Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Hunter and Soldier. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I don't own Halo, Microsoft, and 343 do.

(2526, April 10th UNSC Medical station Sanitarium, 12:50 AM)

Cal, Gram, and Solomon all stood in front of the Sahara-Class Prowler. All 3 Spartans stood clad in their MJOLNIR armor, weapons strapped to their armor, helmets clasped under their arm.

"It just feels off." Gram stated as he turned to Cal. "Arty is always here… Sol, you remember that time I had to stab that commander? One on… Damn, I forgot the name." Gram said while he shook his head.

"Camp July? Yeah, Cal had to save your ass after you almost got blown off a cliff." Solomon said which got Gramm to roll his eyes as he hummed.

"Yeah, and I had to save you from when you almost got shot by a tank." Gram stated while he shook his head a moment later.

"Admiral Stanforth sent orders at Newton Base." Cal put in, interrupting her squadmates. "With or without Arthur? We must press on. Arthur would fully understand and expect us to carry out the mission." Cal added which got a look from both Gram and Solomon.

As much as they bickered and such? Cal knew every member of her team cared about the other as more than an asset to the UNSC. She was fully aware as much as Gram and Solomon jabbed at the other? They still respected and cared about the other to some degree.

"Yeah, he'd want us to rip apart every hostile we find," Solomon added, his voice and tone more somber than it was a moment ago. "Gram? Your arm fully healed up? We still need one of our best scouts." Solomon questioned which Gram nodded at.

"It will take more than a walking maggot to take me out of the fight, Sol," Gram responded as he put his helmet on. "Did they scout the planet or are we doing this Silver Team style?" Gram asked before Cal blinked.

She thought back to a memory from her and Gram's training.

(2525 September 12th)

"That shot was at least 2 kilometers," Cal said as she rested her SRS-99 on her shoulder.

"You know you almost killed him right then and there, right?" Gram questioned while looking ahead. "I got sloppy; he almost took my arm off." Gram stated as he looked at his wounded arm.

A shot from one of the shotguns that the marines tilted his head caused him to sigh. The marines continued to keep trying to get more and more brutal on the frontlines of combat… Then again? They were marines, soldiers who kept fighting…. The same things the duo was expected to learn at the moment.

"Stop being so hard on yourself. You didn't notice him flank you, I told you to hold that area." Cal added which earned a sigh from Gram.

The scout still took it as a blemish on his skill. He was a scout, it was part of his skill set to be able to scout the rest of the battlefield, making sure every enemy was dealt with at the end of the day. The second you took your eye off the enemy? You got killed.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't suck," Gram muttered as he looked at the stun rounds which painted his arm black and blue.

He had repaid the soldier in kind, fracturing his arm and giving him a black eye. It almost took him out of the fight, something that Cal had known. He could only ponder what would happen to the marine at the time… But he guessed that he had made recovery more than anything.

"How's your eye?" Gram questioned while Cal shrugged as Gram nodded. "He almost took your eye out. You almost got killed because I was off by a few seconds. That's all it takes on the battlefield." Gram stated as he shrugged with annoyance.

He was well aware Cal didn't care as he did, she had put in the effort towards the mission. The most focus towards this at the time? Had been things like that before? They would have been done and dusted. Cal had put in the effort towards completing the mission and supporting Gram helped that goal.

"We still need to get you to the medic and report to the others," Cal stated as Gram nodded and put his rifle across his back. "How's your arm, anyway? Did they almost take your arm off?" Cal questioned while Gram hummed and then started to think of the details.

"No, but they almost took me down." Gram stated and flexed his arm which felt numb once more. "Lucky shot almost got me killed because I didn't see a squad coming… I wish Arthur had taken that hill before then." Gram muttered with a sigh as he shook his head.

He rubbed at his temples and continued walking forward with an interest at the moment. He was quite curious at the time how both Solomon and Arthur had been, he had gotten cut off from the duo while both were curious and such? He knew both soldiers were good at fighting, which was probably split off at the battle.

"Arthur and Solomon got cut off," Arthur said while he shook his head. "Those damn marines had almost cut them both off at the time. We almost lost while they flanked us." Gram stated and sighed as he shook his head with a headache slowly setting in.

"If they did? Then they got too cocky." Cal added, closing her eyes as she looked ahead. "Besides, they almost put your eye out a few days ago." Cal put in to which Gram sighed and crossed his arms a few moments later.

"They hate you; you know." Gram stated, gesturing to Cal. "Call you the 'hunter' anytime they pin me down? You end up getting headshots that put them down. They hate it because they can't win a battle against us." Gram added, curious as to what his partner would say.

Cal was silent a few moments as she thought about how many times the group had gone after Gram. They wanted his head on a pike, it was the key to beating her… And yet not ONE of them had gotten their hands on her team.

"Because they're fighting people they don't take seriously. We're kids, you forget they're getting their asses kicked by 10-year-old." Cal stated while Gram chuckled, amused by his friend's cursing.

"You never curse unless you're ticked off at something." Gram said, brushing off his shirt. "What's wrong? I'm usually the one doubting myself, not you." Gram said while Cal raised an eyebrow as he turned towards the sky.

"I'm questioning why my partner is worried about being as powerful as possible," Cal added, elbowing Gram as he shook his head and started to think about what happens next.

(Current times)

The pelican continued through space, both Gram and Cal shared a look while they looked around. They nodded, both wondering about how this mission would come down to it

"Who wants to bet this is another smash and grab?" Gram asked over the team's comm channel a moment later. "We're being sent right into the middle of a war zone. They wouldn't send us in when it comes down to it without a major objective." Gram stated as Solomon shook his head.

"Or it's something they want to keep hush-hush," Solomon stated while he shook his head.

"Not every Silver Team mission is black ops, Sol." Gram stated while pointing at his friend. "Sides, they mostly send the important stuff to Cal. You know that we're her team, not part of the command structure. We just handle fieldwork at the end of the day." Gram added, closing his eyes as he started to think about their mission was.

"Maybe, but we have work to do either way," Cal added, causing the two Spartans to look at their leader a moment later.

"Do you want to point out the long list of under-the-radar missions Silver handles daily?" Solomon asked and turned to Gram. "Gram? None of our work is public. Anyone, we put down? They're usually wanted by ONI. You know that, right? You've killed a lot of people." Solomon pointed out to which Gram shrugged.

"I work for Admiral Stanforth, Sol. Not ONI." Gram added as he shook his head, unsure what these thoughts would lead to. "Sides, we turned the war around hopefully. The sooner we're done fighting the Covenant? The sooner we can get back to fighting the insurrections both of us started wiping the floor with." Gram added and brushed off his armor a moment later.

"You never think about the details, do you?" Gram heard as he shrugged, understanding what to say.

"Would you dwell on HALF of what we deal with, Sol?" Gram asked, a raised eyebrow under his helmet as he shook his head. "Because I don't think about it when it comes down to it. We're soldiers in this when it comes down to it. We both do a lot of dirty work for the UNSC, so they don't have to." Gram added as he shook his head.

"Maybe, but I do have to think about what we do when it comes down to it," Solomon added to which Gram nodded.

"We all cope in different ways at the end of the day, Sol. I just think about how we have to fight to save lives." Gram said while he looked at them before he shook as he hummed once more. "I still worry about this. We have hearts at the moment when it comes down to it. I have to question what we're doing to do at the second when it comes down to it. There's plenty to focus upon." Gram added to himself and shook his head.

Still? There were plenty of things at the time before handling the future.

"God, we're just going to complain over this when it when it came down to it, wouldn't it?" Gram questioned while he rubbed at his temples who was covered by his helmet.

Still? He knew for a fact that this mission was another attempt to get their hands dirty. Silver and Black teams were both sent to handle the UNSC's dirty work. He knew for a fact that this mission was going to be the same thing that they were constantly sent on.

"Anyone hears about what happened to the VIP?" Gram asked, casting a glare at Cal. "They didn't tell me anything since we captured him. I don't know what happened to him since then." Gram stated which caused Cal to click her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"I don't think you want to at the end of the day." Cal put in as Gram started to think about what happened next. "ONI doesn't deal with stuff like war criminals easily. I doubt he'd be put in somewhere comfy. If we haven't heard about him? We probably don't want to hear about it." Cal added while she cracked her fingers, curious about how well this fight would go.

She knew for a fact that this next mission was going to be taxing when it came down to it. Cal looked at both Spartans who were curious about this mission.

Gram leaned back into his seat once again, sure something interesting would pop up on this fight eventually.

This flight was going to be a long one, wasn't it?

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter is going to be 900-6500 words and such. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months when it comes down to it. The next chapter will be then and will explain the mission, and more bonding and such at the end of the day and such. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Next chapter will be a bit delayed.