A/N: So, I'm hoping to do regular updates now, seeing as this story is actually close to being completed.

cнαρтєя 8 - тσ ∂єѕтяσу

Scarlett walked ahead of Cate, surveying the broken and ruined structures outside of Sword Base. It was a grey day, and the skies of Reach were burning.
Seeing Reach like this constantly made Scarlett think of Jorge.
Suddenly, Colonel Holland's voice crackled over the COMMS, "Noble One, this is Noble Actual." Holland waited for a response from Carter.
When he didn't reply, Holland asked, "Noble One?"
"Go ahead." Carter quietly replied. Scarlett knew his mood was bad because he had almost lost Kat a few days ago.
She suspected that the truth of the matter was really settling in for him; Noble Team were not as invincible as they'd like to think.
"We need that base taken out, son," Holland continued. "What's your status?"
"Still outside. Thermal on the interior shows standing-room-only. We're gonna have to thin 'em out or we'll be way too popular."
"Copy that, Noble One," Holland replied, with a sigh. "Holland out."

Scarlett jumped down the boulder she was on, watched by a group of ODSTs. Cate wasn't far behind.
"We've got a job to do, so let's stay focused and get it done," Carter snapped over the COMMS. Scarlett knew he wasn't in a good mood today.
"Scarlett, Cate, are you in position?" He asked, inpatient.
"Affirmative." Scarlett replied dryly.
"Good. Execute." Carter responded quietly.
Cate stood behind the ODSTs, whilst Scarlett took point. She surveyed the area to make sure that the Covenant wouldn't see them, gesturing with a closed fist to the others to hold position. Slowly, she re-opened her fist and gestured for the others to follow her.
They leapt down from the boulder they were on, and took cover behind a structure that was over-flowing with water. Whilst Cate didn't recognise the area, Scarlett knew it from when she had last been at a Sword Base, with Kat. This area was where the COMMS array was housed.
"Covenant own this sector now, but they're defending for a major strike, not a small-group infiltration," Carter explained over COMMS. "Eliminate all hostile anti-air defense so the rest of Noble can land at Sword Base for the torch and burn. Keep a low profile; if we take 'em by surprise, this will be a hell lot easier." "Spartans," An ODST Sergeant called out. "We'll follow you."
The ODSTs held position whilst Scarlett and Cate took care of the various shade turrets and a sniper. Cate gestured for the ODSTs to follow, and together they took care of a ghost and a small pack of grunts.
"Kat was right," Emile suddenly spoke over COMMS. "It does seem like overkill. Sending us back here for a simple demo op?"
"ONI thinks it's worth it. That tell you something?" Jun replied sharply.
"It tells me things ain't so simple."
They rounded a corner, where a Scorpion Tank was somehow, hidden out of sight from the Covenant. It was amazing how it hadn't been spotted.
"A Scorpion? Sw-eet!" An ODST shouted out, clearly pleased by the sight.
Cate rolled her eyes. "Let's not get too excited, it might not work, okay?"
The ODST glanced at his comrades and shrugged. Scarlett took point and clambered into the drivers seat of the Scorpion.
The engine rumbled to life, and Scarlett laughed, pleased herself. "Looks like our luck really is holding out!" She said.
Cate shrugged. "I'll take a ghost." She turned around and a few moments later, returned with a Ghost.

Meanwhile, Carter, Kat, Emile and Jun were holding position, waiting for two AA guns to be destroyed, allowing them to get to Sword Base in a Falcon.
"What's taking them so long?" Emile questioned, inpatient. He quickly gunned down a passing Elite who hadn't noticed them.
Carter clenched his jaw. "Time to get to work you two," He told Scarlett and Cate over COMMS. "Take out those guns!"
Jun, who had been largely silent, looked over at Kat. "You alright?" He questioned.
Kat jerked her head up suddenly. "What?"
Jun frowned. "Are you okay?" He repeated.
Kat shrugged. "Yeah. I'm okay."
Jun looked over at Carter, who appeared to be worrying about Kat, too. Kat hadn't been like herself since the glassing of New Alexandria, and Carter expected that it was the shock of being so close to death. It had shocked them all, knowing that they could die just like that.
Carter suddenly looked down at his data pad, which was beeping. "Looks like they got the first gun offline." He told the other three, before walking away slightly and said into COMMS, "First target neutralised," He gestured to the other three to get into the waiting Falcon. "Falcons, standby."
Jun and Emile clambered into the turrets, whilst Kat got into the passenger seat. Carter got into the pilots seat, and a few moments later, another beep came from his data pad.
"Nice job, girls," He said over COMMS to Scarlett and Cate. "Falcons; commencing descent. We'll meet you two inside the base." He began taking off and heading across the now dead, AA guns.

Cate looked up to Jun and Emile firing from a Falcon at some stray Elites. "We'd better hurry up." She advised Scarlett, who nodded.
Cate sped around the next corner, whilst Scarlett provided covering fire from the Scorpion. The Falcons zoomed overhead, before landing inside Sword Base. Carter and Kat headed towards the gate. Kat kneeled down and began fiddling with the wires, trying to hack the gate into opening.
Carter stood alongside her, watching for any Covenant that may escape Jun and Emile.
"Noble, Falcons have landed, hostiles have engaged. Kat is working on getting the gate open."
Carter told everybody over COMMS.

Finally, Kat got the gate to open. "Got it. Gate is opening, Commander." She informed Carter, who nodded.
"Scarlett, Cate, get over here! Covies are all over the base." Carter shouted over COMMS.
Cate rolled her eyes. "We're just outside, but taking heavy fire from a Revenant." She responded.
At last, the Revenant exploded, and Scarlett and Cate were able to advance inside. Carter and Kat had gone back to their position with Jun and Emile.
Upon seeing Cate and Scarlett, Emile said, "Just in time, you two." He sounded almost relieved to see them, Cate thought.
"Kill then all, Noble!" Carter ordered.
Cate went for a Blue minor, killing it almost instantly with her shotgun, before finishing it off with a quick melee, whilst Scarlett assassinated an orange minor.
All that was left in the courtyard was some jackals and grunts, which were taken care of quickly. The only thing that halted them in the garage was some grunts on plasma turrets, but soon enough, they were taken care of. They all re-positioned themselves by the Elevator which led to the security office.
Carter inspected the Elevator, before asking Kat, "Can you hack into it?"
Kat shook her head. "I'd have to be inside it to get it working. But it looks as if there's no power running to the elevator."
Emile smirked, investigating the place. "The way this place been done, we'll be lucky if anything still works." He commented.
"Kat, any alternative routes we can take?" Cate suggested.
Kat checked her data pad. "Looks like there's a maintenance tunnel there," She pointed at some automatic doors to the right of them. "We can get to the security office through there, if the doors are still working."
Carter sighed. "Alright people, looks like we'll be taking an alternative route through the maintenance shafts. Cate, you'll be taking point this time." He ordered. Cate nodded and pulled out her Magnum, keeping a good distance ahead. Immediately Jackal snipers came into view, wielding needle rifles.
"Dammit!" Carter muttered. Needle rifles had almost killed Kat. He couldn't let it happen again.
The snipers were quickly taken care of, thanks to Jun. After dealing with several rounds of jackals and more snipers, the Team finally made it to the security office.
It was weird to Scarlett, seeing it so damaged and barely functional. When she was here last with Kat, the whole place had seen so new, almost state-of-the-art kind of complex. But now, even the automated computer wasn't working. The lighting was barely there, and everything in sight was either burnt or smashed. UNSC ammo crates seemed to lie around every corner, something that had not been there before. Troopers bodies were also slumped around. Scarlett knew the next room, the atrium, would bring back some difficult memories of Jorge and when he was here.
Almost as if she also knew, Kat patted Scarlett's arm in a comforting gesture.
"Where are we going now, boss?" Jun queried.
"Dot?" Carter asked.
"Please proceed to the pre-arranged co-ordinates." Dot replied.
Emile smirked at this. "Cryptic." He commented.
"You know as much as I do, Noble Four." Dot replied.
The doors opened, revealing the Atrium, which appeared largely empty. Suddenly, four spec-op Elites appeared out of nowhere, opening fire on the Team.
Emile threw a couple of grenades into the spec-ops, causing them to go flying.
"Yeeah!" Cate shouted out, patting Emile on the back. Emile smiled at this gesture under his helmet.
An Elite General suddenly appeared at the doorway above the ramp directly in front of them. He had a concussion rifle, and immediately began firing at Noble Team.
Unfortunately, Kat was caught mainly in the cross-fire, and once again, was sent flying.
"Kat!" Carter shouted, pushing past everybody else in a desperate attempt to reach her. "Are you okay?" He asked, whilst Jun, Emile, Cate & Scarlett dealt with the Elite.
"I'm fine," Kat replied, getting on her feet and making sure her fake arm was okay. Her eyes widened suddenly at something behind Carter, and she yelled, "Look out!"
Carter seemed confused for a moment, until a plasma grenade stuck onto his helmet. "Ah!" He shouted, pulling his helmet off and chucking it away.
It was still close to Carter though, and the explosion itself and the fact that he had almost died had shocked him completely. He wasn't ready to go on, and certainly not with a ruined helmet.
The others has successfully killed the Elite, and walked over to his position.
"Are you okay, Boss?" Jun asked, worried.
"My helmet is completely torn up," Carter responded, annoyed. "What am I going to do now?"
They all stood silent for a moment, before Kat spoke up. "We'll give you covering fire and make sure you're safe. As soon as we've finished our objective, I'll try and get some repairs done to your helmet."
Carter smiled at her, pleased that she was his second-in-command. "Good thinking, Kat." He responded.
"Okay, Team, move up the ramp, and to the right!" Kat ordered everyone, already taking control of her temporarily position as Commander.
Everybody did so, until they found a door requiring a pass code.
Kat opened the door, revealing a room scattered with troopers' bodies. Nothing important lay around. Just a dead end.
"Looks like they got themselves cornered." Jun commented.
"They might have been committed to holding this position," Cate replied. "Might be something important here."
Emile did a sweep of the room, and upon finding nothing but a dead end, replied, "I'm going with cornered. There's nothing here."
"No load-bearing columns either," Jun commented. "Sir, if we're suppose to blow this place, this ain't the spot to do it from."
Carter, who had originally agreed with Cate, gritted his teeth, annoyed. "Dot, check your vector." He ordered.
"Vector confirmed, Commander," Dot replied. "We are precisely where ONI has directed-" She cut herself off mid-sentence before adding, "Apologises. Co-ordinates revised. Please confirm?"
"Revised?" Carter asked, growing impatient.
"By an A.I. of unknown origin, whose clearance is well above my own." Dot replied.
"Well, it's pointing us a klick and a half east, and two thousand feet underground," Jun pointed out, getting tired himself.
"I didn't bring my shovel, Commander." Emile added. Cate smirked at this.
"Sir, I say we go AI free on this one," Jun added. "Obviously, these coordinates are junk, and the longer we go chasing them-"
Suddenly, a grinding noise was heard. Worried it was more Covenant, everybody raised their weapons in defensive positions. A whooshing sound was heard, and the dead end opened, revealing it was a door.
"So I was right." Cate said smugly. Emile stood in front of the door, securing the entry.
"What is this, Dot?" Carter asked, not so sure himself.
"Our revised route, Commander." Dot replied.
Carter sighed. "Alright. We came this far," He signalled Jun to take point and for everybody to follow.
Jun entered first, followed by Kat, then Carter, then Scarlett, then Cate, and finally Emile, who walked backwards, making sure nothing was following them.

They came across a large tram at the end of the tunnel. They all stepped into it, and the doors sealed tight. Carter, becoming annoyed with the mysterious façade, asked Dot, "Your new A.I. Friend tell you anything else?" It was completely silent. Carter was becoming aggravated.
"Dot?" He asked, impatient.
"She's been expecting you." Dot replied.
"That's just perfect." Emile commented sarcastically.
Suddenly, Halsey appeared on the screen in front of them. "Apologises for the high security measures, Commander, but the stakes demand it." She explained. "Doctor Halsey," Carter began, surprised to see her. "Causality reports had you listed as-"
"Well, news of my death has been greatly exaggerated," Halsey interrupted, typing at something in front of her. She suddenly stopped and looked directly at them, adding, "I only wish the same could be said for the rest of Noble Team."
Carter looked away sadly. Scarlett swallowed hard, knowing that Halsey was referring to Jorge.
"We all do, Ma'am." Carter replied.
Halsey nodded somewhat sternly at this, before continuing. "It may please you to learn the data module Noble Two procured from Visegrad station contained precisely what my scientist promised: a latchkey discovery. It has unlocked, at last, the secrets of this excavation."
Carter was confused. Excavation?
"Not sure I understand." He replied.
"Your orders were a pretext to bring you to me and have been overridden. You are here, Team Noble, to assure the delivery of this vital data to a secure location." Halsey explained.
"Doctor, our orders are to destroy all sensitive material-"
"Others will handle the demolition."
"I'll need to confirm this new directive with command-"
"Colonel Holland will be briefed," Halsey interrupted again. "You belong to ONI now."
Halsey was about to cut the link, when she noticed that Carter's helmet wasn't anywhere with him. "Commander, what did you do with your helmet?" She asked.
"It was too badly damaged from a plasma grenade," Kat pitched in. "Rendered un-usable."
Halsey narrowed her eyes. "Then you are in no condition to fight. You will have to come to my lab whilst I try and procure you a new one."
Before Carter could even argue, Halsey cut the link, leaving Noble Team alone once more.
"Odd, how nice she's being," Cate pointed out.
"It was probably because of Jorge." Scarlett replied sadly. "He was a part of our Team, after all." Kat patted her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

The all filed into an Elevator in silence. The view from the Elevator was that of a huge cave, with Halsey's lab in the middle.
"So, Jorge was right, when he said Halsey's lab was underneath Sword Base." Emile mused.
"Before you is an alien artifact neither human or Covenant in origin. Advanced beyond our comprehension...until now. Thanks to Noble Two, the decryption of its data is nearly complete." Halsey explained.
Crumbling noises were heard, which shifted the Team's attention to boulders falling from the ceiling of the cave.
"Whatever we're doing down here, we better do it quick." Emile pointed out.
"Have your data ready, ma'am. We're coming to you." Carter ordered Halsey.
"The decrypting data is still underway…" Halsey argued.
"I don't think you understand. We're out of time. If it isn't portable when we reach you, it's gonna get buried." Carter explained, pointing at the boulders falling. "Bury any of it, and you bury mankind's best chance of survival! Commander, you've been wondering what your Spartans died for? They died for this. Please. Buy me all the time you can." Halsey pleaded.

Whilst Carter was in Halsey's lab, waiting for his helmet to be repaired, Kat took command.
"Alright, Team, let's spread out!" She commanded. "Find Halsey's lab."
"Kat, I'm seeing turrets in defensive positions." Jun pointed out.
"ONI was expecting company?" Emile questioned.
"We have hostiles inbound." Cate pointed out.
"Spartans, you cannot allow the Covenant to break through the door to my lab." Halsey pleaded.
"Let's give the doctor the time she needs." Kat replied.
"Noble Team, there are four defense turrets to assist you in defending the lab. Get them online, and quick! When the turrets take too much damage, they'll shut down to recharge. You'll need to reactivate them when they come back online." Colonel Holland explained over COMMS.
"Scarlett, Cate, you get the turrets online!" Kat ordered.

After seemingly endless waves of Covenant forces, Doctor Halsey finally opened her laboratory doors. The rest of the Team jogged in and met Carter, who was waiting by the doorway for them. The looked around the room and were amazed at what they saw.
"What is this stuff?" Emile questioned, clearly taken back himself.
"Knowledge," Halsey replied, fiddling with some of her own work. "A birthright from an ancient civilization. This AI is its custodian, and she has chosen you as her carriers."
"Chosen?" Emile asked Carter skeptically. "By an AI?"
"By this AI, yes. Her measure of you carries as much weight as my own…" Halsey replied. She moved, and the AI was seen, analyzing data.
"...Perhaps more," Halsey continued. "You are to take her to the UNSC ship-breaking yards in Aszod. There, you will find a Halyon class light cruiser waiting to get her off planet."
"I understand." Carter replied easily.
"Do you? Mankind is outmatched. When Reach falls - and it will fall - our annihilation is all but certain. Unless...we can glean from this artifact a defense against the Covenant. A game-changer. On the level of the conical bullet in nineteenth century, or faster-than-light travel in the twenty-third." Halsey went on.
"And what if we can't?" Carter asked, unsure himself now.
"An apt question if there were somewhere else to place our hope. There is not." Halsey answered, almost sadly.
She released the data unit the AI was stored in and walked towards Carter..But then turned to Scarlett, who stood next to him.
"Take it, Lieutenant... She has made her choice." Halsey said, handing the unit over to Scarlett.
Scarlett, unsure if she should, looked over at Carter for help. Carter said nothing and simply gave her a curt nod. Scarlett took the unit in her hands.
"Do you have it?" Halsey asked, almost desperately.
"Yes." Scarlett replied.
"Say the words, please."
"I have it."

The Team and Halsey walked out from the base that was soon to be destroyed, and towards two Pelicans.
Carter turned and addressed Halsey, "Dr. Halsey, Noble Three will escort you to CASTLE base."
"I require no escort, Commander-" Halsey replied, almost smugly.
"Jun, make sure nothing falls into enemy hands." Carter ordered Jun, completely ignoring Halsey.
"I'll do what's necessary, sir... Good Luck."
Carter nodded, "You too, rifleman."
Jun and Halsey climbed into one Pelican, whilst Cate, Scarlett, Kat and Emile secured the area. Carter climbed into the cockpit of the Pelican, ready to pilot it.
"I need a heading, Dot." He told Dot.
"At three kilometers north, turn right. Heading zero-five-zero."
"Which leads to..?"
Scarlett, Cate, Kat and Emile climbed into the bay of the Pelican; Kat and Scarlett sat down inside the Pelican, whilst Emile and Cate sat on the door of the Pelican together.
"The ship-breaking yard in Azsod," Dot continued. "The only off-planet extraction point left on this continent. Small scale air attacks have decimated many convoys en route. An armada of Covenant cruisers have hastened to side as well. UNSC cruiser, Pillar of Autumn is waiting for your arrival."
The Pelicans took off; below Jun's pelican was Sword Base and Halsey's lab, which had suddenly blown up, denying any access to data the Covenant might have wanted to get. Emile sat back a little more, almost as if he was suddenly worried about falling out.
"Wouldn't be a Noble mission if it were easy." Carter replied, easing back a little more into his seat and flying the Pelican to their destination.