0539 hours, September 20, 2525 (Military Calendar)\

Epsilon Eridani system, Maprae Training Field

Upper-Left Quadrant, planet Reach

Alex blocked her punch to the outside, and spun around it past her guard. He had his back to her while holding her right arm with his left, executing a shot to the solar plexus with his right elbow when she rammed her left fist into his ribcage. He dropped down, coughing. He reverse side-snap kicked above her right knee from the ground, knocking her forwards when she was just about to scrape the spikes down his leg.

Then in one swift move, he turned and launched his right fist into Linda's left shoulder joint as she fell. Alex twisted around with his momentum and slammed his right palm into her faceplate. Linda's head snapped back as the faceplate shattered.

Spartan-109 caught her limp body before it dropped, and softly lowered it to the ground. He propped her against a tree, ripping her ruined helmet off. Blood dribbled out of the corner of her mouth and down her chin. Alex gently wiped it away with his gloved fingers.

Knowing she wouldn't be out for long, the Spartan injected her with a tranquilizer to keep her quiet. He opened the insulated and armored pocket on his boot, taking out one of the three listening bugs. He unlocked one side of her abdomen armor above the shoulder, and placed the tiny bug in the small hollow space behind the locking bar, under where the locking panel would rest after it hooked onto the bar and was pushed down. The panel was just tall enough to not crush the delicate listening device. Good.

He had hacked into the device before, and reset the receiving band to the same one that his helmet used. That way, he could hear everything she could. It probably wouldn't do much, but it might give him some clues as to what the rest of their team was doing. He could patch it through to anyone else of his team also.

The Spartan dragged Linda over and sat her up against the tree. He cleared away signs of their scuffle, and backed away into the foxhole again as he decided to wait for Grace to wake up. Alex hid for half of an hour before she finally stirred.

"Grace," he whispered, "wake up." She mumbled incoherently for a few seconds before finally waking up. Groggy from sleep, she fumbled with her weapon, making sure it worked, and chambered a round.

"Ready to go." Grace replied with a yawn. They climbed carefully out. Alex trotted over to Linda's sleeping form and hoisted her up onto his shoulder. Grace whispered through the com. "Nice. You got her, eh?" Alex nodded, but indicated the crushed side of his helmet and his broken jaw piece. Grace drew a smile across her visor, which Alex returned. He then pointed to Red Base, and they set off. They were overdue for defense duty.

2356 hours, September 20, 2525 (Military Calendar)\

Epsilon Eridani system, UNSC Training Center

Docking Bay 3-C, planet Reach

The sore Spartans plodded from the Pelican, weary from the long battle. It was 11:00 P.M. and totally dark out on the launch pad, save for a lighted corner where Mendez waited impatiently. The wind picked up, whipping hair around gently as they lined up in front of the trainer, who was scowling again.

Mendez got up from the chair he was sitting in, and slowly walked through the ranks. Everyone stood ramrod straight, trying not to look conspicuous. He nodded to Spartan-117, John, and stopped besides Alex. The instructor held out his opened hand, not saying a word. Alex saluted, and dropped three bugs into Mendez's palm.

Mendez stalked to the front of the line, and turned swiftly to face them. They saluted, and he returned it.

"At ease." He growled, "Go shower, and then you get one day of R and R. Dismissed." The trainer marched off.

"Fallout." John ordered. Alex swept his fingers through his hair, and inhaled the night air. He glanced over to Fred who was walking haughtily to the entryway. He never had gotten a chance to meet the other Spartan again... Not after Mendez's team had come.

They had surprised the Spartans at 1330 the day he had captured Linda, coming in from the west and taking out two of Blue team and one of Red team in the first five or so minutes. The renegade team had swept quickly through the field, taking down the uncoordinated resistance without losing many men. Once they realized what was going on, though, the remaining trainees got their act together.

Red and Blue team merged COM systems and met at Blue base. After the Spartans joined forces, they gradually beat the other much larger team to a standstill over the remaining two days. Then, on the night of the fifth day, a Pelican swooped down into the middle of the field and docked there. Everyone quickly realized that whoever secured it first was getting the ride home. Much to the chagrin of all of the trainers except Mendez, the Spartans got it, and Vinh flew them back to HQ. The chief trainer acted like he was angry, but everyone knew he was proud by the smile on his face as he walked away.

Job well done Alex thought as he trudged in after Grace.