Enter the Commando

B312

0825 Hours, September 3, 2552, Two Days after Wide Spread Planetary Glassing

"Utálom ezt az ételt. Miért nem eszünk jó dolgok?" Rozsa asked in perfect Hungarian. Perfect Hungarian, which meant that Leo was once again left out of the conversation. Something that was very rare when the little raven haired girl spoke. The Spartan Lieutenant found his lack of involvement slightly relaxing. The eight year old was unbelievably confusing to him; Leo was still puzzled at the multiple changes in tone, and attitude the girl had shown him just minutes ago.

"Ez? Ez a "jó" étel Roza. Most, ha nem akarod, hát biztos vagyok benne, a spártai ott szeretnék néhány." The third person in their temporary cave answered what ever it was Rozsa had asked. The Reach brunette brushed back several strands of hair away from her face, her face a picture of amusement. Leo raised an eyebrow slightly at one particular word, 'spártai'. Sara caught the movement herself, and flashed a small smile at him. "Yes. It means Spartan." What in the name of God was going on with these girls? How could Rozsa act like she had split personalities, and how could Sara read him so quickly?

"Thank you for clarifying, Miss. Sorvad," Noble Six said before turning his attention to the eight year old girl sitting next to him. "Rozsa, may I inquire as to what it is you said?" he asked her in as friendly a tone as he could manage. His reward was look of momentary confusion before she smiled up at him.

"I said, 'I hate this food. Why can't we eat good food,' Mister Spartan." the child quickly whipped her head to face the source of a scoffing sound.

"No you didn't. You said 'eat good', not 'eat good food'. Please try and use the language properly Rozsa." the Reach native told the girl while she failed the stop herself from laughing. In response the little girl next to the Spartan threw a small pebble at her. The rock bounced off harmlessly from Sara's left shoulder. The older woman's laughter stopped for several seconds, black eyes locking onto an innocently smiling face. And then suddenly the cave was filled with the sound of laughter coming from the pair. Laughter which left a professional soldier looking very confused, and uncertain.

Maybe I'm not the only one slowly losing their mind, Leo mused to himself. He allowed himself to briefly enjoy the sound however much it confused him. It meant that they were still alive, and it was a reminder that he still had to keep them that way. The fact that both girl's laughter served to relax him was a bonus.

The most recent, and he had to be realistic: likely only surviving member, member of Noble Team quickly finished off his own MRE ration. The flavorless, and very dry, meal slowly moved down his throat. Leo washed down what had been a very short and barely filling meal with a sip of water. The now full canteens were piled next to the damaged piece of equipment, which he had turned into a replacement for a warm fire.

"We should be leaving soon." He said in a now serious voice. Immediately the laughter was permanently ended as two pairs of eyes met his own. Leo found himself slightly relieved at brining an end to the cause of feelings of awkwardness. Still he disliked having to bring them back to reality, especially when he wished he himself wasn't in it, but it had to be done. They could not afford to remain in the Guta cave for any longer. After all Leo still had to confirm Jun and Doctor Halsey's statuses and find a way off the soon to be dead world.

And Spartan training be damned, he refused to spend one more hour in this cave. The Guta left a unique odor in the cave, an odor that had begun to irk the Spartan himself.

The cave still reeked the stench of its previous owner in full force. Leo had learned long ago never to take deep breaths in this kind of environment. The stench would leave even a veteran Spartan-II gagging if they took a deep enough whiff of air. Which meant that Sara and Rozsa were no exception; the moment they'd stopped laughing the pair had begun coughing themselves.

Leo gently patted Rozsa on the back until she had regained her normal breathing. "T-thank y-you Mister Spartan." the girl said to him, a quickly becoming familiar smile on her face. The Lieutenant nodded to the child, moving his head so that she could visibly see it. The gentle smile lowered slightly as he stood up from his position on the cold cave floor. Leo feared that the eight year old may have still been carrying some fear of him leaving her.

As the Spartan began to assist Sara in packing up the party's supplies, his mind began to think on that fear again. Why was she still afraid? The logical part of his mind told him a reasonable answer: she was frightened of the Covenant and he represented safety. The new and growing part of him, the part that was greatly concerned with the well being of the girls, had a different response. A response that in itself slightly frightened the Spartan: Rozsa had for lack of a better word "adopted" him.

And yet, would her thinking of me as family be really so terrible?

He silently told himself that it wasn't. It was just not practical for him, nothing that a Spartan could afford. The only family he'd ever had was his original team of Spartans from Beta Company, with Noble coming in behind them. If Rozsa wanted to find a family in him to replace the one she'd lost…he was afraid she never would.

No matter how much some part of him wanted it, or how fast it was growing.

Slowly shaking off such thoughts Leo did a quick check to make sure their supplies were all packed properly. While doing so his eyes paused over his sole weapon, the M6G Magnum. Noble Six narrowed his eyes at the half empty weapon knowing full well it was nearly useless. With just four of its Semi-Armor-Piercing-High-Explosive rounds Leo may as well have decided to simply leave it in the cave. The Spartan knew that if they ran into any Covenant ground troops he'd have to engage in hand-to-hand combat very quickly. . . Never mind if they ran into a Wraith.

Still, thought the Spartan as he gave a quick side glance to where Sara was speaking with Rozsa, it's better than having nothing to defend them with. The lieutenant soon looked at the slightly blackened TACPAD strapped to his left forearm, the faint scorch marks matching the equally scorched areas on his otherwise dark green armor. With a few quick commands Leo began searching for any nearby UNSC armories, or small towns which may have hidden additional contraband by the Reach Militia.

Too bad he hadn't bothered to ask the militia forces with him and Jun the night before UNSC forces launched a counterattack at Viery. He had no idea if all militia groups had similar set ups, or that particular group just happened to be more along the lines of smugglers.

He soon came across a likely location, a small town the TACPAD failed to have a name for. Meaning that odds were it was little more than some kind of village that ONI had failed to place any information about into the device. Hopefully they also had not bothered to check for any illegal contraband: he could clearly picture a DMR, or maybe a rocket launcher hidden away somewhere.

Placing a waypoint marker on the location so that he could follow it on his HUD Leo turned to face the girls. The pair locked eyes with one another before turning to meet the Super Soldiers gaze. Without any form of communication Leo promptly turned and began to walk out of the cave, the sound of slightly faster steps signaling the girls were following.

No matter what would happen later on, Leo was glad of one thing. The damned stench would soon be nothing more than an addition to his archives of unwanted memories.

0916 (Human Time) Bridge of the Bane of Heresy

Commando

Special Operations Officer Voro 'Refumai stood outside the doors to the bridge of the Bane of Heresy a Covenant Assault Carrier, and with the departure of the Fleet of Particular Justice's Commander and his flagship, now acting as the command ship for the surviving Covenant warship.

The Sangheili swordsman gave a low growl respect which went unheard by the dozen or so brothers following him. The humans had surprised him in this battle immensely, and while none dared mention it, a feeling echoed in the minds of the majority of his people present. For a single planetary cycle the world which the Bane of Heresy orbited had been assaulted by forces of the glorious Covenant Empire. In that time their forces had clashed repeatedly with those of the human filth, and while emerging victorious time and time again, the forces sent returned smaller on not at all.

Millions upon millions of the believers lay dead in this battle. With a snort Voro decided this engagement in their Holy Crusade was not a battle, it was a massacre for both sides.

The doors opened with a hiss and the Officer made his way to the Ship Master, his team of Special Operations warriors remaining where they stood. Voro passed two pairs of Mgalekgolo came to a straight standing position, their shields held on their left sides touching the floor. The Sangheili caught a nod of acknowledgement from one of the gargantuan creatures.

His hooves thumped a rhythmic cadence as the warrior came to a halt behind the command chair. The Sangheili dropped to one knee, lowered his head, and placed one arm over the leg not touching the floor. Voro maintained this position for several moments, his hearts beating in anticipation of new orders. The veteran swordsman had not been sent to the planets surface, something which greatly vexed him. It was his greatest desire at that moment to participate in this campaign to eradicate the human presence, the one which now decided the course of the war.

"You summoned me, your Excellency?" asked the Operation's officer in a respectful glorifying tone. The Ship Master had been responsible for destroying two of the human's warships.

"I did 'Refumai." came the low and collected response from Ship Master Fidelias 'Nosolee. Fidelias and Voro had an unusual relationship, they had both served together in the same unit for several years when the Fleet of Particular Justice had been formed. The pair had saved one another's lives time and time again to point where they had stopped mentioning it. "I have a mission for you my Brother."

Despite the slight overtones of familiarity in the Ship Master's voice Voro kept his head down, only raising it when Fidelias had turned to face him and clasped his right shoulder. Voro slowly stood to his full height before bringing his right fist to his left shoulder, his head only slightly bowed and his eyes meeting those of 'Nosolee. At an unspoken signal Voro brought his arm to his side and lifted his head to its normal position.

"What is the honor you offer me Ship Master?"

"Sport."

"What am I to hunt for the Glory of Sangheilios?"

"Demon."

"My men?"

"I trust you, and only you this glory my friend."

"Thank you Fidelias."

"Voro 'Refumai I want this Demon captured to serve as a symbol to the humans when we reach their home world. I care not how long it takes, I care not whether or not you need return to the Bane of Heresy for healing. I trust you to make sure both return to us."

"It shall be done your Excellency."

AN: Yes I updated. I know I promised you guys a Christmas Update only, and I will. I don't consider this a real update, but only in the sense that I originally did not include this in Chapter 10. Originally the chapter would have opened with Leo searching for supplies in the small town I mentioned, but then I started thinking about what I'd cut out to have it start there.

Then I decided I wanted to update this story, but not advance the plot until my real chapter comes out on Christmas Eve. So then bam, I decided to make a filler chapter that you can or can't consider as a part of the story proper.

Yes. Voro 'Refumai is going to be a main character in the story, as well as its sequels. The way I see it, if Chief has Arby as his former enemy/ new ally, then Six deserves one if he ever made it off of Reach. And so 'Refumai was born of my own mind.

Also, who wants to know the girl who will eventually be Leo's other half. So to speak. Well, two girls. But I will never reveal one, HAHAHAHAHAH!

Also I want to know how much power I have to actually have any influence. I want to test out how many people listen to me. Therefore I'd appreciate it if you guys would check out this link to the you tube group MindFusionIndustries. .com/user/MindFusionIndustries I'm a writer for this group as well as another. .com/user/VIIproductionsp/u to be honest I'm more VIIPro affiliated. Also, if any of you guys watch one of VIIPro's video's and comment on it, I will personally throw in any random ass scene you want into my Halo Fan Fic series. Probably won't be in Noble Life, but it will be thrown in.

For Example: Its after First Strike, Leo, Jun, Jorge, and Johnson, (Wow, maybe I should've named Leo Jared instead) all head to a bar on Luna(the moon). While there about half a dozen girls hit on Leo, who being the relatively inexperience socializing sort doesn't pick up on their subtle messages. Then Johnson comes along and leaves with four of the girls on his arms before the Spartan's notices he's gone.

Also, Please check out my latest attempt at Star Wars, Mandalorian's Mind.

2nd AN: I got rid of chapter 9 and replaced it with this one. If you got a message saying this was updated, sorry. 12/19/10