I gathered my things and straightened my hair up as I rose from the bed. The signal amplifier was ready and the next supply run by Pelican was due soon. Jasmine had left in a hurry when Thorne had peeked said from outside the tent that the amp was ready. I fixed my helmet onto my head and rolled my neck a bit. My lips still longed for Fallen's touch but I brushed it aside, for now, and opened the tent's flap, walking back into the sandy terrain of Requiem. Every footprint I left in the sand left me one step closer to the retrieval of my team. I watched as the landing area was prepped for landing and supply retrieval, thinking about what we were going to have to do. It was treason, what we were considering, but I'd figure out one way or another to talk everyone out of this, I'd take full responsibility. I'd have to. I sighed to myself before walking up to the rest of our small group, Throne holding a small black box in his right hand. I looked t each of them before starting.

"Alright here's the plan." I spoke, each of them becoming very attentive, "Thorne and DeMarco I'm going to need you two to take out the marines that will be on board, they'll probably stand at either edge of the ramp and talk to each other, they'll be bored and off gurad so you shouldn't have a problem. Fallen, you're getting the pilot and I'll get the co-pilot. When you've knocked each of your targets out drag them inside the Pelican."

"Well they aren't going with us." retorted DeMarco.

I looked at him, "You really need to start letting me finish what I'm saying."

He crossed his arms as if saying 'fine', which would be so him to do, "Alright, once they're inside Thorne and Fallen you're each going to carry two of them, me and DeMarco will distract the people running the supplies. We're keeping one crate of rations on the pelican with us."

DeMarco seemed a bit more satisfied by this, Thorne gave a cheer and Fallen's stance just immediately let me know she was smiling. I too smiled o myself and clapped my hands together.

"Well, let's get to work!"

I watched Thorne drag the struggling marine around the side of the pelican in a sleeper hold until he passed out. He signaled to us to move up. Me and Fallen gave each other a glance before sprinting the distance to Thorne and, opening the side door to the pelican, hopped in. The pilot turned to face us.

"What are you doing in h-" he was cut short by Fallen's well placed blow to the head, followed by mine to the co-pilot's dragging them from the cockpit and into the cargo hold, hiding them behind some boxes of scientific instruments. Fallen went and threw the other side door open as I grabbed Thorne's man from his arms and drug him into the hold and placed him next to the other. Fallen set another marine down on the other side as DeMarco and I jumped out of the other side of the pelican and ushered the other two, bodies slung over their shoulders, to my tent. We both rushed to the back of the pelican and looked at the two workers on duty.

"Why don't you guys take a break." said DeMarco, gesturing to a bench a few meters away.

One gladly took the offer but another looked at us suspiciously, "Why?"

DeMarco gulped and I butted in, "Looke like you could use one, we're SPARTANs, called here to help, that's what we're doing."

The man finally gave in but watched us suspiciously from the bench while we unloaded boxes. I nodded at DeMarco, who nodded back as Fallen and Thorne came up the hill to the landing pad and jumped in the Pelican. I slipped into the vehicle followed by DeMarco, each grabbing one last box before setting it out and slipping in for the final time. The one box of rations remaining was sitting in the corner, Thorne atop it. Fallen was checking all of the systems and such, I didn't know a lot of what was going on up front but watched anyways. Thorne was messing with his tac-pad with the small black box hooked up to it. He nodded to me and I knew what it meant. He had found them.

I almost squealed in excitement but decided against it, slamming my fist against the button to close the hatch on the back. The workers scrambled to their feet and called for the guards. I watched them as the engines roared to life and the hatch closed, both side doors closing at Throne and DeMarco's hands. I sat in the back and felt the pelican rise and then shoot off towards the planet's atmosphere.

Meanwhile on Infinity

"Commander Palmer sir!" came the voice of a marine behind her.

She turned to face him and sighed, "What is it Mitchell?"

"The remnants of Fireteams Majestic and Crimson have just been reported Absent Without Leave. Last seen hijacking a UNSC supply pelican at the research base they were stationed at."

She was taken aback by the news but showed no physical signs of it, nodding in thought before dismissing the marine. he saluted and shuffled away. She sighed again and ran her hand down her face.

"Problem Sarah?" came the voice of Thomas Lasky.

"Another rogue SPARTAN team to date." she said, "Two this time."

"Well they're hardly a fireteam anymore, I think they've gone after them." he responded.

"Sir?"

"It's what I would've done." he said, lowering his voice to speak to himself now, "It's what I did."

"With all due respect sir they've committed treason."

"Now Commander Palmer they are, at the moment, Absent Without Leave, there will be consequences, but let's not let their bravery go unnoticed, after all, the best SPARTAN team to ever come into existence has been AWOL numerous amounts of time and they're out there right now, taking back a UNSC vessel for us."

"Well Blue Team and these two teams are a completely different matter sir."

"Are they?"

She didn't know how to respond, giving only a small look of thought.

"We aren't machines Sarah, we're just humans." he said, giving off an aura that immediately closed the conversation

Sarah Palmer walked out of the room and down the hall to her own quarters, where she could watch the helmet cams of the SPARTANs in the field. She saw all of the static filled screens of the SPARTANs M.I.A. but she could see from here what the rest of them would be doing.

She'd stop them if she felt it necessary.

Back in the Pelican

Thorne had successfully triangulated the signals from their helmets, finding them still on Requiem, just not exactly on Requiem. We'd picked up a signal from inside the shield world, and if the Master-Chief could do make it in and out alive, why couldn't we?

I sighed and ran a hand up my visor before standing from my sitting position on the floor.

"Fallen, you find an entrance yet?" I asked.

"Nada, but I'm looking."

I nodded and removed my helmet, no point in having it on now. I looked over to see DeMarco sitting atop the crate and fiddling his thumbs in concentration, his brow creased in worry, or doubt, or fear, or all of the above. I walked over to him and crouched down to eye level.

"You alright?" I asked, sure we'd had our differences but differences or not we were on the same side.

He nodded unconvincingly, biting the inside of his cheek and redirecting his gaze.

"DeMarco, I can see something's up, just tell me."

He shook his head no and I huffed in frustration before standing and turning to walk away.

"I'm worried about them is all." he mumbled behind me.

I stopped and turned my head over my shoulder, "Me too." was my simple response, walking up to the cockpit's steps and placing an arm on either seat.

I looked at Fallen before staring out of the cockpit's windows, watching the world blur by.