AN: To make better sense of the flow of time, I will be taking the liberty of altering a certain part of the Fall of Reach. The moment the Spartan-II's find Dr. Halsey. In the novel First Strike, they arrive at 0810 hours, or 8:10 am. I will be forwarding that by about As Six's Last Stand in Reach is 12 hours later than that, so will the meeting. Therefore the beginning of this chapter is 0027 hours, or 12:27 am. Night time readers, and as for that at the end of the chapter I will tell you the time table for the next chapter in order to better understand the flow of time. Also, I recently came into the possession of First Strike, but as to not copy the entire plot and just throw in Leo and Jun, some things will change. Just a few minor details, locations of characters, and maybe how some die, maybe a change in weapon functions.

Admiral on the Deck!

B312

Sixteen Hours since Covenant Begin Glassing

Spartan-B312 continued to stare at the young woman, who equally stared at him. He did not need to have to deal with this, Leo was tired, injured, and barely able to move through the pain. What the Spartan needed was at least a few hours rest to catch his breath so to speak. The fact that now two civilians were with him severely complicated things.

Mentally he was cursing whatever God existed for having a grudge against him. How else could this be explained? Clearing his throat Leo prepared to speak, just as he felt something hit his visor. Glancing he saw a thin watery line, barely visible to even his own eyes. This line was soon followed by another, and soon yet another.

Yes. This proved it, the Almighty must have some sort of grudge with him. Maybe it was that he had never been very religious even as a child, before being taken into the SPARTAN-III Program. He remembered a church, and a very boring, and very fat priest. Wouldn't that be something against one of the Seven-

And what was he thinking? Shaking his head Leo was more certain than ever that he need a real nights sleep, or the nearest he could get. He could not operate like a Spartan if his mind was so weary that it wasn't even thinking about his situation. Taking a step towards Sara, Leo decided to follow Jorge's example towards dealing with the girl.

This was where his time spent outside his armor showed its worth. Outside it Leo looked like a normal twenty four year old. He had trained himself to appear normal for his unarmored black-ops missions. Because of this, he knew the shock that came over her face was due in no small part due to his expression.

Leo knew his lips were turned into a nervous smile, knew his eyes showed a sympathetic understanding, and his face was certainly not the stony emotionless face that other Spartans carried with them. No it was without a doubt a face that obviously showed his weariness.

"Miss. Sorvad, I would like to continue this conversation, but not here. Its too open, its getting darker, and its about to start raining. Do you have a shelter nearby?" He asked. While he would have cheerfully dug a foxhole and slept in that instead he could leave the two girls alone. Especially one who couldn't have been more than eight or nine.

"Mister Spartan, the thingy that you stopped," Rozsa said pointing with her left hand at the Guta, "I saw its cave. I was trying to find someplace where I could take a nap, an then it woke up. I can show you, I think." The child smiled warmly at him, happy to see his face. Strange, the few whom had seen him outside of his armored skin had looked at him with shock written over their faces. Rozsa on the other hand looked like she'd just won some sort of contest.

Something about that smile seemed infectious, and Leo tried to give the young child his warmest possible smile. She visibly beamed at the response to her suggestion. Turning back to Sara, silently asked her to agree. Thankfully she merely sighed deeply before nodding her head slowly, refusing to meet his eyes. That was fine by him, there was something about the scientist's daughter that made him feel something akin to nervousness. However being a Spartan, he ensured that the feeling was non-existent in his facial expression.

"All right then." He said turning to look back at Rozsa he extended his hand in as friendly a way as he could. "Lead on ma'am." Leo said in as professional manner as he could. The raven-haired girl smiled at being referred to in such a way, and eagerly grasped his large hand between one of her own. Her small and fragile hand could not wrap itself even halfway over his own.

"Its this way, c'mon Mister Spartan, Sara. Its looked real big, but I think that thing does have to live in a real big place. Its huge!" As he listened to the child continue to talk Leo placed the helmet back over his head. Rozsa stopped talking as she saw him cover his face. "Why you do that Mister? I cant see your face anymore." The girl pouted at him, but still continued to walk.

"Procedure, all SPARTANS are under orders to keep their helmets on at all times while in a combat zone." He replied immediately.

"Combat Zone?" Rozsa asked innocently. The lieutenant stared at her for a split-second in shock before remembering her age. He would have answer what questions he could in a very simple manner. For a lifetime soldier such as he, that seemed very strange. But then again, he thought, she is just a child. Never really dealt with one of those before. I could really use Jorge right now. He thought sorrowfully. Somehow the little girl seemed to sense his change in mood. "Whats wrong Mister?"

"Just thinking of a friend. And a combat zone is where a lot of bad things happen. Wherever the Covenant is, just as an example, a combat zone." He asked, all the while looking in all directions for signs of the aforementioned alien alliance. He noticed that Sara seemed to be heading in a different direction. "Miss Sorvad, may I ask where you are going?" The woman continued on with little reaction to show she had heard. Her response showed otherwise.

"Rozsa and I had a small campsite not far from here. We had medical supplies, food, water, and a radio." Still not looking back at him she raised her hand and waved side to side. "I followed Rozsa to the cave before the Guta attacked, I'll meet up with you there. And Spartan," she said finally looking over her shoulder at him, "you better protect Rozsa, understand."

Leo nodded before turning to Rozsa once again. He motioned with a slight movement of his chin to keep leading him. How strange that was, a lieutenant in the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command being led by a civilian girl too young to be seeing what was happening to her home. The Noble wondered briefly if she understood their situation, that there was no assistance from Earth coming to rescue them. That they were alone behind what was now enemy controlled space. That there was no real chance for survival.

Stop that! He commanded his thoughts,You promised you would find a way off this world, and you will keep it.Looking back at the child, couldn't help the small smile, Doubly so now Spartan. Noticing that she seemed to be walking slower the Spartan took note of her rapidly blinking eyes. The raven haired girl must have been exhausted, he remembered his first days of training and he wasn't much younger than her. He recalled that young children tired quickly.

Deciding that she had been through enough for the day, the Spartan stopped walking behind her. She took two more steps before noticing that weight behind her was not following. When he released her hand she quickly turned around, only to be caught and lifted into his arms. The child released a squeak of surprise before looking into the black visor.

"You looked tired." He answered her unspoken question just as he resumed walking. "Try and stay awake just a little longer, I need you to point out where I have to go. Wouldn't want to get lost out here would we?" Rozsa nodded her head slowly before attempting to stifle a yawn. Still she did not fall asleep until she had finished giving directions to him, and as he noticed the outline of the Guta's cave he heard a quiet and steady snoring coming from his arms.

Without his realizing it Leo had raised his arms up slightly. Sometime after doing that Rozsa had wrapped her small arms around his neck, laid her head under his armored helmet, and fallen to sleep. As he entered the dark and large mouth of the cave Leo stopped. The smell from the inside of was making its way through his suit's air filters. With a snort of disgust he continued on into the warm and relatively safe cave.

The Covenant was not glassing this part of Reach for some reason, or at least not yet. That meant that his assumption about CASTLE Base was more than likely correct. Which would also meant that the enemy would have any ground troops they did send patrolling a perimeter near CASTLE Base's location. After setting Rozsa down gently on a piece of ground that had none of the Guta's excrements, he looked down at the TACPAD he had liberated from Rosenda.

Tapping his fingers gently, yet precisely he pulled up a holographic map of the continent. He located the position of CASTLE, and then found his own coordinates. He was a good three days away on foot, and that was if he intended to continue on at the pace that Rozsa and Sara would set. As he would not leave them behind, three days would be the time. Upon further study he managed to locate several large heat signature concentrations. Tens of thousands of heat signatures.

Just another day being a Noble. Shaking his head in amusement Leo determined that he was more or less, two and a half days from the Covenant excavation forces. Assuming that the Elites had similar beliefs on maintaining an effective patrol, they should have some forces at least half a days march from the main position. So at least two days before he would encounter the next Covenant forces.

He was adequately satisfied with that. It would give him time to rest up, heal his injuries, and get back to the combat mentality that he had before being a member of Noble Team. Until he confirmed Jun's survival, Leo was alone and would be going Lone Wolf for the time being. Despite it being only a little over a month since his joining of Noble, he had surprising fit in well into team operations, too well he supposed considering they were all dead.

Wincing slightly, Leo decided he would remove his helmet. With confirmation that he was not in danger of having his throat slit by a Stealth Elite he felt that he could relax somewhat. Searching for a large rock formation he would begin to check the condition of his armor, and the severity of his dozens of injuries.

Even now he could feel the pain, and it barely allowed him to function clearly even for the Spartan he was. Leo assumed that the state his body was in would be painful to the point of crippling for any other marine, and likely most of the ODSTs. Glancing left and right his eyes soon rested on a stalactite that was about a head shorter than he was in armor, and just as wide across. After setting his helmet on the top, he decided to chance a fire.

The direction of the cave was in the direction of the MAC strike programmed by Rosenda. In addition to that, miles away he could just about make out the tell tall tale of smoke that signified a forest fire. Any Covenant forces that glanced in the direction of the cave would see it mixed in with the flames of the larger fires. All in all he was in a safe enough position to utilize the flame. Or rather they were.

Glancing over his still armored shoulder, Leo rested his eyes on the young child quietly sleeping as though everything else was as normal as could be. As though the threat of death wasn't constantly looming over them, that if the Covenant found them they would killed in the most painful ways possible. Once again he stopped himself from continuing such thoughts. Must have spent a bit too much time with Emile. Dying a painful way is almost beginning to sound normal. Have to stop that, like it or not its not just me again.

A226

Seventeen and a half hours since Covenant Begin Glassing

Jun disassembled his prized Sniper Rifle System 99 Anti-Material, and then pulled out a piece of cloth from one of his packs. After setting each of the individual parts on a sterile, and cleared evident by the sparking computers on the floor near it, he began to clean his tool of destruction. One by one he began to inspect each part for any sign of damage, then he slowly and deliberately moved the cloth over his weapons skeleton.

All the while he could feel the stares the Spartan-II's were giving him, despite the fact that only he had chosen to remove his helmet. All of Noble Team had lightly tanned skin from their time spent in the field without their helmets, judging from the way the other Spartans acted he assumed they rarely or never did as such.

Which would translate to seeing an unknown Spartan soldier, one with an officer's rank, who removed his helmet for no real reason, and whom was lightly tanned, as strange at best. Suspicious at worst. However that did not meant he thought they would leave him to die, he was human and he was a Spartan. No other human could utilize MJOLNIR armor, and that meant one part of his story was unquestionably true.

Curiously the only two that really stared seemed to be Isaac and Kelly. Vinh seemed to be indifferent to his existence, a Spartan was a Spartan he assumed was her mindset. He had memorized the slight differences in the damage each of their armors had, and was now able to tell apart Halsey's Spartans. Yes, he mused to himself, that was what they were. Yet another difference between him and this team, this family. They saw Dr. Halsey as an equal, and he assumed they would rather act on her orders than even Lord Terrence Hood's own.

He and the rest of Noble Team were Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose's Spartans, they were the ones deemed disposable. Oh how he loathed that word with every fiber of his being. A Spartan was a Spartan, none of them were disposable each of them were worth a great deal. And yet, despite the rest of Noble Team's long list of accomplishments, they were continuously being sent on suicidal missions. Still, he thought as a grim smirk was formed on his face, they were missions deemed to dangerous for even a small number of Spartan-II's. That is something I suppose.

Sighing he closed his eyes. Regardless of their status one fact remained the same, he truly doubted that he and Six would truly fit in with them. He assumed that at least Six may be alive, if the other members of Noble Team had survived with him then it would have been Carter's access code, not the Lieutenants. The two class of Spartan perhaps would reach some form of a working relationship that was certain, but not the same camaraderie as they would have shared with their own Spartan brothers and sisters.

He snorted. In that regard, they were alike. The feeling of loss and sorrow that came with such a thing was almost universal. Still, he did not like being stared at. Especially when he couldn't see a person's eyes.

Suddenly he heard Doctor Halsey's voice boom over the COM, her voice carrying an undertone of fear.

"Get back to the labs ASAP, there may be a way out!" The moment the words had stopped the undeniable sound, and shaking that signaled sever structural damage reached the Spartans. Quickly with the lighting speed reflexes of a Spartan, he had reassembled his Sniper's Rifle and put the cloth back in his pack. Slipping his helmet back on as he and the Spartan-II's ran towards the lab, opened a channel to Kelly.

"The Doctor is not talking to us Spartan, head to her last known and find her." The Spartan took an extra half second to acknowledge than she should've, but then she bounded off in the Doctor's direction faster than any Spartan-III he had seen. Was that because she was a II, genetics, or a difference in the argumentations of the two projects. As he, Vinh, and Isaac rounded a turn and found their way to the Medical Lab, Fred and Will had just arrived carrying what he assumed to be new rifles, ammunition, food and water, medical supplies, and perhaps spare parts for their MJOLNIRs.

Then his eyes caught sight of the Doctor, broken nose and blood dripping supported by Kelly.

"I'm fine, just fine." She said trying to stand, only to nearly fall to the ground. Both he and Fred leapt forward and caught her before she landed. After sweeping her into his arms and handing her to Fred another powerful detonation resonated over them causing the powerfully constructed walls to crack slightly.

"Doctor Halsey, I am picking up Covenant contacts nearing this facility." Announced Kalmiya over the sound of explosions. For once Jun was actually glad the AI was here.

"Down the Elevator. Sigma Elevator Shaft, it'll lead us to a safe location." The Doctor said holding up a data pad for all to see. Jun had a feeling he knew exactly where the elevator shaft would lead. More caves.

"And let me guess. We have to blow up the place behind us so as not to let any alien freaks in, right Doctor?" Jun asked taking a step forward to pick one of the new rifles. It was similar to the DMR, but it had weaker scope. It also had a clip size double that of the Marksman's Rifle, and had a slightly longer muzzle, and upon quick inspection of the rounds fired larger bullets.

It would take some time, but he could get used to working with this model. Still, he was old fashioned, and would choose his preferred DMR if given the choice.

"Correct Noble Three." The doctor's face was turning slightly paler. Placing his long range weapon on his back, Jun switched the safety off of his new weapon and held it in his hands.

"All right. Those Satchel Charges?" He asked Fred, who then nodded. "All right then, 39, 29 take 'em. You'll be our demo team." Jun joined will and picked up several of the boxes with him as Fred gave out more orders. The doctor then spoke with Kalmiya, and activated Operation: Whiteglove. To his quiet surprise she then activated some program which erased the AI. Shaking his head as he the other Spartans began moving, he decided to question the good doctor later. When they were in immediate danger of dying.

Hurrying through they quickly engaged, and downed a team of Stealth Elites, but did not slow down. They were so close their means of escape, and he was damned if he allowed himself to dies so easily. He did not need to ask them to know similar thoughts were going through the other Spartans thoughts.

Finally they arrived at the empty shaft. One by one they each jumped onto the cables, and slid down its length. Following the doctors instructions they reached safety just as the most powerful roared over their heads and the ONI base they had just been in collapsed above them. After several minutes of waiting, and no additional explosions they determined that they were safe for the moment.

"Well. Anyone else guess that we would end up in underground?" Jun asked as he popped a flare and their location was filled in a green light.