A/N: And thus, Noble Team have come to a decision - they will go their own way now.
P.S. Sorry it's so short, but it's how I wanted this chapter to end!
To the guest who reviewed: Thankyou for your comment; it was rather amusing to read! And yes, I would think that Noble Team would have some trouble trying to blend in with civilians.
Present day
"Damn," was all Jun had to offer on the matter, shaking his head.
"I was right," Jorge said quietly, pausing to check the state of a Warthog they'd just come across, before clambering onto the turret compartment. "That's not tired – that's emotionally drained."
"Yeah, and now you see why I wasn't arguing with you when you suggested we help the guy out. I mean, I kinda feel sorry for him. All those SPARTAN-IIIs under his care...and he's still blaming himself for Thom even though we all know by now that he chose to get the job done." Emile climbed into the passenger seat of the 'Hog, panning his shotgun about before placing at his feet, upright for easy access. "That's gotta mess a guy up – supposedly unbreakable augmented soldier or not."
"Post-Traumatic Stress," the sniper mused, turning the engine over and exclaiming with relief when the vehicle started. "Ah! That's more like it. See, now you don't have to complain about us hoofing it."
"Man, shut the hell up," Emile quipped, but it was more of a good-natured jab than a complaint.
"How about you try and make me?" Jun challenged, deliberately reversing hard just to whip his teammate about in the seat.
"Have tape, will use." Jorge stated plainly, sounding like he was having a time of it regaining his balance since he was standing up, and both younger soldiers shut their mouths immediately. Neither of them wanted to deal with the after-effects of having tape over their faces...it wasn't pretty. Duct tape was more efficient than the more common sticky tape for a reason.
Though they never came across any UNSC forces – and nobody of authority, at any rate – they still decided to remain in New Harmony for a few days to a week. It was a chance for them to just relax and regroup; Kat and Jun in particular were happy to give their teammates a nostalgia-filled tour of the homeworld they shared.
It was quite a nice time for the SPARTANs, and they enjoyed themselves considerably, glad to no longer be fighting for their lives.
It might not have been always the best of times – the occasional nightmare or panic attack would do that – but they made do with what they had, and they were all grateful that they still had each other. That was more than enough reason for them to be as happy as augmented soldiers in half-ton suits of super-armour could be.
UNSC Stalwart Dawn, in atmosphere over New Harmony, unknown system, March 4th, 2553
"So where do we go from here?" Emile was the first to break the silence after they'd learned that the Human-Covenant War had ended, humanity had won – albeit at a great cost – and had formed an alliance with the Elites and an unknown number of Grunts and Hunters, and were now mopping up the last remnants of fanatical members of the splintered Covenant.
"I don't know. We go where we're needed, I suppose. But we'll be under our own orders from now on. No more taking orders from ONI, or the UNSC. Not unless Fleet Admiral Hood himself asks for us will we stand aside and do as bid by authority." Carter stated, turning to face his team.
"You know what? I second that motion." Jorge heartily agreed. Artemis and Jun were also quick to go along with this new statement; Kat, however, was still uncertain.
"It's a fool's errand...and why would we go against all we've known for almost our entire lives?" she questioned.
"We're not going against all we've known – we'll still be fighting for what's right, just under our own orders. The Office of Naval Intelligence isn't to be trusted, and the United Nations Space Command have made one too many tactical mistakes. On top of that, they don't know we're still alive, we don't need the publicity, and, well...what would they do with a full team of SPARTAN-IIIs and one SPARTAN-II? They'd have us pulling black ops missions, and that's not what we were trained for. We're soldiers, not agents. And I say it's high time that we were allowed to think for ourselves. What harm can it do anyway? Between us, we've got a lot of years of combat experience and tactical prowess...not to mention the fact that since when have we ever really followed orders?" This last part of the explanation was directed at Kat in particular, and she knew it. The cryptanalyst's penchant for coming up with plans that were almost directly against rules and regulations was an on-going theme with NOBLE...and perhaps if they ran under nobody's rules but their own, they could enact such plans more often. After all, the crazier the plan, and the more laws it broke...the more likely it was to succeed. That plainly showed on their track record.
"I'll follow your lead, just as I've always done. You've never steered us wrong before, and you won't do so now." Kat finally consented, finding it difficult to argue with what was rather sound logic.
"Then it's settled. From this day forwards, Noble Team works on its own, fighting for humanity as we have always done." Carter stated with an air of finality to his voice, and the rest of the team murmured agreement.