A platoon of tanks and about three of infantry, including the Third, marched through the No Man's Land to the starport as two UNSC Jets banked and left atmosphere. The Longswords had dropped a rather large payload onto the target areas ahead, though none of the city was burning, surprisingly, the guns having fallen silent at about three in the morning last night. The Starport itself had lifted the White Flag not too long ago, meaning that they really just had to march in now and take the prisoners to be processed. Rest of the Company was not far behind, with trucks in convoys pushing up behind the units, their fifties aimed around at caves and holes.

Of course, they still expected to take fire from at least up above. The Sun Devils behind them kept their quad forties pointed up at the peaks, while a UNSC Phoenix-class support ship swung in for landing just overhead. The dust kicked up by a massive ship like that coming in to hovering position was a bit annoying, but it gave the group at least some cover from the sun that had started beating down on their heads.

Jake didn't wanna believe the enemy had surrendered so easily, honestly. Not after having shot at them from mountaintops and hills and every other type of bullish location. And here they were now, advancing without a care in the world into the town while Oryx IFVs rolled in as well, dismounting an entire other company of Marines. The units entered the city to the damnedest and most surprising thing.

The cheering of the locals...

Civilians were out in the streets, waving at the UNSC troops. Some looked emaciated and tired, others looked healthy, but unnerved. Most were probably cheering the UNSC in hopes the occuaption wouldn't be too awful on them, especially considering the fact that the ship their entire Division was gonna leave on was hovering just above them, ready to pick up the Army Corps.

He paused. It was then that he noticed some of the people holding leaflets. The 'payload' dropped by the Longswords had been leaflets? He looked over to Parisa, who was utilizing the platoon Radio now to get some info as they walked down the streets, EOD teams checking each corner and intersection for buried AT mines and IEDs. A few had been found ahead of them as per reports, so the engineers were taking no chances.

Jake walked up to the Lieutenant with Niko, then he asked, "Ma'am... What?"

"Place was getting leaflets dropped onto it since last night..." Parisa seemed to recite what command was telling her, word-for-word, "Leaflets telling them to surrender since there was no evacuation and telling the civilians to shelter in place in any underground location they could find, should UNSC forces enter the city. Turns out this had a rather positive effect on the people, while the UCF sorta forced them to stay on the surface... Huh, holy shit. We're gonna be bunked here for the day while ONI's Strike Teams deal with any leftover rebels. Then we're headed off to meet with the rest of Sixth Fleet. Word of mouth is there's something major about to go off."

"Oh?" Everyone quirked brows up.

She smirked, "General Coulson's about to brief TLs about it within the next four hours. 'Till then, ladies and gents, go have some fun and relax. Keep your eyes open and your flies closed. Wouldn't want any of you all taken off-duty due to some sorta diseases," then she lifted up her pointer, showing them to wait, and looked through her HUD. With a nod, she told them, "We'll be bunking at a local Inn. Make sure to tip the waitresses!"

After leading them to said Inn, a cozy place located by the mountain face itself, just down the street from where they'd entered, the crew was situated within their specific rooms, some Marines bunking in twos and threes. Jake and Niko were forced to share the room, unsurprisingly, due to being the sole male Marines in Third Platoon. Niko hummed as he set his stuff beside his bed, which was in one corner of the room, then told Jake, "Well, like a camping trip."

"Or just a general outing with the boys," Snorted Jake as he plopped himself down into his bunk and letting out a sound of contentment as he sunk into it. "Shiiiiiit, this is a good bed..." He murmured, kicking off his boots to the side and letting himself sink deeper into the bed. He yawned, stretched, then said, "Fuck me, man, sleeping on military cots and folding beds really does you in..."

"We're gonna miss this type of luxury the moment we head out for the Big Fight, whatever it is," Niko remarked as he tossed his own boots and sat himself down on the bed. He pulled a tablet out of his backpack, then told Jake, "Finally got a written letter from family..." as he scratched his chest. He leaned back into the bed, while Jake let out an affirmative hum. Niko had to admit, the beds were goddamn comfortable. He asked his buddy, "Do you want me to read you the stuff?"

"Sure... Might help me doze off..." Joked Jake as he arranged his pillow.

"Alright," Niko snorted, then cleared his throat and started, slightly exaggerating his accent, "Dear Nikolai, I and your father say hello and wish you well on your current outing against the Fascist menace. We are both very proud of your work and wish you and your comrades in arms continued health as you combat the dogs that shot our representatives in the street. Your sister Alina has been getting top marks at her university and your younger brothers have been doing well, though they dearly miss you, as do we."

Jake snorted, "Sounds almost like a letter you'd hear either with the Koslovics, or with the Soviets during World War 2..."

"Yeah," Chuckled Niko, then he continued, "Your grandfather also visited yesterday, to wish us well here at the Farm and help around the house. He said he was watching the reports of the war on TV and felt a little familiarity toward Operation:TREBUCHET. He says that he doesn't wish that type of war upon anyone, but that he knows you and your friends will pull through. Take care, my son... We love you and miss you. Your loving mother, Katya."

"Heh. That was sweet," Jake gave a thumbs up, "Your folks are really stiff writers, though."

"Hard to explain how you feel in mere written words. We're those who show rather than tell, Jake," Niko shot back as he straightened up on his bed. He pulled out an MRE from his bag and tossed it to the Grenadier. Said grenadier caught it mid-air and gave him a nod in thanks, before setting it aside on the nightstand. Turning over, Jake decided to fall asleep.

Niko noted this and stayed quiet, letting his friend sleep while he read. A knock on the door distracted him, followed by a young woman's voice calling out in a thick Moscow accent, "Housekeeping!" as she gently opened the door and peeked inside. A beautiful girl, with hair the color of a dancing flame and eyes like the stunning Caribbean waters, blue and gleaming, peeked inside.

She winced as she saw Jake asleep, then turned her head toward the other bed. Niko himself stood there, staring with slightly wide eyes at her. She blinked and smiled awkwardly, then gave a wave. He waved back and stood up, setting aside his tablet and walking out with her. They closed the door and she whispered, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to barge in... Thought I would come check how you are accommodating."

"Much appreciated. And do not worry, Jake wasn't fast asleep yet," He whispered back.

She chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck, "I suppose that's alright, then... We didn't expect for your military to pay so quickly for accommodations... Blyad, we didn't expect them to pay at all," as she looked over to the rest of the Platoon down below. Niko let out a short chuckle, before leaning onto the railing and looking down at his team as well.

"Hearts and Minds, I guess," He quipped, then looked over to the beauty. She was in a barmaid's uniform, sort of like what one would see during Oktoberfest in Germany, with the classic apron, dress and everything. The Inn itself was a fairly warm, welcoming place, too, with wood walls and the whole thing about being like an old cabin. Laughter echoed from down below as the bar started serving the Marines. He hummed and looked over to the girl, asking, "What's your name?"

"Maria Belikova," She replied, leaning on the railing with him, "You?"

"Nikolai Morozov. A pleasure to meet you, Maria," He replied.

She smiled, "The pleasure is all mine. It's nice to know the UNSC isn't what the Propaganda makes you all out to be..."

With a chuckle, he replied, "Yeah. Usually, Fascist groups really like painting the enemy as nothing more than scruple-less animals, or less than that. We like to think we're a little better than what your people paint us as..." then scratched his chin. He decided to be nice and open up a proper conversation by asking her, "How long have you been working here, Maria?"

"Since I was a kid. This is my papa's place, after all," She chuckled, them pointed at the elderly, slim and balding man with glasses serving drinks to the UNSC with an impassive face. She told Niko, "He's still warming up to the idea of us being under new management, but he will come around. Mama's out back, dealing with laundry, so don't expect to see her around that much."

"Sorry for the inconvenience. Didn't mean to upset your family," He told her while, looking upon the father and noting some of the Siberian traits.

She leaned closer and told him, "It's fine. The fact that you pay is already making them warm up to your presence. The Mobile Infantry unit that was stationed in the town before the surrender was worse for wear. Conscripts, the lot of'em. Papa was worried about me just walking the street alone," as she looked over to the Sergeant and Lieutenant of the Third winding down the party before any of their troops got too rowdy. She then chuckled and said, "I think it also pays that a nice bit of your platoon is women, as well."

"Me and Jake are..." He paused, then blinked and said, "Shit, I think we're the only two original guys left of the platoon. Lieutenant and Sergeant have been around with us since our previous war and Jane," he pointed to the Corpsman who was simply tending to a drink at the bar and chatting up the father in a hearts-and-minds act, "Is a childhood friend of Jake's, so she stuck around us, too, as our assigned doc..."

"Huh. Sounds like you folks have been around a while," She stated, "Other war?"

"Big one. Aliens nearly wiped us out almost a decade ago, when most of us were seventeen, eighteen, the type," He told her, scratching the back of his head, "We caught the tail end of the war. It's a long story..."

"I'm gonna be on break soon, if you wanna talk..." She offered with a kind smile. He smiled back, his heart fluttering for a moment. He wondered if they'd ever come back here, all of a sudden, or if he should ask her out on a date while they were still out here. Jake, who was sat by the door and listening to them speak, grinned to himself and went back to bed. Lucky bastard, he though about Niko.

Zegama Beach

Two hundred of the Federation's best ships hovered overhead of Zegama, a resort world that was now slowly being turned into a Fortress. Planetside, Mobile Infantry Engineer Corps had begun digging and preparing. Anti-Air Arrays had been emplaced around the main towns, the beaches were being modified with barbed wire, old guns and new guns were being placed into the fold and new armored fighting vehicles based on old designs rolled out into the field, transported by the Mobile Infantry's newly-rebuilt First Armored Division's own drop ships.

Among the ranks of the Feds were Sapien Sunrise, a battalion's worth of the soldiers formerly belonging to the UNSC set up their own defensive positions near the possible landing areas the UNSC would take, with Captain Thompson humming as she looked over the parapet of her squad's trench. Forty of Sapien Sunrise's best men were under her command and she trusted them to do their work.

The area ahead opened up into a wide field of thick grass, a road running right down its middle. It was the perfect area for the UNSC to land and set up a FOB. And knowing the Office of Naval Intelligence, she was certain that they already knew the few good landing areas on Zegama. The Resort World combined all of the elements the UNSC had fought through so far, with deserts, mountains, beaches and wide fields. The former and lattermost were good for armored warfare, meaning she had had to prep an AT team just in case.

She looked over to the Feds bringing up their flank and noted that they'd brought modified Anti-Tank Guided Missile Launchers in preparation. None of the old gear like Kornets. They'd actually gone and quickly upgraded a TOW-II style missile and turned into a laser beam rider with a bigger punch, meaning they could take on both possible Sangheili Wraiths and UNSC armor.

She then looked behind and saw tanks going hull-down, their angular turrets unmanned, green camouflage so freshly painted it almost looked like it was running off. 120mm main cannons, 7,62 Coaxials, fifty cals on top. These new tanks, XM-2s, were experimental designs, pulled by the Feds out of mothball specifically for the war, with Composite armor of some kind and the crew safe in the Hull.

Well, as safe as anything, really, she thought to herself. It only took one well-placed bomb or missile from the UNSC Air Force to knock them out. She hummed, then looked to her left as footsteps came. She watched Rico march up to her and snap a salute. She returned it in kind and looked at the magazines she'd left on the side of the parapet for her Sniper, telling him, "There's no need to salute someone from a different unit, Rico."

"Yeah, fair..." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I wanted to ask you something, Captain."

"Shoot. We got all the time in the world while defenses are being set up..." She replied as she pulled out another box of 14,5 and started loading spare magazines with it. She sat herself down, while Rico remained standing. Before Rico could ask anything, though, the two watched a squadron of TAC Fighters flying in overhead, armed with makeshift Anti-Air Missiles this time. As their drone began to fade, the woman looked to Rico.

"... Why did you tag along with us? Aren't most of you UNSC Folks against us? I mean..." Rico started, probably unsure of how to best put it.

The woman blinked, staring at him impassively, "I hate the UNSC, Rico. They're the reason I look the way I look... High Command was cowards, left me and my platoon behind to die during a battle in the jungles of Kenya. I got captured, my friends got killed... Shit, some got eaten," and she shuddered, gritting her teeth, "It took one of my closest friends and his platoon disregarding orders and nearly getting court-martialed to get me the fuck out alive..."

"Oh..." The man blinked, stunned. Eaten?

"I also abhor the Xeno bastards they threw their lot in with... The Elites burned our homes and they just shook hands with them," She told him, gritting her teeth, "It was bad enough having to fight beside'em in the War, but now they're letting them deploy against fellow humans... Much as I dislike your governmental system and the whole 'Service equals citizenship' bullshit, I'm not about to let another Humanity go through what we went through, especially not by the hand of my former comrades and their new hinge-jaw buddies..."

Feeling her heartrate spike, the girl took a moment to compose herself, breathing in and out, before turning back to loading her weapons. She told Rico, "... Hence? Alliance of convenience with you lot. You feel like the UNSC, sure, but you're also facing the same rat bastards we faced in the Human-Covenant War, so, until either all the Hinge-Jaws are dead, or you bastards manage to win? We'll stick around."

"Right..." Rico sighed, "Sorry for asking."

"Get back to your Platoon," She told him, then set her magazine aside and stood up, her disdain for him and his people hidden behind her poker face, "We still have a lot to do if we have any hope of beating the UNSC back..." only for the Fed officer to turn around with a nod, walking away. She breathed a deep sigh, all of the tension finally leaving her body.

"Cap..." One of her men started as he ate a protein bar. She turned to him and he continued, "What the shit are you gonna do if, hypothetically, we face that Weston kid and his unit in combat here? Because I know you still have a thing for hi-" only to gasp as she grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the wall. Silent, she glared at her subordinate, her grip around his throat just hard enough for him to be unable to swallow his food.

She told him, "... We'll deal with them as the situation calls for it... Get back to inspecting the trenches," before letting go and hearing him cough. She sat herself back down and returned to her previous work, thinking to herself that she hoped she wouldn't have to face down Jake, Parisa, Niura or anyone from that squad. Just the thought of having to aim at the people who saved her made her stomach churn.

She sighed deeply, rubbing her face, then set aside her ammunition, looking up at the sky. If only the UNSC didn't bring in the goddamn Sangheili, they wouldn't be in this mess. They'd be somewhere else, dealing with something else, not helping a bunch of Fascists build their defenses to counter the people she'd once fought beside. Sure, her former high command was not worth defending, but her old friends?

She scoffed and shook her head. No point. She needed to brace herself for what was coming.