"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." – Albert Pike
"Mankind is out-matched. When Reach falls, and it will fall, our annihilation is all but certain."
Their fortress among the stars – once heralded as the epicenter of humanity's military strength – proved incapable of holding back the Covenant war machine. Desperation and tenacity were their only saving grace. In the end, Six was left wondering if the words of Dr. Halsey would come true. Are they doomed to be nothing more than a footnote in cosmic history?
For him, nothing mattered more than his duty to protect humanity. Not even his hatred for the Covenant could override the training and discipline instilled into him during his time in the Spartan-III program.
But…
Six couldn't deny the feelings of disappointment, anger, and, ultimately, acceptance when he took note of the landscape around him. As he stood on a raised platform, nearly two dozen feet off the ground, the Spartan saw the numerous bombed-out buildings with the familiar burn marks of plasma staining them. Corpses littered the area. Many of them wore uniforms. However, there were just as many corpses without them.
Forward operating bases like these have been a common sight for the Spartan. While it's only been two days since the Pillar of Autumn left the planet, Six has been trying his best to fulfill his duty.
Yet, it's proven to be useless.
He always showed up too late to save anyone from the Covenant's wrath. It mattered little if they were fully armed marines trying to carry out some sort of resistance or terrified civilians attempting to find a way off the planet. Six has seen more corpses in the past two days than during his entire time serving as Colonel Ackerson's personal assassin.
The amount of death and destruction he's come to witness over the past few weeks has been staggering to the Spartan. In the back of his mind, he thought about Jorge and the promise he made to him.
"Listen, Reach has been good to me. Time has come to return the favor. Don't deny me this."
His sacrifice – taking down Long Night of Solace – was supposed to be their hail mary for defeating the Covenant and saving Reach from a terrible fate. The weight of Jorge's dog tags in his hand suddenly became near unbearable as he witnessed a Covenant warship break through the cloud cover. A swarm of fighters and transports left the powerful ship.
Moments later, it unleashed a powerful beam of plasma on the planet's surface, turning into glass. The end was in sight, whether Six wanted to believe it or not.
Then, among the swarm of fighters and transports heading for the ground, Six saw numerous banshees heading for his position. They weren't alone as Phantom troop transports weren't far behind them. Six smiled underneath his helmet, 'Looks like they finally got tired of playing with kid gloves with me.'
Six tightened his grip on the dog tags in his hands, knowing he couldn't let down Jorge or Emile.
Escape was no longer an option for those trapped on the surface. The Pillar of Autumn's departure was the final nail in the coffin for every remaining person on the planet. A decision had to be made between either dying with dignity or being slaughtered like animals. Either way, the end was in sight for him.
Numerous troop transports poured into the area. Meanwhile, their fighter cover circled the area. Even with poor visibility, Six was able to spot the purple-tinted metal used by the Covenant. He waited with bated breath for those doors to open.
Six received his wish moments later.
The pilots opened up the doors, allowing the troops inside to disembark from the transport. Dozens of aliens dropped onto the battlefield.
In his mind, Six gave himself one final objective; survive.
He didn't hesitate to get onto the nearby turret and open fire on the column of Grunts waddling into the desecrated forward operating base. In seconds, some of the creatures were turned into corpses, but it was only the beginning as the Covenant began pouring into the area. Grunts, the most common fodder used in the enemy's ranks, soon received support from Jackals and Elites. It wasn't long until his radar pinged dozens of contacts swarming his position.
Bullets flew down range at his enemy. Six refused to take his finger off the trigger, using the turret for as long as possible. There weren't many heavy weapons available to him.
However, his luck ran out as he heard a 'click' sound come from the turret. It was empty, which meant Six was going to have to rely on small arms to get the job done. He took out his assault rifle and continued to spit out rounds.
Six felt his shields flicker as a few plasma rounds smacked into his energy shields from his left side. He reacted accordingly and turned to mow down the enemy forces approaching the platform.
The group was made up of a few Elites with support from two dozen Grunts.
Unleashing another deadly burst of fire on the enemy, Six witnessed the shields of a few bursts. This exposed the Elites to take direct hits from his weapon. Meanwhile, he reached for a grenade hanging on his side. He pulled the pin and lobbed the explosive towards the enemy. As expected, they tried moving out of the way, but Six kept up his harassment of the enemy without hesitation.
Their fate was no different from those who'd been on the other end of his barrel.
The victory was short-lived, unfortunately. Six could not afford to waste any time. While he may have caused entire Covenant battalions to disappear in the past, Six was having trouble dealing with all the firepower being thrown at him. Then, he spotted a blob of super-heated plasma heading directly for his position on the platform. It forced him to get down as quickly as possible.
Although, he was barely able to slide down the ladder before the plasma hit the tower. The force of the blast caused Six to lose his grip on the ladder, causing him to fall and hit the ground hard.
Six blinked a few times and let out a brief groan of discomfort. The suit may have blocked most of the damage from the fall, but he felt the impact alright.
The pain – brief but intense – wasn't enough to keep him down. Six got to his feet, grabbed his assault rifle, and kept on taking down as many of the bastards as he could. Elites, Grunts, Jackals, and even a pair of Hunters fell by his hand. The Wraith, responsible for taking down the platform, was taken down after he climbed aboard and threw a grenade into the crew compartment.
It blew up in a fiery explosion, killing more than a few Covenant troops from the force of the blast.
Exhaustion, however, was proving to be a deadlier opponent than the enemy in front of him. He's been fighting nonstop for days without sleep or good, forced to dig deep and expend every ounce of energy to keep going. After breaking through the shield of an Elite, the Spartan rapidly closed the distance and took out Emile's knife from the holster, plunging the blade into the creature's neck.
The towering beasts fell onto the ground. Its body twitched for a moment before going still, and Six had to take a second to catch his breath. He could already see a few cracks in his visor, which most likely came as a result of the vicious strike from a Hunter earlier. The damage made it difficult for him to see out of it, which meant he only had one option.
Take it off.
It would not only compromise his shields, but it would also remove his ability to detect any threats, and effectively leave him vulnerable to attacks to the head. Unfortunately, Six had no real options as he was able to hear the sound of more Covenant forces converging on his position, which was easily a few kilometers from where he started.
He quickly grabbed his helmet and ripped it off his head with little fanfare. Afterward, Six threw it onto the ground. His decision, however, was met with instant regret. He began coughing violently after he took in one breath of the ever-worsening air. 'Fuck,' Six cursed, shutting his eyes closed and trying his absolute best to stay focused. The stinging sensation in his chest was nigh unbearable, even going as far to as mess with his vision.
However, Six didn't let it stop him from continuing to kill anything not human. The only problem is the enemy was tossing Zealots into the fight.
These high-ranking Elites jumped into the fray with the fanatical fervor common among their wretched species. Although, things were beginning to look bleak after he emptied a magazine into a Zealot trying to take him down. He was able to load his final magazine into the weapon and used it to take down one of the Zealots who snuck up behind him.
He barely got a chance to turn around when he felt a number of plasma rounds slam into his armor. The Spartan bit the inside of his cheek as he felt the intense heat burning through to his skin, but he dug deep inside and found the strength to keep going. Death meant humanity had lost on Reach, and Six had watched four of his teammates die during the course of the invasion. He would do everything possible to make sure their deaths weren't in vain.
Six saw the Zealot rushing towards him, forcing him to toss away the assault rifle. He took out his final weapon; his sidearm. After squeezing off a few rounds and killing the asshole, Six was barely able to turn his weapon towards the others who replaced their fallen brethren. They knocked him down. Out of sheer desperation, the Spartan kicked one of the Zealots in the chest, pushing it away.
The other Zealot was about to come down its plasma blade, but Six was able to knock it away. Using his enhanced strength, the Spartan shoved the creature away to give him some space. Unfortunately, the Zealot he kicked earlier came back with a vengeance as its blade quickly approached his head. At the very last second, the Spartan moved his head and reached for Emile's knife; his final weapon.
In a display of incredible strength, Six jammed the blade into the Zealot's neck, somehow piercing the creature's energy shield. Not even a moment later, he was forced to move the body as the other Zealot slammed its foot onto his chest, causing his grip to loosen.
Emile's knife fell to the ground.
'Is...Is this it?'
The Spartan received his answer from the Zealot. It brought down the mighty plasma blade and easily punctured his armor like it was a wet tissue. For a moment, the twenty-two-year-old soldier struggled to remember anything about his parents and his life before the Covenant came to his home world. Yet, the time he spent with Noble team was the highlight of his military career.
He used what little remained of his rapidly fading strength to reach for the dog tags around his neck. It was comforting to know he was able to feel human again for the first time in a few years.
All he can do is hope Jorge can forgive him for not being able to save Reach.
Among the ever-darkening clouds, Six spotted a massive purple glow above him. It was a super-carrier, the one that came into Reach's orbit shortly after Jorge destroyed the Long Night of Solace.
Six would be forced to die knowing he had failed to defend Reach. For him, the final memories of this world – their fortress among the stars – was that it was reduced to a barren planet as their relentless foe was yet another step closer to their ultimate goal; the extinction of humanity.
(X)
South Pole
169 ASC
"Are we done here?"
Patience was not exactly something in Korra's vocabulary, and today she was beyond impatient as she wanted to get through today's lesson as quickly as possible. She saw her fire-bending teacher's face go through a series of emotions. The fire in his eyes, however, died out quickly. The old man then let out a sigh before answering her in a defeated tone.
"Yes, we're finished for the day," The man stated, his hands behind his back. "Normally, I would chide you for asking such a question. However, I'm willing to be lenient given today's importance to you."
Korra, unable to hide her giddiness about today, accidentally threw her headgear into the air. "Finally," She exclaimed, a jovial smile on her face. Then she remembered where she was right now. Korra's blue eyes widened, which was followed by her blushing. "Um, I meant...thank you for being understanding, sir?"
Her fire-bending teacher rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Please don't damage your training equipment. I don't think the White Lotus want to replace yet another suit so soon," He said, reminding her of the last time she broke some of the stuff they use for training.
"Sorry."
"But, other than that, you may be excused."
When she heard those words from her teacher, Korra rushed out of the training area, got changed, and headed straight for her quarters to pack. Today was a special day. The White Lotus – after being on the receiving end of her complaints over the past few years – was giving her the okay to travel back to the settlement her parents resided in and spend two weeks with them. 'How long has it been since I last saw them?' She mentally asked, trying her best to remember.
Maybe several years ago?
Either way, Korra was happy to know she was going to see them again.
That being said, she still needed to pack and get her stuff ready for the journey. 'But I wish the White Lotus would let me go myself. It's only a day or so with Naga.' The only stipulation to getting her way was being forced to deal with a guard detail. 'Maybe Tenzin can get them to loosen up a little bit.'
The last time she saw the youngest son of her predecessor was when she was barely a teenager. At this point, she's mostly relied on Katara for information. But she was looking forward to learning from him in the future. 'I still don't know why they don't deem me a 'master' of fire already. It's not like the guys in training can lay a finger on me,' She thought, growing tired of the endless lectures and matches that don't help her improve in the slightest bit.
No, Korra refused to think about any more training. Today's supposed to be a happy day. She's going to be leaving these walls and not seeing them for two weeks.
The second she entered her quarters, Korra began packing in earnest. She wanted to head out before the sun went down. While she may have grown up in the Southern Pole, Korra wasn't willing to skimp out on furs and thick coats. Although, the White Lotus said they were going to take care of everything else.
Whatever that's supposed to mean.
After several minutes, Korra took a step back from her bed and smiled in satisfaction at the sight of two well-packed bags. She grabbed them and headed for the door. Once she stepped outside, Korra headed for the only part of the compound she actually liked visiting with any regularity. Truth be told, she can't recall what exactly she said to Katara and the others to let her keep Naga.
Most folks, even her parents, weren't the biggest fan of her making a polar bear dog her companion.
Korra headed down the steps and approached an iron gate at the bottom. A big smile formed on her face as she saw her best friend lying on her side, sleeping from what Korra could guess.
"Come on, girl."
The sound of her alone voice was enough to stir the large predator from its slumber. Korra watched her companion raise her head lethargically. However, the second Naga's eyes landed on her, she got off the ground and rushed over to the iron gate. Korra put her bags down before petting Naga on the snout. "So you ready to go?"
Naga's only answer was licking her hand.
"Guess that settles that," Korra muttered, rubbing her saliva-covered hand on her pants. Afterward, she unlocked the iron gate and stepped inside. The young Avatar went to work getting Naga's saddle on. It was a quick affair. Maybe a handful of minutes, but Korra knew it was a testament to their connection.
She then loaded up her bags on the back of the saddle before grabbing the strap and leading Naga onto the surface. One of the only luxuries offered to her was being able to take Naga out for long walks.
Well, within reason of course.
"Eager, aren't we?"
Korra, who was in the middle of doing some last-minute checks, heard a familiar voice behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw an old woman in traditional water tribe robes. It was Katara, the wife of the late Avatar Aang.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Korra retorted, excited at the prospect of seeing her family again. She did wince a little at her tone. It was a bit more aggressive than she intended. The young Avatar looked at the older woman with an apologetic expression, "Sorry, Katara, I'm just...happy to be going home."
"No need to be sorry." The older woman shook her head, never losing her gentle smile. "I'd be a little concerned if you weren't brimming with joy about going home."
Home.
Unfortunately, her thoughts about the mythical place were cut short by a deep but irritating voice. "I'm afraid Avatar Korra won't be going home," The leader of the White Lotus, Harak, stated. "Our men in the field are reporting a storm is on the way. A big one even by Southern Water Tribe standard."
"...What?!"
An author's note from me?
Yeah, I try not to do these anymore unless it's something important. This story, frankly, has been something I've thought about doing for years because it is mainly inspired by a story named Legend of Roland. The concept of that story is the same as this one. However, over the years, I've noticed how many flaws and cracks are in that story. While I may still hold the story in high regard as it was one of the first real fanfictions I've read in general, I wanted to throw my hat into the ring and try the whole 'spartan lands in Avatar-verse' premise.
That does include changing things around because, well, LoK is a very, very flawed show. It had plenty of potential, even up till the end, but the writing just made a mess of things. So I decided to try and keep most of the ideas introduced into the series. With one obvious exception.