Bleeding Out

Disclaimer: I do not in anyway shape or form own Halo. It belongs to Bungie, 343 Industries, and Microsoft, nor am I associated with them in anyway. This is a non-profit fan work written solely for the purpose of entertainment. This is in no way canon. That should be obvious but just in case.

Response to questions or statements:

-CMDR Kovacs: Thanks for pointing that out. I fixed it.

-Turtlekungfu: Thank you, and yes, Stellaris is great and nobody can tell me otherwise. Insert the change my mind meme here.

-Mythic Imagination: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Hope you like this one.

-Krieger Techpreist: Yeah, the MC is a pretty big nerd, Figured it was an OK thing to add in considering he was a regular human before he got isekai into the Halo verse. Hope you like this chapter.

-nilochristou: Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Now, without further adieu... onto the story.

(Location: Fort Dover ~ UNSC Army base ~ ,Reach)

(Time: August 10, 2552)

In meeting room A-7 at Fort Dover, Noble team was gathered along with a group of UNSC Army Infantry Scouts. These men were pulled from a few scout sniper platoons from a couple of Infantry Battalions stationed at Fort Dover. Since these 11-Bravos are usual an asset for the Battalions they were a part of, that could only mean that they were all gathered here at the request of someone high up in the UNSC's chain of command on Reach. Most likely for some big operation where multiple units would be involved.

"Anyone have any idea what's going on?" Emile asked the rest of Noble team, all of whom sat together in their own area away from the rest of the assembled UNSC personnel..

Carter was the one to speak up next. "Don't know. Just that whatever it is has the brass spooked."

"Whatever it is, it's got to have something to do with the Covenant." Noble team's second-in-command remarked aloud.

"What makes you say that?" Jorge inquired with a bit of worry in his voice.

"Insurrections don't normally warrant this kind of response, at least not since this began." Kat explained. "Besides, the Covenant have quiet for a while now. So that must mean they're up to something."

"I...guess that could be why CENTCOM asked for us." Emile chimed in.

"If I had to guess, it's probably for some kind of scouting mission." Kat suggested.

"Maybe," Noble One conceded as he could see the logic behind, "We'll know sooner or later."

"By the way, does anyone know where Casper is?" Jun asked aloud as he was the only member of the Spartan team that wasn't in the room.

As if on cue, the man in question walked into the briefing room through the set of doors. He took a quick look around the room and walked towards Noble Team as soon as he saw them.

" There you are, where've you been?" Noble One asked Casper as he sat down.

"I was in the middle of something when I got the call," Six explained as he tried to defend himself.

"Sleeping in again, Casper?" Kat asked with amusement in her voice.

"Uh, No," Casper denied, which was the truth. He was in the middle of a Half-Life 2 mod, Entropy Zero:2 (which was the closest thing he had to a Half-Life 3 since Valve still didn't release it), when he received the message informing him he was being called to a briefing. Which did explain why he was late as he was too engrossed in the game to notice the message.

"Attention!" An MP standing guard at the entrance called out which prompted everyone to stand at attention to whoever had entered the room, who turned out to be the commanding officer of Special Warfare Group Three, Colonel Urban Holland of ASOC. He was dressed in standard Army Battle Dress Uniform in the woodland camo pattern, albeit lacking the gear necessary for combat like an armored vest, CH252 Combat Helmet, shoulder pauldrons, etc. However, that was to be expected as he was most likely officers at that rank or higher don't normally go onto the battlefield as they more often than not do desk work such as administrative duties or coordinate logistics. If you did see one carrying a rifle and fighting personally, than that more often than not meant things were bad or he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. More likely he was here to brief on why everyone was gathered here on such short notice.

'At ease," Holland said to the entire room as he made his way to the front and stood before the console with a monitor, that was mainly used for presentations, right next to him. Once everyone had sat back down, he began speaking. "I know you're all wondering why we called you all here on such short notice so I'll get straight to the point." Holland interacted with the terminal which dimmed the lights in the room slightly and turned on the screen.

"At approximately 2300 hours yesterday, SIGINT picked up suspected Covenant transmissions originating from this area, " he said as a set of coordinates popped up on the board as well as a photo of the sector. "Once we confirmed that they were in fact Covenant transmissions, we evacuated the surrounding towns before we tried to get a visual with a HELIOS surveillance satellite. Unfortunately, there appears to be some kind of jamming field which distorted the imaging, same thing happened with the Rapiers we sent in, the feed becomes corrupted as soon as it nears the zone. Since this is the first time the Covenant has set up an electronic countermeasure like this, it's safe to assume that whatever's going on in there is something they want to keep hidden."

The Colonel paused for a few moments to let his words sink in before he continued.

"Because we can't get a visual with the Rapiers, this means that we're going to have to do this with good old boots on the ground. CENTCOM needs you to go in and recce the area, get us some idea of what we're dealing with here. The Spartans of Noble Team will move in from the North, where we picked up the heaviest activity, the rest of you will move in from the west north-west and north-east. If you get into contact, you are cleared to engage but remember, you're to gather intel on just what exactly Charlie is up to in there. So, don't go picking any fights you don't have to. In the event you come across any point of sabotage, you are to place C-12 explosives on it but do NOT set it off. Instead, set to frequency 128.5 and continue scouting."

Holland pressed a button on the console and the screen behind him changed to what looked to be a battle plan. Points that were to be assaulted were marked with arrows with the names of units attached to them, the ones that were most likely assigned to carry out those sections of the offensive.

"Once you've confirmed what the enemy is up too and their defenses, CENTCOM will send in the assault force which is mobilizing as we speak. 1st Brigade, 3rd Armored Division is mobilizing for the assault, along with the 83rd Mechanized and RCTs One and Three from the 40th Infantry Div. The 93rd Motorized Artillery Brigade is getting ready to provide fire support and squadrons of Broadswords and Sparrows are on station to run sorties on enemy positions. Any questions?" Colonel Holland asked the Spartans and Infantry Scouts.

After a few seconds, a Staff Sergeant with 'Mann' on the nametag attached to his armored vest raised his hand. "Yes, Staff Sergeant?" Holland gestured to him.

"Any idea on what kind of opposition we'll be facing, and will we have any support, sir?" He asked

"AWACS reported about several enemy Phantoms and Spirits in the area. We also have unconfirmed reports of air and ground patrols in the area so be careful, " the Colonel responded. "ISR assets will be overhead which comms will be bouncing off from, we'll maintain overwatch for as long as we can but once you enter the zone we'll lose visual. However, it appears that comms will still work inside the zone so we'll be able to keep in radio contact. If you get into contact, radio in and we'll dispatch a QRF. Furthermore, the AO is the territory of a few Gutas so there is a chance you may encounter one of them. For those of you who aren't aware, they are wildlife native to Reach that are known to be very aggressive and attracted to loud noises. Best way to take one out if you have no choice is a couple of forty mike-mikes or a shot from a launcher. Again, let me emphasize this, engage only if you get compromised or if you have no other option."

The E-6 nodded his head as he and the rest of the room digested the information. "Any other questions?" Holland asked the room. When nobody raised their hand or spoke up, Colonel Holland began finishing up.

"We'll drop you off three klicks out from the dark zone, from there you'll have to walk the rest of the way." Colonel Holland said with finality as one more slide popped up behind him. " Take a look to see which bird your team has been assigned to. Once you're ready to go head to the airfield where your bird will be waiting. Pack light, gentlemen. And happy hunting."

(Location: Viery Territory, Reach, )

(Time: August 11, 2552)

In the dead of night, a Covenant Phantom shined its spotlight over a cliffside as it patrolled the area, looking for any sign of anything suspicious before it continued on it's designated patrol path. Once the dropship was gone, two figures emerged from the foliage as they continued forward, using the darkness as concealment for their approach. These figures were none other than Jun and Casper of Noble Team as they moved forward, making as little noise as possible. Both of them were equipped with SRS99-Anti Material sniper rifles magnetically locked to their backs via their armor along with M6C/SOCOM pistols as their sidearms. For backup, Jun carried a suppressed BR-55 while Casper had a MA37 with a suppressor, swapping out the rifle's ammo counter with an assault scope as the blue light from the counter would only serve to give away his position. The two of them were the ones that were assigned to do the scouting as they had the most experience in these kinds of missions, with them being former ONI Headhunters. Everyone else was back at base while Carter assigned Kat to be their radio contact.

The two Spartans of Noble Team slowly walked along a tight path on the side of the cliff as it was the only way across, dangerously close to the edge. They moved with precise steps as each of them made sure that the rock they were stepping on wouldn't break before continuing. Soon as they reached the other side, Jun turned on his radio to send an update to Kat.

"/ C-2, Recon team Bravo reporting in: Three and Six have crossed phase line 'Rhino.' It's starting to get crowded up here, Two. /" Jun said into his radio as he took in the view before him.

After a few seconds of silence, Kat responded from the TOC from where they were coordinating the reconnaissance teams in the dark zone, which included the two former Spartan-III Headhunters. " / Then we're closing in. Report any Covenant structures or devices. Direct action may be necessary. Over. /"

"/ Copy that, three out. /" Noble Three replied, cutting off the transmission before he let out a chuckle, "When Kat runs an Op, direct action is always necessary, even if it's recon."

"Well, look at it this way. No one will notice if there is no one to notice." Casper joked.

"Huh, that is a good point." Jun gave out a small laugh before taking out a magazine for a SRS-99 from his pouch and handing it over to Six. "Here, thought you might need these. High-velocity armor-piercing rounds. They can take the head off an Elite at two-hundred yards, and they ain't cheap."

Six gave a nod in thanks as he took the mag and placed it in one of his armor's pouches. Even though he had already stocked up mags filled with these rounds back at the base, having more ammo was never a bad idea, especially if you expected to get into contact with enemy forces.

Jun began examining a nearby rock structure, as he placed his right foot against it to see if it could handle his weight. Once he determined that it looked safe to climb, he turned back to look at Six to give him a quick glance. "Hmm, I'll be in touch." He said with a nod to the fellow Headhunter before he placed his armored foot against the boulder and began climbing.

Casper gave him a nod in turn before he took a few steps to the edge of the ledge before sliding down and landing on the ground below. He slowly began to make his way forward, keeping his suppressed MA37 shouldered and at the ready should he get into contact, glancing occasionally at his motion tracker in the lower right corner of his HUD for any red dots.

"/ C-2, this is Noble three, we've passed phase line rhino, over /" Jun radioed in before he entered dark zone.

"/ Copy that, /" Kat replied on the comms.

After a few more minutes of walking Six reached closed in on the ridge, where he came across a Minor Elite with his back turned to him, along with a few Grunts that looked to be sleeping. Seeing as how he didn't notice they yet, Six quickly hid a nearby boulder before he radioed in to Jun.

"/ Contact: one Elite, three grunts. Do you have visual, over? /" He whispered to Jun through his GUNGNIR helmet's radio to not alert the Elite and Grunts to his presence.

"/ Affirmative. /" Noble Three quickly replied. "/ Take him down, I got you covered. /"

Six slung his MA37 and drew his combat knife before he quietly snuck up on the Elite. Once he was behind the Sangheili, he gave it a light tap on it's shoulder, which prompted it to turn in confusion, Casper quicky stabbed the Elite in the neck with his knife before turning the blade and slicing the neck open, causing the Elite minor to put it's hands on its neck as it desperately tried to stop the bleeding, gurgling in pain as it drowned in its own blue blood as more came pouring out of the wound.

The commotion had woken up one of the sleeping Grunts, who panicked at the sight of the Spartan-III. However, before it could alert the others, Six grabbed it's head and shoved his knife directly into it's neck. Twisting it before using his enhanced strength to crush the Unggoy's head, killing it before it could even let out a sound.

It wasn't long before Casper had finished off the others and continued onwards. After a few minutes of walking, he began hearing the cracks of human rifle fire and the discharge of Covenant weapons in the distance. Since there were no other recon teams assigned to this area, it was most likely locals who were battling with the Covenant.

Picking up the pace, Casper regrouped with Jun at a nearby cliff. A firefight between what looked to be local militia and Covenant. The militiamen fought valiantly as they took down Grunts, Jackals, and even a few Elites. However, it was clear that they would soon be overrun as additional Covenant squads arrived.

Six and three glanced at each other and nodded, knowing what that the other was thinking without even saying a single word. Casper loaded a 40mm White Phosphorous round into his MA37's underbarrel grenade launcher and fired it at a bunch of Jackals and Grunts that had grouped together, setting them on fire as they burned in terrible agony and screamed in pain. This action would normally be considered to be a war crime under the 'Geneva Convention,' but technically, the various species that made up the Covenant had never signed it so they weren't protected under it. So, the whole accord was more like a "Geneva Suggestion" during the war.

Something that Casper was immensely proud of.

The sight of several of their teammates on fire caused a few Grunts to break rank and panic, which didn't last long as Jun quickly put them out of their misery with a 14.5 by 114mm round in their skulls.

A few of the Elites and Jackals began returning fire, but they were soon gunned down thanks to the combined firepower of the militiamen and Spartan-IIIs. Once it looked like the area was clear, the two former Headhunters slid down the cliff and made their way to the only other humans in the area. Once they reached the group, the leader stepped out to greet them before thanking them for the assist.

"What are you doing here?" Jun asked what looked to be the leader of the militiamen, "this whole area is supposed to be evacuated."

"Didn't like the idea of leaving it to someone else to protect out home. So we came back, for this." He gestured with his head to the crates that were stacked behind him at a nearby wall.

"We have these scattered all over the valley." The leader said as he opened up one of weapon cases to reveal a few Lancea disposable one-shot recoilless anti-tank rifles, similar in design and function to the M136 AT4s back in the 21st century. As well as M899 Light Anti-Armor Weapons (LAAWs) along along with spare mags of BR-55s and MA37s.

"You do realize that most of this stuff is stolen, right?" Jun asked the leader of the group.

"What? You going to arrest me?" The militiamen asked sarcastically.

"No… I'm going to steal it back." Noble three said slyly with an obvious grin that was hidden underneath his SCOUT helmet as he took a few mags for his BR-55 while Six grabbed a Lancea and refilled his ammo pouches with spare mags for his MA37. Normally, it would be too heavy for someone to haul around one of these launchers along with SRS99-AMs, M6C/SOCOMs, rifles, and the ammo necessary would too much for someone to handle. Fortunately, this was not an issue for the two super-soldiers as their augmentations, along with the enhancements their MJOLNIR armor provided, the two men were able to carry the weaponry and ammo with ease.

As soon as they were done rearming themselves, the group heard the sounds of a roar behind him, prompting them to take cover. Soon, a Guta appeared from the forest as the sounds of gunfire was what most likely attracted it. Casper placed the M899 on his shoulder and removed the covers before flipping up the sights. Jun gave Six two hard taps on his shoulder, signaling that it was all clear behind and that it's safe to fire. During this, the Guta had spotted the super-soldiers and began charging them, prompting Six to fire the launcher and landed a direct hit on the wild animal. The native Reach wildlife fell to the ground and let out a howl of pain, withering for a few seconds before it stopped moving.

"Nice shot," Noble three complimented as Six threw away the now empty LAAW and grabbed another one from the crate, slinging it over his shoulder via the M899's carry strap.

"The road leads to a nearby hydro-electric plant," one of the militiamen said. "The gate doesn't work, though."

"Any alternative routes?" Jun asked.

The leader of the militia replied with some hesitation in his voice. "Uh...we can use the riverbed. We use it to move weapons, rations..."

"So, basically anything the UNSC has labeled as contraband." Noble Three finished dryly.

"Pretty much."

"Show us." Jun practically ordered him, which he complied as the remaining militiamen moved down towards the riverbed and began following it. Six took point with Three right behind him, the rest of the militia made up the center and rear as they followed the Spartans.

"Where does this lead?" Jun questioned.

"This leads straight to the hydro plant. We built it up this river about forty-five years ago, it powers every settlement in the area." The leader answered.

"Shame if it all goes to waste." Another said with a sigh as he shook his head.

"Doing the best we can." Three replied as he tried to reassure the men.

The next twenty or so minutes were spent in silence, the group continued onwards. As they reached the end of the trail, Six held up his armored fist, signaling for them to halt as they immediately fanned out and knelt down on one knee as they began watching their sectors. Casper took a quick peak from behind a rock wall before gesturing for Jun to come over and see. What Noble Three saw made him agree with Six's decision to have them stop.

Near the hydro plant was a Covenant pylon which looked to be pulsing, given how their HUDs began flickering it seemed safe to assume that it was generating an EMP field. Multiple Covenant squads were guarding the structure and fixed turrets could be seen scanning for any moment.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Jun inquired, as they orders were to place C-12 on what they viewed as necessary for sabotage. The structure before them could definitely count as one.

"Set up an overwatch position here." Six said as he laid out his plan after a moment of silent thought. "I'll sneak in, plant the C-12, and bug out before anyone notices we're here. With any luck, we'll get this done without having to fire another bullet. I'll leave the LAAW with you, if things go loud you can do more damage with it from up here."

Jun lowered his head as he thought over the plan. It made sense as one man was less likely to be detected than two and that the ledge they were was a good sniper's nest as it provided a clear view and the area around it. On the other hand, they had no idea what kind of opposition was inside the spire itself. For all he knew, there could be a pair of Hunters or a platoon's worth of Spec Ops Elites inside. While some might say he was being too cautious, he also believed in the idea of always being prepared for anything no matter how unlikely it may be.

Deciding to trust the team's newest member, he nodded his head as he deployed the bipod on the SRS-99 and placed it on a nearby rock as Six placed the M899 next to Jun before jumping down to the ground below. He made he's way to the spire as Jun directed him away from Covenant patrols. There were a few close calls as Casper was almost spotted by a Grunt manning a turret, but fortunately he made it to the EMP generator without the alarm being raised.

"/ Be advised: once you move into the structure I'll lose visual. /" Three radioed to his teammate.

" / Copy. /" Six radioed back as he reactivated his cloak disappeared into the AA gun.

A few minutes passed by in tense silence as Jun was unable to see what was happening inside the structure. Though his teammate did seem to have it in hand, he was unable to completely push away from the feeling of something going wrong. During any Op, sometimes it was possible even one screw up could cause everything to go downhill. Even if you were careful the rest of the time, it didn't take much for everyone in the area to come straight for you like a pack of wolves that just heard the dinner bell. Fortunately, it looked like everything had gone smoothly as he could see Six exiting the structure through the sniper's scope and begin making his way back to him all the while avoiding the Covenant turrets and patrols. Once he made it back to the cliff, Jun reached down with one hand. Casper ran at the rock wall and jumped, taking an additional step to reach his teammate's outstretched hand, who pulled him up the rest of the way.

"How'd it go?" Three inquired.

"Placed three blocks on the core of the spiral and tuned it to the designated frequency. It'll go off like a firecracker it's detonated." Casper informed him, retrieving the LAAW and slinging it. "Trust me, they won't find it even if they knew it was there and looked."

"Good work," Jun complimented as he grabbed the SRS-99, after he held up two fingers and moved it in a circular motion to signal for everyone to move. "Let's keep moving."

The group proceeded past the pulsing spiral as they made their way deeper into the forest. Eventually, they came across a cave that was lit up with blue flames originating from Covenant lights.

"The rest of you stay here, we'll be back," Jun ordered the militiamen as he and Casper crept towards the tunnel lit up by blue torches, they moved with caution as they entered it as occasionally glanced at their motion trackers. The pair soon exited the tunnel and came across a cliffside, going prone as they crawled towards it.

"Jackpot," Noble Three whispered to himself as the two Spartan-IIIs were greeted to the sight of a massive Covenant landing zone. The two of them would see multiple AA guns stationed around a Covenant cruiser with Banshees, Spirits, and Phantoms flying in the distance. Formations of Covenant troops could be seen underneath the carrier along with what looked to be a vehicle depot that housed vehicles such as Ghosts, Wraiths, Revenants, and even several Scarabs that were being unloaded from the ship.

"Transmitting confirmation," Casper informed as turned on the imager function in his GUNGNIR helmet and began sending the pictures back to the TOC.

"You seeing this, Kat?" Jun radioed.

"/ Confirmed, /" Noble Two responded, "/ Receiving verification of planetside enemy strike force. /"

Jun couldn't help but shake his head as he disagreed with the assessment. "That's no strike force. It's an invading army," he muttered under his breath, "if we're going to hit them first, we got to go in fast and hard."

"/ Agreed. All recon teams disengage and RTB. Sun's going to be up in a few hours... and it's going to be a very busy day tomorrow. /"

Now, you guys may notice that there is less action here than there was in the mission. The reason for this is because during that section we were supposed to be conducting recon, and that the whole point of it was to not be noticed and to scout enemy positions, unless you're doing reconnaissance-in-force. I just found it weird we were engaging in open firefights when we were supposed to be discreet.

I mean, I get that they did it for gameplay purposes. It was just kind of funny to me that Jun and Six were sneaking around after a gunfight, as if no one heard what just happened in game with explosions and gunfire going off. Of course I could be wrong, most likely because I'm a neanderthal with a brain the size of a blueberry, and if I am please feel free to let me know.

Other than that, not much to say here, hope you guys like this chapter. Thanks again for taking the time to read my story.

Terms:

-ISR: Intelligence, Surveillance, Recon.

-RCT: Regimental Combat Team.

-Klicks: Kilometers.

-TOC: Tactical Operations Center.

-RTB: Return to Base.

Have a good day and remember... stay frosty, gents.