Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Noble Guardians. Enjoy the 800-word chapter. I don't own Halo, Microsoft, 343 and a few others do.

The Falcon set down as the three Spartans all gathered their gear and personal effects. Something was brewing in his mind, something that couldn't have been there for more than a few seconds.

"Trooper fire teams… All of which are missing, I don't want further losses, commander." They heard as they passed by a falcon where a Spartan-III within green armor was sitting, loading rounds into his rifle.

"Well, I believe NOBLES 7,8, and 9 just showed up, sir. We get it done." Carter stated as he turned to greet the 3 recruits.

Rose, the single female member of the trio stood out as wearing CQC armor with light green and white trimming around the helmet. She was slightly shorter than Thom or Gadge who were still shorter than Jorge. She also held her assault rifle, an MA37 with pride, fitting considering she was the team counter, intel specialist.

Thom held armor similar to Six, MARK V MJOLNIR, and a mark V B helmet with shades of orange and green around it, his DMR still clutched in his hands as if he expected to use it.

Then there was Gadge. The explosive expert of their team. Someone who wore crimson and black energy. They were in the middle of the trio which seemed too eager for a fight, holding their shotgun and a grenade launcher before he hummed, unsure of what to tell the others for a second. Uncertain of what to say, what to do next without their leader for now.

"Damn, and I thought NOBLE was a lot with 6…" Emile joked as Thom hummed.

"To be fair? One damn spartan is too much, 9? That's something even the damn Covies cry themselves to sleep over." Rose stated to which the duo looked at her.

"Assuming they even damn sleep," Gadge stated as he hummed, looking around.

"So, now that everyone's here? Should we get going, or are you waiting for 20 more?" Jun questioned as Gadge chuckled to himself.

"Hey, we're just following orders," Gadge stated to which he shrugged. "Sir? What do you need us for?" Gadge stated while he shrugged, looking around.

There was a moment of silence before Carter motioned them forwards before now. There was something else on his mind, something new to focus upon before he sighed, questioning what was coming.

"It will be better to explain better when we get there," Carter stated as he gestured to the others. "Kat? Take half of Noble and check out the relay. The other half is with me, we're checking out the valley." Carter stated before he clicked his fingers, riling himself and humming.

There was something else on the line, this hadn't yet come across the line set in the sand. There was more to question now, something else that hadn't yet been decided. There was more to do, a lot more to have done if nothing else. He rubbed at his helmet to check if the seal was still intact.

"Well, something tells me we aren't getting paid overtime," Thom stated as Gadge looked at him.

"What?" Thom questioned as he rolled his eyes.

"Not a damn thing, bud. Just the fact that you better be able to fly as well as I blew things up." Gadge stated before he turned back. "Sir? I suppose that the reports told you what to expect from us? Noble's a pretty damn high unit to be placed in from what I heard." Gadge stated to which Rose rolled her eyes.

"What Mr. Explosion here was asking if you know what you're getting. I heard the Colonel wanted a wide range of skillsets when he was picking all of us out." Rose said before she cleared her throat.

"Like Kat's hacker skills, Emile's aggression, Jun's sharpshooting. Noble seems well rounded for a standard army squad." Rose stated as Gadge looked at her.

"With all damn respect ma'am? Noble isn't even close to 'standard', we're Spartans. They only send Spartans out for the best ops… Or if something that's suicide." Gadge stated as he hummed to himself.

"Well, that's not entirely wrong, but I don't think we're that bad… We're better than the grunts they recruit for the army." Rose stated as she questioned what to have done next. "And secondly? No 'ma'am' crap. I'm still just a captain, that's lower than Carter and Kat and tied with you." Rose stated as Gadge rolled his eyes under his armor.

"And what do you expect? I don't think I outrank you anyway. We both know both of us were promoted because the brass was running out of officers to run the damn boat." Rose stated as the other Spartan simply shook his head, prepared for it.

They marched towards a pair of UH-144 Falcon helicopters. Standard craft for the UNSC army and something that wasn't often used. He didn't know what to expect.

"Were there any reason NOBLE needed reinforcements for a standard op, sir?" Gadge questioned, raising an eyebrow. "6 Spartans is considered overkill… 9? I'd like to see the other guys." Gadge stated to which Carter hummed.

"Spartans aren't supposed to get caught up on small things like this and you know that." He heard before he heard Carter clear his throat.

"There's a lot more ground to cover. Noble Team is good, we aren't endless, Noble 9," Carter stated before he shook his head. "Kat? You check out the relay. I'll check and valley for the rest of the patrol… We don't leave soldiers behind, Noble." Carter said as he frowned, readying his DMR.

There was barely any real-time for him to focus on, all too thrown off by the events around him. If anything? He hadn't the faintest idea what was coming next. There was a lot more to discuss when their mission was over…

Still? If anything? All this did was fuel him the way he expected it to. There was too much going on for him to just up and leave them all to drown in the fire. Yes, there was oh so much to discuss when their mission was properly focused as of now.

Still? He was a lot surer upon now. A lot more to have questioned. If the relay was torn down? He wanted to know if and how that was possible with no satellite coverage? It made sense they'd ask for boots on the ground.

"Who's doing what, sir?" Gadge questioned before an elbow from Thom made him turn and look over at her, raising an eyebrow at this.

Still? He wasn't going to be doing more yet. They had new teammates to focus upon, he had a mission to handle and something within his gut told him that their mission was still to be.

He hadn't the slightest idea what awaited them and part of that bothered him. A mission where they all could have died? Sure, that was Noble Team, but it still didn't tell them what they were going to be up against. Insurgents could have hit hard, but there was little to no damn way that they could have hit hard enough to have gotten here.

They had a lot more to focus on for now. They had a military operation to focus on for now. There was too much to have handled this. Their mission was a lot worse than what had been going on. If anything? Well, he didn't know what was going to have done for now.

There was a lot more to have on their side. He hadn't the faintest clue for now. He was going to be able to relax for now.

"Army patrols don't just drop off the face of the galaxy," Emile said as Carter nodded.

"Yes, that's why we can't just afford to let them die, Emile," Carter said before he looked at Jun. "Jun? I want you running air support, we're going to need eyes in the sky." Carter stated before he sighed, rubbing at his head.

The falcons slowly passed over the part of the valley. The Spartans were greeted with layers of tree and soil which hid almost everything else. There was only so much they could have hidden soldiers within.

Neither of the craft was targeted by AA which told them that there was no air defense. Maybe there were probably more and more and more and more soldiers on the ground.

It didn't seem as if there was more to focus on for now. But? They had a mission; they'd get it done even if it got them killed… And if it did? They'd focus on their mission and handle their next duty.

One of the falcons, the one carrying Carter, Emile, Jorge, Gadge, and Six slowly started to descend as Kat, Jun, Rose, and Thom slowly started to leave them behind as now. The 5 Spartans slowly spread out, raising their weapons around before spreading out. Carter motioned for them to spread out, allowing them all forwards.

"Something tells me this isn't going to be the same mission that we went through in training." Gadge heard as he rolled his eyes.

No duh. They had a damn mission to carry out and Thom and Rose were cracking jokes? Great, he had to deal with that just as much as he did everything else. There was a lot more riding on if they won or lost. He looked around at the rest of NOBLE, not knowing what the procedure was, but knowing that they had to move with purpose. There was something for now.

"Sir, orders?" Gadge questioned as Carter motioned him forward. "I don't know what, but something tells me these aren't insurgents. I don't see anything. Where were the laid-out ambushes, soldiers with 50AE?" Gadge questioned to which the others said little.

Not a bad argument. There were always layers to what they had thrown at them. This? This didn't seem to seem like Insurgents also because a good place rocket could have taken out their falcons and killed them easily, it would have deprived the UNSC of a valuable asset. Strange, but they hadn't yet seemed to understand before he seemed to handle before he sighed to himself.

They slid down into the valley, sweeping their rifles before she seemed to handle them for now. There was something else to question before now. There was a lot more going on here than any of the Spartans realized which just made them more and more weirded out by what was going on and how it clashed with what was going on for now. This was going to have ended for now with what else was on the brain.

Oh, did they have the path of a Spartan at times, but it was something else on the mind, something else they couldn't have possibly focused upon, it just couldn't be fixed anytime soon.

They spread out, each Spartan looking for something, anything that could tell them where they were headed and what was going on, there was too much to say and do for now so they simply focused on getting the job done.

Carter looked at Gadge who was simply pondering for now. He sighed before he clicked his fingertips together. There was something else for now. He hadn't yet focused on the task at hand that his men had.

"First time on the field?" Carter questioned to which Gadge nodded. "Stick with us. There's a lot of ground to cover and there's still too much we don't know." Carter stated before he cracked his fingers as well.

"Maybe, but this seems too out of the blue for the insurgents. Too bold. Their anarchy-loving bomb-throwers, but they wouldn't just hit Reach. Not on our home turf." Gadge said which made Carter frown.

He had a point. If anyone was trying to kill them? It would have been the obvious monsters all of them hated. But that would have been impossible. There were no alarms triggered, nothing that could have told them for now. He questioned what to do next.

Tell Holland that both of them had an idea? No, no intel or any type of real clue which would have told them something else here… Something wrong.

And both of them seemed to notice that it was all too wrong, all of it seemed to be over for now.

He sighed, he questioned what to focus upon now. He ran his fingers before now. There was only so much to question before they started going into theories and answers that didn't make sense. Holland sent them to get work done? They got damn work done. That was the mission, they had room to wiggle around with it, but he'd rather Gadge have been wrong. The idea was terrifying to him, but he damn well didn't wish to get into the problem.

There was something else before now. He questioned before now what to focus on before now. Gadge looked around before the questions as he tilted his head and sighed, rubbing at his temples while he questioned what to do next.

He hadn't the proper ideas for now. He seemed to be for now as of the second before now. Gadge seemed to keep his mouth shut, only focusing on their next mission. Yes, it damn well seemed as if he had fallen quiet, only focusing upon what else could be done for now.

Carter motioned the others forwards as he checked his tacpad for any sign of new data. There were a thousand satellites on Reach, one of them had to find something.

Anything if he was honest. This was far too damn quiet for him and it was beginning to scare him slightly.

Gadge hummed, looking over at the two soldiers before motioning towards a crashed M12 warthog. Standard UNSC craft was painted in the ivory of the UNSC army. Not something that was commonly seen unless you were on a planet like Reach, he was all too focused before he questioned just what for now.

He didn't understand what the rest of the military upon Reach was up to, but he did know explosives when he saw it. He looked at the burning ATV as the others secured the area. He didn't notice the rest of the bodies, the three upon it seemed to ride within it.

"This isn't UNSC kit. The carbon scoring is wrong." Gadge stated as he bent down to check the marks upon it.

"And the Beacon?" Gadge heard as he picked up a piece of debris and tossed it aside.

"Sorry," Gadge said as he looked around. "This isn't rebel, where are the damn bodies?" Gadge said while he hummed as he looked around.

He sighed, unsure of what to do next. Carter frowned. There were no bodies, just destruction, and the explosives expert was just telling him what was obvious to everyone this was too much more for now. He didn't know what else may go wrong, but he could tell that something else was wrong before he had a lot more to question before now.

He didn't at all understand what was going to come to the core, he seemed to be more and more focused on what may or may not come before now. There was a lot more to handle, something that remained in their minds for now.

"Sir? Heat signature up head, something major, I don't know what." Jun reported as Gadge sighed, looking up as he did so.

They all looked around before he questioned what else as of the second. He didn't know what else may have been brought onto this. He didn't know what may become for now. He didn't know what else may or may not. He questioned before now. This was something else, he didn't exactly know what was coming, but he did know that there was going to be hell to pay if it came down to it. He sighed before he clicked his armor's comm.

It didn't matter, Noble had a scent and it seemed as of now. He questioned what was going to be for the time being for now. This had to be something interesting. He sighed before he questioned what could have done this.

No, they had to. He was too committed to the goal set before them, there was more to question as of now before he hummed while he sighed. Gadge turned; his weapon lowered for a moment as Carter motioned them forwards. It seemed as if things had changed.

"Roger, Noble 3, circle around, tell me what you see. We're getting up and moving. Tell me in 2 minutes if anything changes." Carter ordered to which there was silence for a few seconds.

He watched as the others rushed forwards, covering ground as if they were hellhounds. It didn't seem as if much were wrong but Carter also knew that anything could go wrong on these sorts of ops.

He also knew better than to think about the gritty details. There was more to battle than just shooting or finding a better way to shoot and kill.

Six overtook Gadge, rushing forward like he was some human-sized bull. All it did was make Carter chuckle inside knowing that the enemy could be waiting around any point.

"If there's a missing patrol, where's the civilians? This entire valley is military and farmland." Jorge stated as Gadge turned to him.

Not a bad question. if there were so many missing troopers? Someone had to see something. The team knew that, but they didn't see where this was coming from at the moment, just that something was waiting for them.

"This ain't rebels, rebels are sneaky, but they're not stupid. If they see UH-144 falcons coming? They bring M41s." Gadge stated as Jorge nodded.

"Yeah, rebels want flashy fireworks, nine," Emile stated before Gadge stated before he nodded back the way they came. "And they're too smart to shoot down reinforcements. That would just have us bomb the damn valley." Emile added to which Gadge snorted.

"Maybe, but what the hell broke the warthog then?" Gadge questioned as the assault specialist fell silent.

The 5 entered the house and circled up, looking around before Gadge and Emile moved to the edge of the house, their weapons ready. They were ready for a battle if it came down to it… But no fight seemed to come for a moment. Then came the words that made them snap to life like they were statues.

"Noble one, heat signatures in the structure ahead," Jun repeated before Emile, Six, and Gadge all snapped up their weapons.

There was a flash of movement which brought all of their weapons to the target of their gunfire. Gadge noted a man dressed in civilian clothes but held no weapon. He didn't lower his shotgun still; he could easily have a detonator attached to his clothes underneath.

"On your knees, now!" Emile said, racking the shotgun as a warning.

Jorge moved forward to which both Spartans lowered their weapons, unwilling to hit their comrade as he looked the man over and turned.

"They're not rebels, their farmers," Jorge said as Gadge and Six lowered their weapons but not Emile.

Both Spartans looked at the man who started to speak, there was an accent and the man spoke in Hungarian, something the Spartan IIIs weren't exactly taught as they hummed. Gadge turned and looked at one of the Falcons which passed overhead, giving them some air support if needed. He was glad, there was too much ground to cover even for Spartans like them. They needed far too much to understand what was going on and none of them noticed what may come next.

Then again? Gadge was happy to see signs of friendlies in the valley even if they were civilians, it told him the rebels might not have the hold they wanted here and they had a chance to come in and sweep them out. There was nothing in the way of them, but that could change easily. He didn't know what the rebels had cooked up or if it was entirely them.

He scratched at the back of his neck, unsure of what they'd do next. He didn't know what question before he didn't know what to question as there was a lot more to do right now.

The group rounded the corner and climbed the corner, Six and Gadge lowered their weapons. He didn't know what to look at the craft for. There was a silence before they looked up and at Carter who passed them.

There were two of the army soldiers, one pinned to the wall upon a hook punched through his armor and dress uniform and another slumped against a broken table. The two Spartans looked back at Carter, looking at him with interest.

"Think we've found those soldiers you're looking for," Gadge stated as Carter went to check them.

It was then there was a second of movement upon the radar trackers.

Noble Team a minute later would find out it wasn't rebelling… But the UNSC's most hated enemy.

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be changed a bit. Noble Team will survive Reach, but I'm not changing the tone of the story. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show Noble engaging hostiles and more about the level. Until the 900–6500-word chapter, Lighting Wolf out!