the 'Flood'?"
"Halo Array…you mentioned that earlier. What is it?"
Both Major Lennox and Optimus asked a question at the same time. Lennox sounded suspicious as he asked what the Halo Array was while Optimus seemed mildly curious about the Flood. The pair both apologised to each other and Six did her best not to gag.
"The Flood is a parasitic organism that consumes sentient life forms of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability. Because of the nature of the Flood, my makers were forced to construct the Halo Array and," Guardian paused as it he was trying to find the right words, or perhaps it was just for dramatic effect; Six wasn't entirely sure. "Use it to erase the galaxy of all sentient life. Of course, the galaxy was reseeded afterwards, which is why the Reclaimer exists today."
Keeping her reaction to a minimum Six inwardly reeled from the revelation. These Forerunners had wiped out everything in the galaxy, just like that? Was the Flood that bad that it forced a race that appeared so advanced to destroy every living being? She had a feeling that it hadn't been an easy choice and in the end it appeared to have paid off. Her existence was proof of that.
Six took a glance at everyone else in the room and their expressions appeared equally shocked and devastated. The robots appeared the most hit and Six wasn't sure why. Perhaps they can comprehend it more than us humans? Even with all that I've seen I can only just believe it.
"The decision, I trust, was not easy?" Optimus rumbled with a voice full of understanding; as if he'd done something similar.
"Even at the end, I've heard, there was hesitation," Guardian confirmed. Optimus' hard face softened a little at the answer and the large robot nodded in acceptance.
General Morshower spoke up, "Major, I believe I have everything I need to warrant Noble Six joining NEST. The other two shall be put under consideration, but in the mean time they will remain with you. If there is nothing more you or the Autobots wish to add then I want these three debriefed on all they know and a report on it on my desk within the week."
A grimace rippled through the Major's face, "yes, Sir."
"Good, I'll be in touch." And with that the line went dead. A moment of silence settled over the room. The General had made an exit with such haste that Six had a feeling he didn't want to hear anymore world shattering information. She was inclined to feel that way too, but information helped keep her alive and at the moment she needed all she could get.
~/~
Noble Six, Four Hours Later
The past few hours had involved a lot of arguing with the robot called Ratchet and some tinkering around with her armour. The reason for the arguments being that the robot just wouldn't leave her alone when she did something he didn't like. She didn't know why it bothered him so much, but she didn't care either. If the robot wanted to work himself up over her then he was more than welcome to.
When they'd returned from the meeting with General Morshower, Major Lennox had left her the Elite and Guardian in the MedBay with instructions to 'sit tight' while he found them a more permanent place to stay. Six had taken that opportunity to remind him of the deal they had that she would be out the MedBay soon. She'd then added that it didn't matter if she had to sit in a hanger or out on the airstrip, she just wanted away from the Elite. The Major had nodded at that and half an hour later she was placed in a giant hanger.
The hanger itself had a considerable amount of computers against the wall opposite her in three rows. A few personnel were working at them and from what Six could make out they were sifting through any reports of meteor sightings. She knew they were on the lookout for more of the robots, probably both 'good' and 'bad'. Apart from that the rest of the hanger was pretty much empty apart from two high built railings that ran either side. She wasn't sure what they were for, but she had a feeling it was to do with the robots.
Speaking of the robots, there was a certain flamed truck that had not moved since she'd been placed in the hanger.
He was the leader of the…'Autobots' and his name was Optimus Prime. Six narrowed her eyes at him before turning her attention back to her severely damaged armour. He could stay and watch her all he wanted, it wouldn't make her hate them any less.
"Noble Six, we currently lack the required materials to repair your armour," Dot spoke up from Six's helmet.
"I know," Six sighed. She knew the moment she'd been captured that her armour needed extensive repairs, but she didn't want to believe it. Her amour had always been there. She'd always had it and now….now it was broken. It was almost beyond repair unless….unless I can find that Forerunner armour.
She needed to find Guardian if she wanted to find out where the Forerunner armour was. She knew it was on the ship, but she didn't know where exactly and it wasn't as if they were going to let her off the base. Yet.
"Dot," Six murmured. "Can you contact Guardian's Approach?"
"I lack the necessary power."
Six chuckled darkly before lightly slamming her hands onto her table. Despite the restraint she put on the motion, two small dents were made in the metal. "Of course you do."
"My apologies, Noble Six," the AI sounded sad, or as sad as a dumb AI could.
Even though Dot couldn't see, Six nodded anyway. The only other way to get in contact would be through…Optimus.
Six glanced at the truck out of the corner of her eye. He sat parked near the entrance of the hangar ever silent, but she knew he was watching her. She didn't want to rely on them for something. It went against everything she'd ever been taught; aliens are the enemy.
If they're the enemy why are you working with them? She shook her head. It was her only option and she couldn't just stand by while aliens attacked Humanity from the shadows. No matter where she was, she would always protect Humanity.
I'll need armour to protect Humanity. Sighing in resignation, Six made her decision. With a quick goodbye to Dot she got up and made her way to the truck. As she did she passed the pair of crutches that she'd thrown on the floor and gave them a small nudge so that they weren't in the way.
He must have been listening to her conversation with Dot because before she even reached him he spoke to her.
"Would you like me to contact Guardian for you, Noble Six?" He asked before adding sincerely, "my apologies, but I couldn't help but overhear."
"Just find him," she snapped as she came to a stop a few meters from the truck.
"He's on his way."
Holding in her surprise as to how quick that was, Six began to turn back around, muttering 'thanks' as she did. She didn't get far before Optimus called out to her again.
"Could I have a moment?"
"Depends, what for?" Six kept her back to him, her whole body tense.
The sounds of a transformation echoed behind her. Gears and metal rearranged before sliding into place and hydraulics hissed softly while she turned back around to face him.
"I may not be able comprehend how you feel towards me and my comrades," Optimus began as he knelt down and leveled his gaze with hers. "But, we are not this 'Covenant'. We do not seek the destruction of Humanity, we mean only to co-exist peacefully."
Six narrowed her eyes, "my hatred towards aliens isn't a switch I can turn on and off when I please. When you've seen people you cared about slaughtered by aliens just because their Human, it tends to leave a lasting impression."
"Then perhaps we can show you that not all alien life is like the Covenant," Optimus suggested, a soft look in his eyes.
"I wouldn't waste your time."
Optimus regarded her before rumbling, "it cannot hurt to try."
Six raised her eyebrows a fraction as she glared into the robots bright blue eyes. For some reason she found those eyes full of compassion and confusion. She knew the confusion was because of her, her opinion and her general appearance. But, the compassion was what stumped her. Why was he being like that? What did he want? He had to want something because there was always an ulterior motive.
"What do you want from me?" Six ground out the question, her features hardening while Optimus' were overcome by confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean!" Her voice rose in anger.
In an attempt to calm her Optimus lifted up his hands in a calming gesture. "I hold no hidden motives towards you, Noble Six. I just hope that we can show you that not all aliens are the same and that maybe one day you can put your trust in us."
"I doubt it."
Optimus looked like he was about to say something more, his face seemed to hold pity for her for a split second before it snapped back to normal when the loud voice of Guardian called out.
"Reclaimer! You requested my assistance?"
"You said you could fix my amour by using the other suit," she prompted. She turned from Optimus and made took a few steps so that she was in front of Guardian's floating form.
"Of course! Would you like me to fetch it for you so that we may begin?"
"Yes," Six turned, but the image of Emile's knife flashed into her mind and she hesitated.
Guardian notice this, "Is there something else Reclaimer?"
Swallowing the small lump that was beginning to form in her throat Six inwardly berated herself for being so sentimental, "There was a large knife that I had, I want you to bring it back for me."
"As you wish," Guardian said neutrally before he sped off without another word. Six was about to return to her armour and Dot when Optimus spoke to her again.
"I have the impression that this weapon holds a certain sentimental value."
Six snorted, "What gave you that idea?"
"There is nothing wrong with gaining attachments to your comrades, it can only make you stronger as a team," was the wise reply.
"I don't see how, besides I prefer working alone. I only want the knife because it's mine," Six said with a sense of finality, hoping to end the pointless conversation that was beginning to form.
Although it seemed Optimus didn't want to leave it there, "if it holds no value then why did you hesitate?"
Six was about to say something when he held up a large hand and continued talking, "the worst thing you can do is lie to yourself about how little value your comrades hold to you. You'll regret it when the time comes. You must remember that there is no weakness in it, only strength."
His words seemed to come from the heart –or his equivalent- and while Six knew what he said was true in some respects, it didn't agree with the way she worked. Besides, there was weakness in caring for your teammates; they could be used against you.
"Before you return to your tinkering, Ratchet had requested me to find out how much pain you're in. The anaesthetic he gave you would have stopped working by now," Optimus said as -what Six now understood as the usual- concern made its way into his voice. Truth be told the painkiller had ran out a while ago, but Six had been too preoccupied to notice anything other than the numb throbbing that expanded over her entire body. It wasn't off putting and she could function with it, although the fact that her burns hurt much less than the rest of her body concerned her somewhat. She was pretty sure that they should be the most painful; perhaps it had something to do with the substance that the robot had used on it?
"It's nothing I can't deal with," she answered shortly while she considered voicing her concern over the substance.
Optimus blinked as he asked, "What is it that bothers you?"
"The substance that your medic used on me, what does it do?" Six asked before she quickly added, "I don't feel any pain in the area he used it."
The large robot's face turned thoughtful for a moment before he spoke again, "The substance that Ratchet used to heal you is a biological cyber-matter, which he began experimenting with many years ago. You are one of the few that Ratchet has used it to heal as he only does so in dire circumstances. It has been known to have positive side effects on the human body, but I've heard that your biology is slightly different so you may gain different benefits."
As he paused to gauge her reaction, she couldn't help but feel a little angry. They'd used some strange alien experiment to heal her! What if it'd made her worse? What about the others they'd used it on?
It seemed Optimus was noticing her inner wrath and decided to explain before she got any angrier, "Ratchet would not have used the substance on you had he not needed to. Rest assured it has gone through many tests against human tissue and those who've been healed by it are perfectly healthy."
"If it's so great then why doesn't he use it more?" Six snapped at him.
"We do not want the humans to before dependent on our technology; they must develop on their own at their own pace. Also we fear that somehow it could be used as a weapon and that is something we do not want to be responsible for."
Six nodded, accepting the explanation for what it was worth. While she was annoyed that they were keeping things from Humanity that could aid them in the future, she knew that maybe it wasn't the right time. She knew enough about history to know that she'd landed before the United Earth Government had been founded, so with all the nations still separated she could only imagine what could happen if one became more advanced than the others.
Convinced that the conversation had drawn to a close, Six started to walk back to her armour when Optimus called out to her again. Although, she didn't turn around when he did, nor did she comment on what he said.
"Should you ever need anything do not hesitate to speak to me, Noble Six."
The words were followed by the sound of his transformation before the room fell quiet once more, apart from the light clicking that came from the people using the computers.
When she reached the table she'd been working at, Six unconsciously reached out to straighten Jorge's dog tag –which she'd laid out with the others- before she promptly stopped herself. She'd just said that getting close to comrades was a foolish thing to do, but she was such a hypocrite. She'd gotten close to Noble team; specifically Noble Five. Now look at her, moping around and mulling over their deaths. She was a Spartan for crying out loud, a solider, just like they were.
They did their duty, just as I'm going to do mine. She curled the fingers of her outstretched hand into a tight fist and vowed that she would be like her team and protect Humanity with everything she had. And nothing will get in my way.
"Dot, do you have any information on Slip-space engines?" It was a long short, but it was worth a try to see if the AI had something.
"Regretfully I do not carry that sort of information, my apologies Noble Six."
"It's fine, do you have an estimate on how long it would take the Covenant to get to Earth?" Six asked the question despite how helpless the answer could make her feel. Besides, she needed a deadline.
"From Reach it was estimated that the Covenant would reach Earth within the next six months."
Six cursed, she didn't like that answer. Could she create a slip-space engine from scratch in less than six months? Probably not, but she was going to do her damn best. She wouldn't give up on getting home, even if it meant arriving too late. She had to do her duty.
Her thoughts suddenly drifted to the package that Doctor Halsey had given her. It had been an AI that, according to Halsey, had access to information that was a game changer; something that could possible save Humanity. Whatever it was, Six hoped it worked because maybe then there would be something to come back to and defend.
Then there was Jun.
On that last mission Carter had ordered him to get Halsey off planet and Six couldn't help but hope that he'd done just that. After all, the sniper of Noble team was a force to be reckoned with, be it from a distance or close up. He'd been their eye in the sky on Reach and for one mission he'd been her scouting partner. A small smile crept onto her face at the memory of their playful banter throughout the mission as they'd constantly tried to outdo each other.
"Was this the knife you were referring to?" The loud, high voice of Guardian called out to her and Six turned to find the orb carrying both the knife and the armour she'd requested.
"Yes," Six reached out and grabbed it. "Thanks."
As she carefully ran her fingers over the blade, parts of Emile's speech surfaced in her mind.
"Don't cut yourself," the large Spartan had said as he'd handed his knife to Kat. The rest of Noble team had gathered around her as they'd all been crowded into a small cave.
"Who's next?!" The defiant words had been yelled by Emile as he'd blasted an Elite in the chest with his shotgun. Right after a plasma sword had burst through the Spartan's chest, but he hadn't flinched.
"I'm ready! How 'bout you?" Emile had roared as he'd grabbed his knife and stabbed it into the Elite's neck. Both had fallen from the gun and-
Six stopped herself and placed the knife on the table alongside the dog tags. It mad a sharp clang as its well sharpened edge hit the table's surface and the rooms light danced around the blood coated metal. Six made a metal note to clean it when she could, before she turned her attention back to the orb.
"Where do we begin?" She asked it.
"I shall need to thoroughly scan your armour to find what parts we shall be using and how we will put the armors together. It will only take a moment."
Six nodded and made a sweeping motion with her hand towards her amour. While she didn't wholeheartedly agree with letting the orb scan her amour there was little she could do. She needed her amour fixed and it did seem that Guardian wouldn't reveal information without her say so.
After a few moments of watching Guardian go over her amour with a blue light, Six asked if they could begin.
"Yes, I shall ask the Ancilla Hybrid if they have some tools that we will need." With that, Guardian floated over to Optimus and within the hour Six and the orb were both at work as they began the long process of repairing her amour. There were a few times where the hanger they resided in would erupt with noise; most of it coming from the tools they used while there was some arguing.
Despite the hard work that went on, little progress was made and by the time Six came out of her working haze the hanger was completely empty apart from her, Guardian and Optimus. Outside, the sun had well and truly set as the sky was completely back, save for the stars that shone through the darkness of space.
"Is something the matter, Reclaimer?" Guardian asked, noticing that she'd stopped working.
Six spared the orb a glance as he continued to fire a fine blue beam at a small section of the new armor's chest that she'd been working on a few hours ago. So far the pair had only managed to fix a tiny fraction of one of the holes in the armour, the reason being that it took a long time to create the metal that would be accepted by the armour. Also, said metal meant that Six was taking apart her own amour, piece by piece; something that did not fall well with her.
"Nothing, just having a small breather," Six answered after a while and turned back to the piece of armour before her. The black metal had been part of her chest piece, specifically the part that went over her shoulder. The symbol of the UNSC was still visible, despite the fact that the metal had received some alterations. Instead of being the pitch back she was used to it was now a dark shiny grey with a dark imprint where the UNSC symbol was.
Holding out the piece to Guardian, the orb finished what he was doing and took it off her. Then, without a word it returned to work. Six was about to do the same when she heard a set of footsteps echo through the hanger. She glanced up to see who it was and was met with the smiling face of Major Lennox.
"Noble Six," he greeted, only to receive a nod in response. "You free for a bit? 'Cause some of us are heading down to the mess hall and I wouldn't be surprised if you were hungry."
Considering the offer Six was surprised to find that it'd been a long time since she'd last eaten and now that she thought about it, her throat felt a little dry.
"I'll join you," Six agreed, she then turned to Guardian. "Could you keep an eye on Dot?"
Without stopping its work the orb assured her that Dot would come to no harm and despite her reluctance to leave the AI, Six found herself using her crutches to walk to the mess hall with the Major.
They walked in silence for the majority of the journey and Six had a feeling that the Major was trying to think of something to ask her. Although, from the corner of her eye she didn't see him once look at her. She also noticed that the cheerful simile from earlier had gone.
"Something the matter, Major?" Six inquired, her curiosity getting the better of her.
He looked up at her, a stony expression on his face as he spoke, "Since the battle last year we've only had a couple of contacts with the Decepticons. You've been here less than a day and you've already got them hunting you down. Something's not right."
Six frowned a little, how did these Decepticons even know she was here? "They're after me?"
"Yeah, Guardian ran into a few a few hours ago. He said they tried to attack him after he mentioned you –because you're Human- and then he killed them. I've got the emblem he brought back if you want to give it back to him."
"You keep it, did he say anything else?"
The Major shook his head, "not really, they just wanted you. It's weird…"
Her frown eased away and she cocked her head, "What makes you say that?"
Major Lennox scratched the side of his jaw in thought, "The only leadership we know the 'Cons have at the moment is Starscream and this isn't something that he would do. He's more interested in taking over the Earth than looking for…whatever it was that clued them into you. It's as if someone else is giving them orders…"
"Maybe you're right," Six said in agreement. Maybe if she knew more, she could give him more of an insight. "What Decepticons do you know of? And what role do they play?"
Will thought for a moment. His whole body was ridged, as if even the just talking about the Decepticons made him angry. His reaction was strangely similar to Six's when she talked about the Covenant, which told her that this guy had been given the same brutal introduction to aliens that she had.
"The major players at the moment are defiantly Starscream and apparently there's one called Soundwave hanging around, but we've never seen him." The look he gave her told her that this didn't sit well with anyone and what he revealed next gave her the reason why, "Soundwave is the Decepticons Communications Officer and from what Optimus has mentioned, he was very loyal to Megatron. Starscream was Megatron's second in command, but we've heard that he wasn't always that happy about it."
"Soundwave wouldn't be one to give orders and if he's as loyal to Megatron as you say then he would only follow orders from Startscream." Six paused in thought as she tried to relate these robots to Humans despite the fact that they weren't. The problem was that she knew very little about their behavior, but….That was it! Not wanting to get ahead of herself Six asked the Major, "Was there ever anyone that Megatron answered to?"
He shook his head and the triumphant feeling she'd had a moment ago quickly disappeared. Just as she was about to rethink the situation the Will spoke up.
"You'll have to ask Optimus for details about Megatron. Even though we've been fighting against them for almost a year, there's little I know about their leader apart from the fact he's dead and I would rather it stayed that way."
"Maybe I will…" Six said reluctantly as they entered the bright and busy mess hall. There was a brief silence in which a few people glanced in her and Will's direction. A few friendly nods came their way before everyone quickly went back to what they were originally doing and Six proceeded to get some food. With half her attention on asking for what she wanted Six took in the mess hall.
Unlike most UNSC mess hall's the walls were made from a navy coloured metal and there appeared little divide between soldiers. While the room was filled with chatting and laughing there was the odd table that was void of anyone. Looking at the empty tables, Six was tempted to go sit at one just like she used to. But, looking at Will as he nodded for her to follow him while he carried his and her tray, Six wondered how it could hurt to just sit with some of the soldiers.
When Will placed her tray on the table the cheesy smell of Lasagna hit her. The aroma caused her stomach to rumble as she realised that it had been too long since she'd last eaten something that wasn't field rations. It seemed that the others heard her stomachs display of hunger as the dark skinned man opposite her chuckled.
"The Major been starving you?" He cast a smirk in the Will's direction.
"It wouldn't be a proper introduction if she wasn't starving," Will joked as Six propped her crutches up and they both sat down.
"Or dying of thirst," the man chipped in, earning a small chuckled from the other two. Will also cracked a smile before he started to introduce Six to the three people who were sat at their table.
"Noble Six…" he began slowly and Six could tell he felt strange referring to her like that. Despite his discomfort he continued as he indicated to the man opposite her, "this is Robert Epps, Chief Master Sergeant of the US Air Force."
"Noble Six?" A confused look made its way onto his face as he turned to Six, the rest of the table also joining in as they waited for her answer.
"I was the sixth member of a team called Noble," Six explained. "You can refer to me as three-one-two if you prefer."
"They always refer to soldiers as numbers where you come from?" Robert asked, surprised.
Six smirked, "Only the lucky ones."
Her words were received by a light chuckle down the table and Six took the moment to attack some of her food. While she chewed on what was probably the best thing she'd eaten in a long time, one of the others with a similar accent to Epps asked her a question.
"What was your team like? If you don't mind me asking," the sandy haired soldier asked before adding, "James Anderson, Master Sergeant of the US Amy Rangers."
"Close, like any other team, but I guess we were closer than most," Six said after swallowing some food. "We each had our own specific skill set."
"What was yours?"
Six sent him an evil smirk. "I made people disappear."
"An assassin?" A man with short dark hair said with an accent that very different to the others. "I'm Graham Walker, Captain in the British Army."
Six nodded, stabbing some of her Lasagna with her fork, "I was the replacement for another Spartan who is currently MIA. Before I was assigned to Noble, I dealt with the UNSC's other problem."
"He's still alive?" Graham asked carefully. It seemed he knew he was entering a touchy subject, if Six's stabbing at her food was any indication.
"Spartan's never die," Six repeated the lie that everyone had drilled into their mind. "They're only missing in action."
Will's cough brought Six out of her momentary lapse into the past. She turned her head a little to face him and saw that his face was almost full of worry. It soon disappeared when her usual scowl returned and he decided to steer the conversation in a new direction, "How did the training exercise today go?"
The rest of the table groaned and the one named Robert spoke up, "It was going pretty good, until….Knock Out."
"Ah." The acceptance in Will's voice made Six raise an eyebrow in curiosity. By the sounds of it, this Knock Out usually did something wrong. "What was it this time?"
Robert turned to Graham, "You tell him man, you were there."
"Alright," Graham sighed, his lips twitching a little. "The exercise was going fine. We were starting to push back Longarm and Salvage, there were snipers up high to warn us if Knock Out was around. We'd also put down two of the experimental EMP mines just in case. We never expected him to go racing through both."
Robert and James both grinned while Graham struggled not to and Will stopped what he was doing, his face perplexed.
"How did he even…" Will began and unable to finish his sentence he motioned for Graham to continue.
"Captain Hughes did a good job of directing the set-up," Graham confirmed with a smile.
"She's one of yours isn't she?"
"Not quite, she's SRR."
Will grinned, although –Six noted- it was evident he knew very little of this 'SRR', "I see."
Not wanting to elaborate, Graham continued with his story. The story consisted of how Knock Out had gone speeding up behind them as a motorcycle only to have his back tire shot by one of the snipers. He'd then proceeded to go through the first EMP mine as he tried to turn onto another road, which led to him barrelling into the second mine. Graham had also mentioned that while he'd been crashing the majority of his team had managed to shoot him with their paint rounds –Six had raised her eyebrows at this, paint rounds?- and therefore covered the green Autobot in bright colours.
Graham finished off his story by concluding that Knock Out's takedown had given everyone the motivation to push back Salvage and Longarm. Apparently it was an easy victory and the exercise had only lasted just over an hour instead of the usual three or more. From what Six had noticed, it seemed all the people at this base were the best of the best, Special Forces or both.
She must have had a look of confusion on her face because Will asked her if something was wrong.
"Don't you use stun rounds instead of paint rounds?" She knew the question sounded ridiculous, but surely they'd invented stun rounds. At that thought she realised, maybe they hadn't.
"We don't have 'stun rounds'," Will said, confirming her thought. "Is that what you guys use?"
Six nodded, "yeah, very effective."
The words seemed to piques the interest of those sat around them. James was the first to speak up, although his words were said carefully, "what's it like? Where you're from, I mean, the future."
Six didn't really want to talk about where she was from, so she sent him a grimace along with the words, "Full of war."
"But before the war, it must've been amazing?" He asked in hope, even as sadness lined his eyes.
"I wasn't born before the war," Six was about to continue to explain how even before the war they'd had terrorism, but she stopped herself. She wasn't sure what they knew, but maybe they thought she was from their future. If that was the case, then perhaps she could give a little boost to their moral by telling them how far Humanity had reached. Even if they knew she was from alternate universe, she could at least try and give them hope for something.
Six sighed, "But, Humanity has reached far and succeeded in many areas. Reach was one of our crowning achievements," yes, and look what the Covenant did to it! Six's lips threatened to twitch into a sneer, but she managed to tame it into a minor smirk. "It was a…beautiful planet as well as being very dedicated to the Military side of things. Space itself is also a spectacle, well, from what I've seen while serving in the UNSC."
Six decided to stop there. Talking about her home in that way was strange for her. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because she didn't believe in all the beauty of her home anymore; all she saw was death.
"How big are we talking?" Robert asked. "For your space ships, I mean."
"It ranges from about one hundred meters to around four thousand meters," Six answered with a small grin. Although the UNSC didn't have the biggest ships out there, they were force to be reckoned with and had managed to give the Covenant a run for their money a couple of times.
A chorus of "How big?" and "You're kidding" came from the few at the table and a few heads turned in their direction. They must've been about to turn back when Robert called out to them.
"Hear that guys? Space ships longer than thirty-six football pitches, that's some crazy shit!" He gave Graham a sideways glance, "and that's real football, not soccer, for all you Brits in the room."
There was a small laugh that rippled through the mess hall, which soon died down and was replaced by exciting chattering about giant space ships. Six allowed herself a small smile before she finished chewing the remainder of her food, sipped the rest of her water and began to get up.
As she did she picked up her tray and spoke to those at the table, "I must return to my armor, thank-you for your company."
"Don't you think you should catch some sleep?" Will asked, a touch of concern in his voice, "your armor can wait until morning, right?"
"With all due respect, Sir, I'll be a more efficient soldier with my armor," Six said stiffly. She didn't need –or want- to add that she felt very vulnerable and exposed without it.
Will looked taken aback a little before he put a frown on his face, "you need rest. You can't be an efficient soldier on a couple of hours of sleep, besides Ratchet will have my aft if I don't make sure you take it easy."
"I assure you, Sir, I'll get enough rest."
His frown didn't lessen, despite the fact that she was being truthful, "I'll be round to show you to your quarters in an hour or two. You can catch some sleep then."
"Aye, Sir." And with that Six grabbed her crutches in one hand, lifted up her tray in the other and was about to leave when Graham stopped her.
"Noble Six…" he began uncertainly. "We'll get your tray."
"Yeah," Robert agreed with a smirk. "Don't want Ratchet hurling his tools at us."
Replacing her tray on the table, Six nodded in thanks and hopped out of the room and back to her armor. After all, she had a lot to do and time was not on her side.
