Oh boy, this is by far, the longest chapter of any of the fanfics I've written! And the longest for this story! This is another renewed story. Hope you guys enjoy this one!
Part 1 - Visegrád:
Our two falcons began to zoom past the mountains nearby while Carter was debriefing the mission.
"Listen up, Noble Team. We're looking at a downed relay outpost, fifty klicks from Visegrád. We're going to introduce ourselves to whoever took it out, then Kat's going to get it back online."
I listened intently wanting to hear every instruction as it was; not missing anything important - because anything the leader says is important. That is what my father taught me as a child. My father always insisted that he was my leader, and therefore was always right. Most people would consider my father as a terrible parent, but he's the reason I'm even in this falcon listening to Carter right now.
The man next to me was eyeing the ground like any good sniper would. Something inside me said to keep a watchful eye on him.
"Just get me under the hood, Commander." Kat's words broke my train of thought. I became aware that though I knew I had to pay attention, already it was slipping. And the man to my left was the main cause. I turned my head to Carter, with the man out of my peripheral vision, and regained focus.
"Sir, why would rebels want to cut off Reach from the rest of the colonies?" Jorge asked through the com, being on the other falcon with Kat.
"You get a chance, maybe you can ask them, Jorge." Carter replied.
I looked at my feet. I was beginning to think about the mission, how hard it might be. I understood that I was placed into a team that tackled difficult situations, but obviously, this one was messy.
A silence occurred for a moment, enough time to ponder the mysterious man to my left. But before I could even get a quick look at him, Kat said something important.
"Commander, we just lost our signal with HQ."
"Backup channels?
"Searching...nada. Can't say what's jamming us."
"You heard her. Dead zone confirmed. Command will not be keeping us company this trip."
"I'm lonely already." Emile ended with the last word.
I chuckled a bit at Emile's comment. Though, I wanted to say something funny back, I could think of nothing. My inward emotions did not accurately portray my outward appearance. At this point of silence, my insides were starting to wiggle a bit; I became scared.
"What could this mean? Is there something we do not know about?" /i In my mind, a giant hand slapped me across the face. Yes, understood, I need to hide the fear and maintain composure. I'm a trained Spartan now. I'm not some little girl who was once defenseless. I can take care of myself."
"Six, you alright?" Carter asked me as we neared the outpost. I looked at him, not showing any emotion in case he saw through my visor.
"Sir, yes sir."
"Good, because we all need to maintain focus and not allow anything fog our vision of the objective."
I sighed. I knew I had to put away my fears now. I looked once again at the man to my left. He is so quiet. I've only heard one single sentence from him. His mysterious nature was drawing me in. Wanting to know more.
"Dammit! There I go again, traveling blindly off the path of a train of thought. Curse distractions easily…distracting me…"
Now hovering over the outpost, I paid all my attention to Carter as he spoke to the pilot. I would train my mind to listen as my father taught me.
"Shootdowns are likely, so keep your distance."
"Yes sir!"
"Let's stay focused, watch your sectors."
His words were the very thing that my brain has been fighting for and against since I hopped into the falcon. They were what I needed to keep me going. Clenching a fist, I promised myself that I would not fail my father; nor this group of fine soldiers.
"There's the communications outpost." Jorge alleged. I looked down at the building where it was coming from.
"Very rural indeed."
"Reading a distress beacon." Kat mentioned to the team. I grew curious of this beacon. I wasn't the only one. I looked at Carter again, then turned my head to the man to my left; only shifting my eyes. He looked my direction and I could have sworn he precipitated my exchange of looks. I couldn't place the reason, but even barely seeing his blue eyes through his visor, I felt my cheeks redden just a little. I shook my head, hoping no one saw. Carter was looking the other direction, thankfully. I turned my head back to the source of the distress beacon. What was it about the man in green armor that hooked me so? And for what reason did my cheeks redden with warmth?
Trying once again to preserve concentration, I waited for further instruction.
"Could be the missing troopers, let's check it out," Said Carter. I felt the falcon moving slowly downward, in a sort of spiral. "Put us down on the bluff." The falcon circled for a landing. I oversaw the various hills below and the steep walk I would have to endure. "Jun, I want your eyes in the sky."
"Sir" My eyes widened.
"J-Jun? I now know this mysterious man's name?" Taking in a pocket of air down my throat, I felt this incredible urge to find out more about this man named Jun. But I knew that had to wait; I had a mission to do. Find the missing troopers. "Still, that one word he spoke sent chills up my spine."
The falcon landed where Carter had asked him to…
"Let's go Six."
…and I took in a deep breath, ready for anything to come my way.
Hopping out of the falcon, I only wanted a taste of Jun's eyes one more time before departing from him. Wanting to know if his eyes were really following me before I met the team. I looked at him, only a glance, and he answered the question before I could figuratively ask it. "He nodded at me. He didn't just give me a long stare, he nodded!"
"Good luck, Six." Jun added to his nod before the falcon flew off. A slight chill went up my spine, it was as if I had been stunned at the base of the spinal cord; I could not move. At least not yet…
"Six? This is no time for daydreaming." Carter barked at me.
"Yes, Sir. My apologies, Commander." I turned around hastily, trying to hide any emotion yet again. Kat and Carter were beside me. Carter went up to me.
"Six, are you sure you are alright?"
"Sir, yes sir. I'll not be distracted again."
"Very good. Just what I wanted to hear. Aright, Noble Team, to that distress beacon, let's move!"
Part 2 - NOBLE Team:
As we made to the building, I sighed, attempting to shake off the chill that still lingered in my spine.
"Alright, Noble Team. Spread out. Watch the approach." Carter ordered the team as I followed them down the hillside. About halfway making it to the hill, Emile hopped up and climbed it, examining the area.
"Structure point 3-4, looks clear from this angle."
I looked at Emile, amazed at his jumping and balancing skill. Any Spartan could do that, but the sheer cat-like reflexes were impressive. A little to my left, I noticed Jun in the falcon and the other leaving the area, as well as the moon in the sky. I surveyed my right side.
"It's so quiet. Too quiet…strange."
Carter began to head near the beacon with Kat and the others, I followed suit. We hiked along a path near a couple rocks and some trees that led around the various platforms and to the beacon.
"Distress beacon's coming just south of you Commander, we're close." Kat says as we near it.
"Roger that, eyes peeled." Carter replies.
We soon come to a burning vehicle, a warthog from the looks of it, next to a small building. Emile spotted an object that was red and shiny. He moved the pieces of wood surrounding it, knelt down and inspected the palette on the ground.
"Found the beacon." He said picking it off the grass and standing up. He tossed it to Kat, asking, "Make out any I.D.?"
"Negative, but it's military," She responded back after she caught it. She looked at it closely for a moment, eyes the building, then threw the beacon back to the ground. Before I could ask the question myself, Jorge did for me over the com.
"So where are the troopers?"
"Why are we not seeing explosives residue?" Kat queried as the she, Carter and I formed a triangle. Emile went over to oversee the ground near the building.
"Noble Three, can you confirm any 'ex residue in the area?" Carter asked standing directly in front of the burning warthog.
"Hmm…negative Sir." Jun almost sounded unsure,
"He was awfully fast in his response."
"Plasma, maybe." Emile suggested, still surveying the concrete near the abandoned building.
"Can't be. Not on Reach." Jorge insisted.
"There's a lot of blood on the ground." Emile inputted, further making observations, trying to prove his point.
"Alright Noble, looks like nothing's here, let's move on." Carter commanded.
I went over to Emile's spot to note the blood on the ground. Discerning the blood splatters, I sighed solemnly, hoping no one was killed here.
"Come on Six, let's see what might have caused harm to any civilians." Carter consoled me. I got up and followed Noble Team towards a cluster of buildings.
"Smoke at the next structure, boss." Kat informed him.
I looked over to my left and sure enough, smoke was rising into the air from the building ahead.
"Circle west and check it out. Noble Team: you have permission to engage, but be selective. We don't need to telegraph a presence."
I followed Carter down the hill towards a path leading up to the structure. I noticed a suspicious gate to my far left, ahead of the location of the beacon. A couple Moas ran past us. Their shrieks started me so much that I accidentally killed one.
"Whoa! Easy there, Six! It's just one of the birds." Emile put his hand on my shoulder, shaking me a little.
"Sorry. I was alarmed. I thought it might have been a Rebel."
"Humans don't make bird noises like that," He chuckled as we got closer to the structure.
Emile ran right past me, with the others behind me. I walked down some concrete stairs and up a couple wooden ones. I noticed some windmill looking things. For some reason they caught my attention. They felt familiar for some reason.
"Noble Six, move into the house. Go in quiet. I'm right behind you." Emile was already in the house. I moved into the dark house and I felt a presence.
"Noble Leader, I'm seeing heat-sigs in the structure ahead!" Jun warned us from the coms. I backed up a little but then decided to go up a short flight of stairs trailing to the other side of the house. A falcon landed in the courtyard long enough to drop Jorge off, then took off. A door opened, and a civilian male steppd out. Others remain inside the house; one was even peeking through the window, a woman, possibly the man's wife and the two others his children.
"Én nem csináltam semmit!" (I didn't do anything!) The man's voice sounded very frightened; he had his hands up, surrendering. I didn't know what he was saying but I knew it was Hungarian. I watched as Emile inched closer to him with his shotgun pointing to the poor man's face.
"Move! On your knees, now!"
"Ne lőjön! Ne lőjön! (Don't shoot! Don't shoot!)"
"They're not rebels, they're farmers. Look at them." Jorge said sympathetically about the man. I smiled, looking over at Jorge.
"Jorge is such a sweetheart!"
"Ask him what they're doing here." Carter told Jorge. He went a little closer to the farmer.
"Mit kerestek itt? (What are you doing here?)"
"Csak nem akartunk meghalni. (We just didn't want to die.)"
"Hiding, sir. Neighbors were attacked last night. He heard screams, gunfire. It stopped around sunrise." Jorge said translating the farmer's words.
"Valami megölte a fiamat. (Something killed my son.)"
"He says something in the fields...killed his son."
"Something?" Carter asked, baffled by the word something, curious of what it could have been.
"Well, at least we know it isn't human. An indigenous creature perhaps?"
"Commander, be advised. I'm reading heat signatures at the structure directly east from your position. Over." Jun forewarned us.
"Copy that. Get them back inside."
"Azt mondtam, befelé! (I said get in! Get in!)" Jorge directed the farmer. He ran into the house and the door closed behind him.
We all moved towards where Jun aimed our attentions to. I was behind Jorge and Emile with the other two in front, already ahead of the pack.
"Noble team, double time it." Hearing Carter's command, I activated my sprint to try and keep up with him. Eventually, Carter, Kat, and I made it to the structure. I was emotionally devastated but did not show it outwardly. We were surrounded by human corpses, with two pinned to the wall.
"Damn…" Carter said with almost a disgusted tone of voice.
"You took the word right from my mouth, Sir." I told him, looking at the dead bodies.
"Fill me in, Commander, what are you seeing? Over." Said Jun.
Carter knelt down over the pools of blood and examined them. Dipping his fingers in the blood, rubbing them together then shook it off.
"We've got military casualties, two of the missing troopers. Looks like they were interrogated...It's messy."
I noticed the floor next to the pools of blood. I bent over likewise to investigate.
"What is it Six?" Carter stood over me.
"Sir, look at the floor. There are not only bloody human footprints here but there also seems to be avian-like footprints here, as well. This was obviously a struggle that was lost by these poor souls." I stood up, proud of my finding.
"Sharp eye, Lieutenant."
"Thank you, sir."
Carter put his back to the door, poking his head out ever so slightly, probing the other room closely, then signaled the okay to go in.
I went in and saw another dead body. Then I noticed my motion tracker.
"Movement. Watch your motion trackers." Carter told us.
"Already am, Sir."
"What the hell was that?" Emile said
"Jun, you see anything?"
"Negative. Thermal's clean."
As I approached the exit of the building, I wanted to share my thought with Carter.
"I believe the footprints are related to the movement on our trackers, Sir." I implied moving slowly towards the other side of the building.
"Possibly, Six. Now, keep quiet. We don't want to alert our presence."
"Yes Sir."
"Damn! I must've have said too much already if he told me to shut it…"
Headed up a small stair case and into a nearby building, I went over to a vent to see if I could see any enemies.
"Six, what are you doing?" Carter asked me putting his hand on my shoulder. I turned around, failing to see anything anyhow.
"Trying to get a good view of where any hostiles might be, sir.
He never responded to that, only moved forward.
"Did…did I amaze him? Or just piss him off?"
"Boss! I see movement outside your structure!" That alarmed everyone.
Something in the left window caught my eye. It was a creature that I have never seen! But it definitely looked like a Covvie and fit the description of the footprint I saw before.
"Sir! To your 9!" I called out. He saw the avian creature and said,
"Noble Two, move up to the west, we're about to be flanked."
As the avian creature on the rooftop squawked in alarm to other Covenant in the area, Jorge didn't know what was going on.
"Huh?"
Emile did, however.
"Damn it!"
"Covenant!" Jorge alerted us as the avian did its troops.
"What is that creature, Kat?" I asked.
"The troopers call it a Skirmisher. Just a cousin of a Jackal."
"Contact, contact! Spartans, assist!" Carter decreed the group.
"Here we go…" Jorge said sarcastically.
Switching to the magnum, I killed the Skirmisher that alerted the others with a headshot, Carter added,
"They're heading into the basement, move down to the lower levels!"
I heard gunfire from the falcon above. I tried to kill the red Skirmisher but missed and hit the pipe in front of me. The next try earned me another headshot. Reloading, I faced Jorge, helping him kill the Grunt ahead of him. He, too, died from the bullet to the head. I injured a Skirmisher on the adjacent rooftop twice; the third killed it. I missed twice killing the Skirmisher that jumped in the grunt's place. Carter earned a headshot from a Grunt as well. Killed that Skirmisher with two shots as well as the last one on the rooftop above him. A nearby explosion forced me to take cover behind a wall.
"You okay, Six?"
"Yes, sir, shields went down a little that's all."
"Alright, take it slow…but not too slow. Just don't rush or you'll really lose you're shields. Got it?"
"Yes commander."
They group moved into the area, leaving me behind. Seeing Jorge kill another Skirmisher up top forced me to come out of hiding. Unfortunately all the targets were down, None were left for me.
"We're clear, sir."
I went up with the rest of the group and followed them up to the bridge ahead. To my left were two Grunts which I tried to kill quickly with headshots but they were too fast. It took my three tries to kill him and the other went out of my view behind a rock and was killed by Jorge anyhow.
We moved across the bridge as the Jun and falcon pilot stated,
"Noble Leader, enemy dropships inbound!"
"Falcon moving to assist!"
As the Spirit dropship was releasing its reinforcements, Jorge was already trying to get some of the action. Because of the energy I had flowing through me, I shot somewhat aimlessly, hoping to kill some of the scattered Grunts ahead. Fortunately, after luckily injuring some, I managed to get a headshot - and a plasma burn to the helmet thanks to the Spirit. I moved up in between two rocks. I killed two Grunts and threw a frag in a group of them, killing sadly only a Skirmisher I failed to see in front of me. I made the loss up with a headshot to a Grunt. Jorge received two more kills, which, though I was beginning to like the guy, enraged me greatly. Only because the recent distractions, such as Jun, were clouding my judgment.
I immediately turned to my right and instinctively not even aware of its presence, sent a bullet to a Skirmisher's head. I heard Jorge groan in pain a little. I heard his voice from the very back of the pack saying,
"Nice shooting!" I looked back, nodding my head at him, acknowledging his compliment but not wanting to say anything.
"Stand down, Noble, stand down. Contacts neutralized."
"Contacts? It's the damn Covenant!" Replied Jorge to Carter's order.
"Cheer up big man. This valley just turned into a free-fire zone." Consoled Emile.
"Kat, we've got to warn Holland. I need you at that relay outpost now."
"Boss! I'm showing more activity to the east!"
"Thank God we have Jun on our team…"
"Copy that Jun, we're on it. Six, you've got point."
As we crossed the creek, I realized just how low I was in the ranks.
"I'm going to be asked to go into the danger first…like a Grunt. Guess that's why I've got to earn a better rank first."
We engaged some Grunts, taking them out easily. And then came the Elite Ultras, harder than hell to take down if you're not careful. We threw some frags at their feet and apparently, they didn't seem to like their shields going down. Nearly avoided a plasma grenade to my face. I hid behind some hay bales to reload. I greatly injured one of the Elites, letting one of the other kill it for me. Kat meleed the second. I managed to tackle the last Elite and stab him in the eye.
"Roger that, we're clear. And Six, you did good."
"Thank you, Emile." That comment I could not avoid.
"Commander, I'm seeing more hostile activity to the north-east."
"Emile, you're with Kat. Six and I will run interference on the ground. We'll meet you at the outpost."
Carter, Jorge and I headed towards a flatbed truck as Kat called to Jun for airlift.
"Get to work, Noble."
I decided that I'd drive since Carter obviously did not want to. Jorge had to sit in the back no matter what, for which I felt badly.
As everyone got settled in, I drove along the mossy path ahead surrounded by matching trees.
And then it suddenly hit me -
"The enemy was not the rebels all along. Boy, have I been distracted this entire mission…"
Part 3 - Rebels Don't Leave Plasma Burns:
Driving the flatbed truck to the direction the Commander pointed to, I felt that this war would only get more tense. Going between two hillsides, I let the sound and vibration of the truck calm my nerves. I noted the Commander's nerves of steel as a mark of a true leader.
"One day, I'll be as cool and collected as Commander Carter."
After that thought, I focused on the road ahead. I had just drove in between the edge of the mountainside and a tall tree next to a rock spire when I noticed a flock of Moas passing by. That made me curious - something must've frightened them. I had no doubt in my mind that the Covenant were nearby. Without even realizing it, Jorge began to shoot down a Skirmisher next to one of two adjacent rock spires up ahead. I slowed down a little so he could kill it more easily. A Moa was caught in the crosshairs of fire unfortunately. I looked to my 6, one Skirmisher fell, then to my 9 and another fell. Yet again, a poor Moa was sandwiched within raging bullets. I sighed, still focusing on the road ahead.
"My reaction time isn't as good as the others. What exactly is my skill set then?"
Not giving my full attention to driving, I realized I had slowed down a little at the entrance of a bridge. When I was aware of this, I sped up, continuing on.
"Enemy sighted!" Jorge called out. I saw a lone Skirmisher at least 50 or so feet away from the vehicle. A smirk crept upon my face. I'm certain Carter noticed it because he stared at me - and since you cannot see that well through the visor, he probably had a confused look behind it. I sped up the highest speed the vehicle could go and splattered the creature. I wasn't really hoping for any comment from either Jorge or Carter; nor did they give me one. I just felt this unrelenting urge to splatter the damn Covvie.
When I had turned around to go the other direction, I realized it was still alive! I muttered a cuss word under my breath and went for a second attempt. Jorge, oblivious to my intention, took the Skirmisher down himself. I sighed disappointedly but shrugged it off. Moving on, another Skirmisher was quickly taken care of by Jorge.
"Noble Leader, I'm seeing Heat Sigs in the structure ahead." The structure looked sort of like a house with a canopy stretching towards another part of the structure. I came to a quick stop just underneath the canopy in front of a doorway.
"Everybody out!" Carter exclaimed as we simultaneously hopped off out of the vehicle. As I neared the doorway, a Grunt came out, firing at me. I ignored the nuisance - at least I did until his firing actually took down my shields. About to defend myself, another grunt came out. I wasn't too worried about two measly Grunts; although I knew an Elite would be rounding the corner at any moment, attempting to virtually beat me down. Backing up a little, I threw a grenade to the Grunts and just behind the wall, I heard an Elite roaring; probably throwing up his arms in rage. I didn't understand why but I knew my suspicion was confirmed. Crouching, I waited for it to come out. I did not expect it to be a Ranger of all ranks - nor a rare golden one at that.
The grenade I threw killed both Grunts and barely injured the golden ranger, who was questionably trying to flee. I would inot/i allow him to do this. I rounded the pillar that he ran by, obviously not aware of me. As I came to the other side of the pillar, the creature oddly was facing the pillar, as if it didn't need to fight us off. I went to melee his side as the others were firing at him. He faced me and I thought,i"Yes! This is my chance!"/i I tackled him and pinned him down. Whilst doing so, he struggled, growling at me. I readied my knife, watching its lifeless eyes felt its doom coming upon it. I stuck the knife in its throat and lingered there in that pose a while. Taking it out of the flesh and sheathing the knife, I stopped to catch my breath. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Looks like we're clear Lieutenant. Nice work, by the way. Let's move on." I nodded, finally catching my breath. As I walked towards the truck, I noticed the array of dead Covenant in the area outside of the structure. Inside the truck now, we moved on away from the structure.
"Boss! I'm showing more activity to the east! I advise you check it out."
"Roger Jun, we're enroute."
Strolling down to a wide path with some trees and a creek, A skirmisher was causing us trouble near one of the trees. Jorge took care of it. Another passed by, hitting me with one of their needle rifle shots. Once again, I was fooled. Neither Skirmisher was dead. And the red one escaped traveling in between a small boulder and the mountain. It took me three tries to splatter the damn thing. I circled back around the boulder and went where Jun directed us.
Near the creek, I splattered three Grunts in one messy but fell swoop. I got out of the truck, switched my assault rife for the pistol to change the mags before crossing the creek. I switched back to my assault rifle, Beyond the creek, at the foot of the nearby structure, I stuck a Grunt who attempted to do the same but failed. I sided stepped his grenade and watched it die. Seeing an Elite Major, I hid behind some barrels for a second before attacking it. It fired at me, I chucked a plasma at it. I felt the taste of my own medicine from the Elite as I did to the Grunt. It sideswiped the grenade, unharmed. Enraged a little, I shot at it in a controlled burst of my assault rifle. This forced him to come at me but I backed up, Before it could react, I meleed him, weakening his shields. As he reacted to my attack, I went for another melee attack but to my dismay, it did not stun him this time. I turned around, firing at both the Grunt and the Elite who backed up away from me. The Grunt threw a grenade and it landed near my foot. When I thought I was clear of it, the blast radius was close enough to dangerously take down my shields; inches from death, On my knees, I almost accepted defeat, feeling my shields being unresponsive, I did not want to get up.
Hearing gunfire in my dizzy state, Carter had moved in front of me, defending me. After all enemies were down, My shields still refused to recharge. I felt as if my lungs were about to collapse. They say that Spartans don't feel pain - I was trained to feel pain. To be more human than the rest because my father, even through his discrimination against women, taught me that it's okay to feel pain. But it isn't okay to let it control you and take you down. But right now, I couldn't control the fact that my shields were malfunctioning; I had to give in to pain. Now I know what Carter meant when he said he read my file. I'm probably one of the few Spartans out there, if not the only one, who feels pain.
Carter had his hand out, offering to help me rise back to fighting stance. I looked up, seeing the shadow and took his offer. Though he was generous, his voice sounded stern.
"Get up, Noble." As I stood to my feet, Carter put my arm around his shoulder, walking me slowly to the truck. I thought he would let me drive but he knew how badly my shields had gone down. As I relaxed in the side seat of the truck, I mentally beat myself up for allowing pain to get in the way.
"Noble Leader, I'm picking up a distress signal."
"Mayday! 3 Charlie Six, does anyone read? We were attacked by Covenant forces. The Covenant is on Reach. I repeat: the Covenant is on Reach."
"The troopers?" Jorge asked.
"Let's move, Six. We've gotta find the source of that distress call." Carter interjected.
"No disrespect, but don't we have more important things to do than round up strays?" Jun pointed out.
"We don't leave people behind. You see those troopers, you let me know."
"Why would Jun ask such a question?"
"Noble Leader, I'm seeing possible friendly forces under attack south of your position, over!"
"We're under attack, repeat, mayday, mayday, 3 Charlie Six, we're under attack by the Covenant, I've got wounded, cannot hold this position."
"We need to find those troopers now!" Carter exclaimed firmly. Being the driver, he put the pedal to the metal - just when I thought I could have some relaxation, even if only a few minutes. As we neared a Covenant landing site, Carter ran over one Skirmisher and left the other alone; focusing more on the troopers.
"Noble Three, we've located the trooper squad. Request immediate evac. My coordinates."
"Solid copy, Commander. Recalling Falcon Charlie 2. Hold that evac position."
Carter parked in front of the structure the troopers were defending, placing me behind a wall until I can walk and fight once more. The two Spartans and the troopers cleared out the Covvies eventually. I felt less pain as I watched Jun's Falcon pass overhead.
"He is slowly becoming my guardian angel." I got up, dusting myself off. I didn't yet go outside.
"Spartans? Corporal Travis, 3 Charlie, sir. It's the Covenant..."
"We know, Corporal. Let's get you out of here."
"Noble Leader, be advised: I have visual on inbound Covenant dropships."
"Evac transport, keep your distance!" Carter looked in my general direction. "Six, hold this position. Clear an LZ."
"Yes sir," I replied somewhat weakly. I shrugged off the pain. I noticed the amount of Covenant the Phantom was carrying and I immediately had a plan. I looked at Carter, hoping he would catch my gesture as I hopped back into the flatbed truck. He looked over at me, paying little attention to the dropship now.
"Noble 6, where the HELL are you going?" Carter called out to me.
"I'm not leaving the crashsite Sir. I'm collecting some road kill."
He didn't say anything back. He just stood there, watching me back out of the area slightly then moving back in as the Covenant dropped in, allowing me to mop them up with the tires of the truck.
"Interesting method." Corporal Travis said quietly.
Carter got slightly distracted, and annoyed, watching me do what I do best - causing mayhem when given the opportunity. The Phantom's turret took down his shields as well as Jorge's. The two hid behind a bunch of barrels, sitting next to each other.
"I thought I was clear when I stated the lone wolf stuff stays behind." He told Jorge as he reloaded his DMR.
"Well, Sir, she isn't completely being a lone wolf. She's just…filling out your orders in a, eh, unique way." Jorge replied. Carter gave a dissatisfied look to Jorge.
"Still, we each can hold out on our own. She doesn't need to take care of them this way. She might lead them away from the crash site, true, but she might have the vehicle destroyed before she even leads them away from here."
"Sir, I don't think she intends on leading the Covenant away from here." Jorge pointed towards me, still in the vehicle. They both peeked above the barrels, careful to not get caught in the line of fire.
In the vehicle, I paced back and forth, from one edge of the trail to the other.
"3 Charlie, fire now while I have them distracted!" They caught on to my plan and they quickly and efficiently took out diverted enemies while I mopped up the rest who tried to attack them instead.
"Alright…I'll hand it to her. She had a good idea there." Carter admitted.
"Yeah, very clever!" Jorge added.
I parked the vehicle in front of the structure. I got out, going straight to Carter.
"I apologize, Sir, I was making sure the troopers didn't get mortally wounded. I knew that the Covenant would be easily distracted by the act of chaotic driving. So I decided to give it a try. I never intended on leaving the crash site. But I did not want to risk another near-death situation like I had back at the last structure. Especially with lives on the line." Carter took a minute to reply.
"I understand that, but unless ordered to, you do not pull any stunts like that. Is that clear?"
"Yes Sir."
"Alright, I'll forget that you did that as long as you don't do it again."
I sighed of relief. "I didn't realize I wasn't allowed to…spice things up a bit. Even if it meant to save other lives," I ignored my mistake and moved on.
"Transport, LZ is clear. Move in for evac."
"Affirmative. Transport inbound." As the two falcons landed, I eased up a bit; glad that it was time to take a short but well-earned break from fighting. I quickly ran over to the place where I hid before pulling that stunt and grabbed the DMR on the ground.
One Falcon carried the troopers and the other held Jun, Jorge, Carter, and I. Making my way back to the Falcon, Carter said,
"Troopers, hop that bird on the double. Pilot, stay close, watch for hostile air."
As I made my way to the Falcon I'd be riding on, I watched the troopers get in theirs. Before getting in, I noticed Jun sitting patiently and calmly. I didn't want him seeing my face redden for the reason I still haven't found out yet. I discreetly and quickly nodded to him as a greeting before getting in. I could have ignored him except that even through his thick colored visor, I could see the outlines of his eyes holding my own glance. He put his hand to my shoulder before getting in.
"Hey, I heard you got injured. You alright?" I almost didn't know how to respond to that. I figured that the communications were sketchy and that he obviously didn't get to see whether I was badly hurt or worse. Or if he cared simply because he just did. "Well, you okay are not, Six?" I snapped out of my deep-thinking mode. He was talking to ME.
"Yes, I'm fine. Yourself?" He chuckled before answering.
"Hmm, you know me, a couple bullets barely shaved the paint off my armor, but hey, what can you do?" I so badly wanted to laugh at that. But I forced to keep it in. I sat down in the seat of the Falcon, enjoying however long I would rest here.
Laying back in the seat as the Falcon took off, I glanced over at Jun, trying not to catch attention to the other two.
"Is this new strange feeling obvious to him?" I shook my head, trying to wave off whatever this feeling was.
"Six, you sure you okay?" Jorge asked. I almost jumped out an inch out of my seat because before, it was silent. Before answering, I glanced at Jun to see if he was paying attention to me.
"Yes, Jorge, I'm good."
"I hope so. You seem jumpy. Ever since we started this mission."
"It's the feeling of being in a team. It's…a little different for me but I realize I have to put aside a lot of things to be successful in this."
"The feeling you have, Six, might be a little different, scary even if you let it get to you, but just remember we have got a job to do here." Carter added.
"Come on boss, she may be skilled but go easy on her. She's a newbie to our team so she needs time to adjust." Jun finished, chuckling a little.
"W-wow…he defended me…" I was baffled by his act of kindness. Almost stunned.
"Don't get so red, Six, I was only pointing out how new you are to Noble Team!" Even from my angle, I could tell he had a slight smirk on his face. I didn't have to see through his visor, I knew from the tone in his voice that he was. Nevertheless, I was indeed startled that he knew I was red in the face.
"Yes, thank you Jun…" I said quietly, trying to ignore that he might now whatever secret that even I cannot comprehend within myself.
"Noble Two, sit-rep."
"We're at the relay outpost. Door's locked. Mechanism's been flash-fused."
"Can you beat it?"
"I dialed up my torch, cut a way through. Going to take some time."
"Okay, we're en route to your location."
After Kat and Carter finished their conversation, I looked at the mountains and roads below. A breath-taking view of the moon over a mountain left me in awe.
I noticed a courtyard filled with Covenant and thought,
"Oh God, more fighting…"
"We're approaching the com outpost." Said the pilot.
"Drop us in the courtyard."
"LZ's a little hot, sir-"
"Put her down, pilot. Six, break's over."
"Damn…" I hopped out as Carter said,
"Charge!"
"I was enjoying that break, too…"
As the falcon flew off, Carter and I both threw grenades at a group of Jackals. A headshot to another Jackal and I felt back in the fighting zone - even though the Jackal next to him was difficult to kill after about seven shots. I cursed my body. I was obviously still shaky from that grenade blast from earlier.
I let out a big sigh as I changed mags and followed Carter into the coms outpost.
"How we doing, Kat?"
"Taking a little longer than I hoped, Commander. I've cut about halfway through the door." I watched her work at the controls of the sliding door. Carter had his back to the wall next to Kat.
"Contact!" Emile stated.
"Hold them off until Kat can hack the controls!"
As the Covenant arrived via dropship, Jorge's words gave me something to laugh about and agree with.
"You're in for a world of hurt!"
I noticed an Elite on the other side of the courtyard and immediately engaged with it. I beat him down when his shields were less than satisfactory to it. As I entered the structure near the coms outpost, two kamikaze Grunts were coming dangerously close to me, moving down the stairs. But I quickly ended their life with a bullet to the head. Reloading my DMR, I sighed in relief.
"Glad I didn't get caught up in that mess."
I shot at some enemies from afar at that area of the building, turning to my left. A skirmisher damaged my shields but I retaliated with a couple shots back. It hid behind the barrels and another took its place a few feet farther up, asking for death. A Grunt surprised me at the head of the staircase where his kamikaze brethren fell. Two others came down and died with bullets in between their eyes.
"Kat?"
"Just about...there! We're in!"
"Everybody inside! Go, go, go!"
As we hustled to get inside, explosives got vicious and deadly at the door. Just before it closed, I threw a plasma at two Jackals, sending them flying.
"I knew there cousins could jump but I didn't know they could fly!"
After that I aimlessly fired at incoming enemies. But managed to get a headshot of an Elite before the door even began to close. As it was inches away from closing, one of the banshees that was ready to be demolished, thanks to the others, was coming close to the door, either firing its cannon or dropping down on me kamikaze style. As it came down, I fired at the hood and it exploded when the door closed, sealing off any harm away from me.
"Heh heh! I got that banshee good!"
No one verbally expressed how impressed they were with that shot but I knew I was impressed with myself. At the sound of the door closing and locking up tight with a hiss and other mechanical noises, I readied myself at the door going inside the structure, not knowing what might be next.
Part 4 - Skeleton Crew
"All clear!" Emile called out, followed by my quiet sigh of relief to the truth of the statement. But I quickly realized that breaks are short in this team.
"We need to find the control room." He said reloading his weapon From there, Kat can get the relay back online. Emile, post here. If we flush any hostiles, they're yours. All right, let's do this."
We approached a very dark room whose only light source was a red fluorescent light.
"Yeah, spooky doesn't describe the atmosphere of this room at all…" I sarcastically said in a hushed voice. To my right was a door that appeared to be locked. I was curious as to what was behind it but I remembered what happened back with the troopers and was wise to keep my mouth shut.
"Can't see a thing. Noble Six, turn on your night vision." I followed Carter's command.
"Control room. Go easy." Warned Kat as we neared the end of the corridor. When we turned it, there was a body lying on the ground. Everyone lowered their weapons. "Noble Six, search that body."
As I began to search the body, Kat stepped over it to investigate the controls. Carter noticed a wounded trooper in the corner.
"Where's the rest of your unit?" He asked the trooper.
"We got split. I don't think they…it sounded bad on the comms."
"All right, Corporal, stay put. We'll get you a combat surgeon."
As he consoled the trooper, I mourned the body I was searching for a moment, then I turned him over and I found a data module.
"Damn!" Kat said looking at the controls as I watched her briefly. "Plasma damage."
"Found something," I said to Kat.
"I'll take that Six, not your domain." She said snatching it out of my hands and observing it for a moment. Rising to my feet, I looked over to Jorge.
"I've got a live one over here." He said. "Come on, out you come." Jorge continued softly. The girl refused to stop hitting Jorge, though her attempts were all but futile. The way Jorge moved his head from side to side as she struggled read confusion of why she would be reacting this way. Eventually, he told her; "It's alright, we're not going to hurt you." As she persistently wrestled her way out of Jorge's grip, saying things in Hungarian, Carter wasn't sure Jorge was handling it properly.
"Jorge…"
"I've got her." He put down his weapon and held firmly on the girl's shoulders. "Keep still and I'll release you." She stopped struggling and spoke with both fear and caution.
"Még...Itt vannak." (They are still here…)
Just then, an Elite with a sword dropped down from nowhere in front of the two, about to attack. Jorge stiffened and he narrowly escaped the creature's swing of the weapon as he covered the girl. The Elite looked and growled at us, as if challenging us to a duel. Two more of his buddies joined in, dropping in from nowhere.
"What's your status over?"
"You're a little late, Emile…"
"We've been engaged!" Said Carter.
Kat was about to be cut down by the Elite until Carter pushed her out of the way. While I'm maintaining fire, I'm thinking,
"Are you seriously gonna just stand there, Kat?"
Taking down its shield, it came after me. Though my goal WAS to distract it, I'd never imagine I'd be a target at this moment. He knocked me down as he ran out the door.
"You call yourself an Elite? You run away like a coward!"
"Bad guy coming out!" Carter yelled.
Another Zealot grabbed me by the neck, extending its energy dagger, ready to stab me in the cranium no doubt.
I looked at him as he held me in the air, above him, making himself seem more superior and intimidating, not only to frighten me, but piss me off.
"Stab me, I dare you." He went to do so and I smacked him, right in the mandibles. He roared in my face, obviously unfazed.
"Split lip, you need to see the dentist…ASAP…" I chuckled, even through being held by the neck. Once again, he is determined to stab me. Luckily for me, Carter kicked him off me.
"Bout time…"
Kat opened fire on the Elite that attacked me, draining its shields. On the ground, I searched for a weapon. Carter kicked an assault rifle over to me. It occurred to me that the Elite slinked away, craving cover like the weakling that he is. The two Elites head for another door, probably trying to catch us off guard, carrying both the girl and the Corporal, using them as shields. We held our fire so that we may not accidentally shoot them. The civilian girl screamed her head off as the cry of the corporal fades into his death. I looked away for a moment, grieving his death.
"We did what we could, Lieutenant."
"That tango blew past me, permission to pursue?"
"Negative four, stay on the entrance. Two, handle her. Five and Six, clear the hole."
Noticing the clip of my weapon, I reloaded it as we headed into the room. Jorge shut and sealed the room off.
Jorge then threw a flare into the next room in an attempt to draw out the apparent hiding Covvies. The Zealot hiding behind a box threw his arm up in reaction to this. He began to fire his concussion rifle at us both. I zig-zagged through the line of fire, eliminating the Grunts and Jackals in my path. Jorge fired occasionally, generously allowing me kills. Once we cleared the room, the Zealot retreated down the nearby corridor.
"What's the matter, Zealot? You a cannon fodder like your Grunt pals I just took down? I even assassinated one for ya!"
As we continued on, mopping up the remaining enemies, I earned two more Grunt assassinations.
"There's more. Flush 'em out, I've got you covered." With that, every Grunt but one died with a bullet in their brains. In the next room, I found a shotgun in an indent as I jumped down. I traded the drop shield for sprint and used it against the Zealot with the concussion rifle. As the Zealot with the sword charged at me, I thought I would have some cover from the shield but it depleted, which startled me. The Zealot badly damaged my shields and almost ended up with sword in my gut, however, Jorge saved my ass. As it was distracted, I hid behind the wall, letting my shields replenish. I crouched turning the corner with my shotgun ready to blow the Elite to smithereens. I waited for about two minutes before Jorge put his hand on my shoulder, startling me in the process, who told me that,
"The Elite's hiding and awaiting to strike, I see its back turned. It won't notice you from behind if you're quiet. Go leave the coward with a good-bye present." He said about to hand me a plasma grenade. Hesitating for a moment, he recoiled with a slight chuckle. "Or better yet, throw it a surprise party," He said pointing to my knife. " Nodding in agreement, I crouched slowly going towards him. As I neared the small room, there he was, crouching, not paying attention to what's behind him.
"What a fool." I end his life with a stab to the neck. "Goodnight and sweet nightmares, foul creature." I looked at the dead bodies around me for a moment, then Jorge snapped me back to the mission.
"Noble Five reporting. Contacts neutralized."
"Kat needs you to reset a junction. Do it and get back up here." Carter ordered. I reset it and went back into the other room with Jorge.
Dissecting the machinery now, Kat prepared to work on the controls.
"How long?" Carter asked, tilting his head to the side as Kat put down the piece of machinery.
"Question of my life…" She said, picking up something. I couldn't see from the angle I stood at. "If the question is when will this station be back online, two weeks, earliest." Carter leaned in, as if he's very interested… "This is plasma damage. All major uplink components are fried." Kat explained. Already working on the controls.
"Two minutes is too long." Carter pointed out.
"Which is why I'm splicing into the main overland bundle to get you a direct line to Colonel Holland…" She answered with a snippy attitude. "You're in my light, Commander." Carter backed away turning to Jorge.
"Find out what she knows." Jorge knelt in front of the girl and tapped her shoulder but she shoved him off. Emile chuckled. I tilted my head to the side slightly, curious and moderately confused.
"What's so funny?"
"What's your name? Do you live around here?" Jorge took his helmet off; probably trying to get her to humanly sympathize by looking into his eyes. She does at first but looks back to the ground. "A nevem Jorge. (bMy name's Jorge./b)
"Sára."
"Sára...szép határozott név. (...pretty definite name.) Your accent sounds familiar. Sopron?"
"Tengari."
Jorge looke at the body.
"Friend of yours?"
"Father," She said with a sad look on her face.
"Sajnálom. I'm sorry."
"Why would you be?" She said staring hard into his eyes.
"This recent death has disabled her to feel compassion from another human being…I know Jorge still feels sorry regardless of how she takes it, though."
"Big man forgets what he is sometimes." Emile told, blocking anymore thoughts. I looked at him as he said that.
"Is the poor girl blind? Am I the only one who sees the compassion he has? Despite the lack of feelings Spartans must have? Even so, Emile…we are still human on the inside."
As if Jorge was a bigger feline than Emile, he 'raised the fur of his back up' and coldly replied, "She just lost her father." Forcing Emile to back up a little until Jorge receded from his personal space. "She needs a full psychiatric workup." Jorge said to Carter.
"She's not the only one," Emile sharply retaliated to Jorge's feather-ruffled attitude. Emile did not look in his eyes when he said it; as if he is too chicken to.
"Sheesh, Emile. Heartless much, my good friend?"
"Lock it down, both of you!" The watchful eye said, stripping apart an argument before it could even begin. And he stripped it to pieces, no doubt. Jorge must've definitely regretted that long death glare he made to Emile. Although, we know that there might have been a lasting smirk of victory in the war of words behind that skull helmet.
"Get her on her feet…the body stays here."
"Thank you, Sir." Said Jorge in gratitude. Though he possibly regretted the stare he gave to Emile before, the one that he gave to Emile as he walked by him, rubbing shoulders, I could tell he meant in that silent moment. He went to help Sára up.
"Signal. It's patchy, but it's there." Said Kat, finally done with the controls.
"I'll take it." Carter replied taking of his helmet.
"Best not touch anything. You wouldn't want to ground this place." Carter watched us leave the room before Holland came through.
"... I'm barely getting you. What's your situation, over?"
"Colonel, this is Noble One. There are no rebels. The Covenant are on Reach. Acknowledge?"
"Come again, Noble One? Did you say Covenant?"
"Affirmative. It's the WINTER CONTINGENCY."
There was a brief pause.
"May God help us all."
I hope none of you saw this as redundant at all. Or annoying if she seems like a lowly self-insert. I'm slowly trying to build a character out of Tyra; that is the reason why I put what I'd say in her voice. I do not think this counts as OOC since Six doesn't have a real definite personality other than lone wolf. Which is funny, I don't do well with teams...I prefer solo yet not free for all lol isn't that interesting? I'm pretty much the person who tries to defend the team but says hardly a word - cept to myself xD I am open to any suggestions about her personality, however. Thanks for reading!
Next Time: Six goes and does some pretty interesting things, sees Jun inside Sword Base, and meets Halsey.
