"This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure." – Winston Churchill
'Isolated, tall ice walls, and flat grounds surrounding it,' Six noted the defenses of the outpost while he walked along the top of said walls, surveying the area. 'At the very least, it means I'll be able to see the Zealots coming but it means they won't have a hard time finding these people. Still…'
Six looked down into the courtyard of the outpost. His dark green eyes observed the chaotic scene that was taking place down below. People were running about as they were preparing for a possible attack in the coming days. Others such as the young woman who visited him early on were training. When he saw the woman and her two opponents shooting fire at each other from their limbs, Six shook his head.
There's something incredibly bizarre about witnessing such an unusual sight. That being said, he found it even more strange when these people entered his cell, asking for his help in exchange for freedom.
"Zealots, huh?" Six muttered.
The presence of such high-ranking Elites meant only one thing; these bastards were sent on a mission to recover Foreunner artifacts located on this world. Whether or not ground forces were going to come down and support these assholes is a different story altogether.
Memories of fighting to the bitter end came to Six's mind. Zealots swarmed him as they tried to bring him down. While they may have been successful, he made sure to take a few with him.
Could he trust these people?
"So what do you think of our little fort?"
"I wouldn't call this place a fort," Six replied, hearing a familiar voice. He turned around to see the two guards assigned to him. The ones he spoke with early on. "At best, my superiors might've labeled this a supply depot. As for my thoughts on your defenses, your only real advantage is the terrain. I would say you'll be able to see the Zealots coming, but I doubt the bastards will perform a head-on assault if their numbers are accurate."
Gohon, the male guard, asked a question, "Why's that?"
"Zealots aren't meant for assaults. They're originally intended to be inserted behind enemy lines," Six explained to the two guards. "So if I were you guys; I'd sleep with one eye open tonight. They're more than willing to sneak in and cut you to pieces when you're at your most vulnerable."
"You seemed to know a lot about them," Laya, the female guard, stated. "I'm assuming you've fought against these things in the past."
Memories of Zealots trying to kill him came to mind.
"You could say that."
"So, um, that does beg the question; where are you from?"
"Far away from here," Six said cryptically, not entirely sure these people were ready to hear about the idea of interstellar travel and colonizing other worlds. Although, Gohon didn't seem deterred.
"Fire Nation?"
"No."
"...How about the Earth Kingdom? You got a somewhat rocky attitude to match," Gohon said, but his answered earned a withering glare from his twin sister.
Six shook his head, "I'm not from there either."
"What about…"
Gohon's next guess was interrupted by his sister grabbing him by the ear.
"Ow!" He yelled, his eyes shutting tight. "That hurts."
"It's supposed to hurt. Now, stop asking stupid questions. If we manage to live through this, then ask all the pointless questions you want," Laya said with authority. "Nod your head if you understand."
A moment later, Gohon nodded his head.
"Good."
After she let go of her brother's ear, Laya looked at Six.
"I'm sorry about him," She said, apologizing on his behalf. "While I do have my questions, I think it is important we focus on what's about to happen here."
"An attack."
Laya nodded.
"As I said earlier, Zealots are going to try to infiltrate during the night. I do need you to warn any of the guards who will be assigned during the night to be careful. Their technology is leagues beyond yours."
"In what way?" She inquired.
"For starters, their weaponry is…" Six thought about how best to explain plasma. From what little he's been able to glean from his conversations with these people, they were easily on par with Earth during the 20th century. "It's quite a high temperature. Whatever you do, don't get hit. Or you risk being burned horribly, especially given your attire. It won't provide you much in the way of protection."
Even armor worn by UNSC ground forces couldn't entirely protect their wearers from plasma damage, and they were centuries beyond these people.
"Is your weapon like that too?" Laya gestured towards his assault rifle.
"No," Six answered. "My peoples' weaponry is very different from theirs. Ours is considered...crude in the eyes of our opponents. I think a term one of our lingual specialist came up with was slug thrower."
"Slug thrower?" Gohon raised a brow.
"Our enemy was never one to hold back when describing their...distaste for anything related to humans, and I can say the feeling is mutual." Reports about worlds being glassed and population centers wiped out came to Six's mind. He wanted to prevent such an atrocity from happening to these people. Even if they may not be UNSC, they are still humans at the end of the day. "But there is one other thing people around here should be on alert about."
"What's that?"
"They possess the ability to camouflage themselves," Six revealed to them. "It's how they've been able to sneak past our lines in the past and cause incredible amounts of chaos. So be wary of any sounds you hear at night."
Both guards seemed surprised by the information.
"How…?"
While he didn't finish asking his question, Six knew what Gohon was trying to ask.
"Zealots are considered the cream of the crop in the Covenant. Their best warriors. That means they're able to gain access to technology the rest of their faction isn't allowed to use," He said, knowing it was better to let them know everything he knew about these assholes so they're not caught unprepared. "All I can say is...look for any odd shimmers of light and keep your eyes open. That's the best advice I can offer you about dealing with the Zealots. I'm sure your...bending can help you survive just long enough for me to deal with them."
"Do you think we have a shot?"
Six responded bluntly to Laya's question, "If it's only a handful of Zealots, I think we'll be able to kill them. That being said, I can't guarantee everyone will come out of this alive. Zealots are considered the best for a reason, and I can't be everywhere if there are more than a few of them."
His final encounter with Zealots proved an unfortunate truth; spartans aren't invincible. No matter how many Zealots or Chieftains a spartan like him can kill, there will always be more to replace their losses.
"Well, we did sign up for this job."
"I don't think White Lotus mentioned anything about fighting technologically advanced monsters, sis," Gohon deadpanned. "I'd like to live to see my grandchildren one day. Thank you very much."
Laya rolled her eyes, "Stop being so dramatic."
The conversation playing out between the two siblings somewhat reminded the spartan of the few times when Emile and Jorge butted heads. One of the easiest to remember was the one involving the girl who hid inside the relay with her father. 'I won't let another world fall,' He recalled his promise to Jorge. 'If it means giving up my life again, I'll fulfill my role as a spartan, Jorge.'
(X)
The day came to an end much faster than the spartan was expecting. Other than conversing with those assigned to babysitting him, Six hadn't done much other than surveying the terrain and learning about what the patrols had found. He listened to what the patrols had found beyond the wire. Nothing really to suggest the idea of the Covenant being in the area.
However, the old man who tried interrogating him for nearly two weeks with little success wasn't too thrilled to see him interact with the people responsible for protecting this outpost.
"He's going to get everyone killed if he doesn't learn to get out of the way," Six said, shaking his head at the man's outrage. There were plenty of terrible officers and troops in the UNSC, but this guy is just a very special brand of idiot.
Other than the sound of the crackling fire and him performing maintenance on his weapons, Six didn't have much to keep him busy. The siblings must've passed along the information he told them as there seemed to be way more guards walking along the wall than during the day. Whether it was the right choice or not, Six knew the enemy would show up.
Zealots won't pass up the opportunity to not only skewer a few humans but seek vengeance on behalf of their fallen comrade before ultimately fulfilling whatever goal they have here.
As he put his assault rifle back together, Six heard the sound of faint footsteps coming from behind. He straightened his back and reached for his handgun, which was lying right next to him. However, right as he grabbed the gun, Six listened to the sounds more carefully and realized it wasn't an Elite. They're much heavier than an average human being, meaning he'd hear a lot more snow crumpling. Six waited until he was certain the unknown individual was close enough before swinging around and aiming his pistol at them.
"Whoa! It's me!"
Six blinked.
It wasn't an alien invader. No, he was pointing his weapon directly at a young woman. Once he saw it was only a friendly, Six lowered his handgun.
"Remember what I told you; you're not very good at sneaking around," Six reminded her. He holstered the weapon and turned back to face the fire. "What do you want?"
"Nothing."
He heard more footsteps before seeing the woman enter his vision again. She walked around, creating a wide berth between them. Afterward, she took a seat on the ground near the fire.
"You know, I don't think the people around here would like you sitting near me."
"Am I supposed to care about what others think of me?" She asked heatedly. The woman then scoffed at the idea, "No, thank you. After learning about what happened to my people, I think I'm done caring."
Six remained silent, suspecting there was quite a bit of emotional baggage behind her words. Talking to civilians was never really his job. That responsibility belonged to Jorge.
She then let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry," The woman muttered, hugging her knees. "You didn't need to hear any of that."
"It's fine."
Over the short time he's been out of his makeshift prison, the young lieutenant witnessed this woman training vigorously for what was likely hours. Neither of the siblings tasked with guarding him wasn't inclined to share much with him about this woman. However, their reluctance did more than they could have imagined. Six imagined she was important in some way, shape, or form.
His dark green eyes – hidden behind the visor – observed the woman. At first glance, Six figured she was not much younger than him. Maybe a few years at best.
"Soooo…" She said awkwardly, lifting her slightly and looking at him. "I heard from the twins you're pretty familiar with the creatures responsible for the awful things they did."
"I am."
"Do you know why?"
Six shook his head, "No, I'm afraid such a question was never a concern to me. But what I do know is the only way you're going to stop these Zealots from slaughtering more of your people is to kill them."
"Were...Were they doing the same to your people?"
"They're still slaughtering my people as we speak," He told her brusquely. Six looked up at the night sky, doing his best to find any familiar constellations. "But my duty, regardless of where I am, is to do my best to protect humanity from those who intend to harm us."
"Duty, huh?" The slight smile on her face was noticeable. "Sounds like you know yourself."
A rare chuckle left his lips, "I wouldn't go that far."
"Why's that?"
He thought about his time with the Office of Naval Intelligence. His duty may be to protect humanity from all threats, but Six witnessed the ugly side of such a mission. But from the innocent look on the woman's face, Six had a feeling she was new to what duty meant.
"Some other time," Six simply said.
His words ended the conversation. Other than the crackling of the fire and the occasional gust of wind sweeping through the area, neither of them said a word. That being said, he did notice her glance at him from time to time, specifically at his helmet.
"Something wrong?" He asked.
"Uh…"
Six saw the way she seemed caught off guard by his sudden question. Even in the limited light, he did take note of the slight coloration of her cheeks, which stood out incredibly due to her mocha skin.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," She said, scratching the back of her head. "I was just...curious about something."
"And?"
The woman cleared her throat before gesturing to him, "Your helmet. You, uh, haven't taken off your armor since we let you out. Doesn't it get...stuffy in there?"
"I manage fine."
"Oh, that's...that's good to know."
"Let me guess; you people aren't sure if I'm human." Six decided to get straight to the point. When he saw her reaction, Six knew he hit the nail on the head. "Don't concern yourself too much with me."
"I'm not concerned," She retorted, furrowing her brows. "You threatened me just two weeks ago. I'm just...curious about what's underneath your helmet. Are you human? Or...are you something else?"
Six shook his head, "I'm human. That's all you need to know, miss."
"It's Korra. Don't call me miss."
"…"
"What?"
"You're willing to offer up your name to a stranger, let alone someone who threatened you?" Six asked.
Korra shrugged her shoulders, "Take it as a sign of me willing to give you a second chance."
"A second chance to do what?"
"Help me avenge the deaths of my people."
(X)
(The Next Day)
Traveling across the icy wasteland would be difficult for the majority of humans. As for the lieutenant, he's been able to march what had to be a dozen kilometers or more from the outpost. The leader of the outpost, Harak, had been opposed to him leaving the walls. However, the twins said they'd prevent him from escaping.
"Why…" Gohon could barely finish his sentence as he started wheezing. "Why are we going so far? If something happens to the compound, we won't be able to get back fast enough."
"We're performing long-range reconnaissance. Due to your limited manpower and access to radios, this means we can't afford to send out multiple patrols for long periods. It's better for me to be sent out than entire swaths of the White Lotus guards," Six explained his methodology to the twins trying to keep up with him through the rough terrain as the weather was beginning to get worse. "Unless you can remedy either of our shortcomings, this is the best we can do."
Laya, who appeared as equally as exhausted as her brother, struggled to respond.
"W-What exactly did you do in your peoples' military?" She asked him, stopping for a moment to catch her breath. "This is…"
"I'm a soldier. Let's leave it at that."
"F-Fine, keep your secrets to yourself."
The spartan scanned the area as the two guards appeared to be on their last leg. While the distance they covered wasn't necessarily ridiculous, it was the pace of their travel that Six suspected was the culprit.
He used the zoom-in function built into his helmet and looked for any signs of life out there. Although, other than some creature that looked like a mix between a dog and a polar bear traveling with her cubs, the spartan saw nothing. Then, Six switched over from the zoom-in function to FLIR. That was when a peculiar sight stood out to the lieutenant.
"Hey," Six called out to the guards. "We got company."
Gohon heaved out, "Bad guys?"
"No, humans," The spartan revealed, zooming in on the group heading toward them. "And it looks like they encountered the Zealots from the way some of them are limping."
"Shouldn't we go help them?" Laya asked, walking up next to him and cupping her eyes.
"They're about a few kilometers away," He informed her. "That being said, we need to be cautious. The Zealots could be tailing this group and using them as bait."
Gohon, after finally recovering, heard those last few words.
"Wait, so you're saying they left them to live on purpose? Just so they can use them as bait." Six didn't miss the disbelief in the guard's voice. Or the rising anger. "Spirits, I never thought I'd hear about other creatures using us as...as if we're worms on the end of a fishing line."
"As I said, our opponent is cunning."
Six continued observing the group of humans. Although, he's mainly been scanning the immediate area to find any thermal signatures. Covenant cloaking technology was advanced. The only downside is the massive amount of heat generated during usage. It's like the fourth of July with how much cloaked Zealots, or any Elite using these devices, stood out in any environment.
He switched his visor back to its normal setting before giving his thoughts on the matter.
"We need to hurry if we're going to help them," Six said, calculating the potential risk if they're forced to travel at the same sluggish pace as these people. "We're burning daylight and I don't want to risk being caught outside the wire in the dark. It'll make things more difficult."
The two guards nodded, agreeing with him.
All three of them started heading directly for the wounded group. Six, however, did keep his head on a swivel, knowing the Covenant might have been already observing them. He was going to find out in one way or another what kind of support the Zealots have at their disposal. One look up at the cloudy sky prevented him from seeing if there were any Covenant warships in orbit. The previous night, which was much clearer, didn't show any signs of Covenant forces roaming about in the sky.
Not even a measly transmission.
But…
That didn't mean he could rest on his laurels. As they closed the distance between them and the group of wounded folks, Six was able to make out their faces. Most were men with a handful of women in their ranks. He did spot a few men who would've been barely old enough to join the UNSC under any other circumstances if it wasn't for their war against the Covenant. That being said, he did see how every individual was hurt in some capacity.
'Some more than others,' Six mentally commented, noting how two people – a man and woman – were holding onto the stump that was once their arm.
Once they were within a dozen meters of them, Six didn't miss how the group of wounded must have taken notice of his presence as they started slowing down. Wariness in their eyes. A reaction Six wasn't unfamiliar with, even during his time in the UNSC. Even if the group was reluctant to get near him, the man he suspected was their leader, stepped forward.
A somewhat tall, well-built man in his forties with shoulder-length black hair and steel-blue eyes. Six imagined the man was capable of intimidating most people without too much issue with his frame. For a spartan like him, however, the unofficial leader of this group still came up short compared to him.
"So you're the giant."
Six nodded.
"And quiet," The man said, his steel blue eyes looking over his appearance. For a moment, the man's eyes narrowed at him. "I should break you for threatening my daughter, giant."
Underneath his helmet, the lieutenant closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Sir, I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this talk short," Six stated, ignoring the father's threat. "You and these wounded need to get to the compound for safety. The last thing that needs to happen is for us to be caught out in the open with Zealots likely not far behind you."
"Zealots?"
The spartan then noticed an odd flicker in the corner of his eye. It was followed by some nearby snow being kicked up into the air. Immediately, the spartan knew their position was compromised when he saw the ever-familiar shimmer associated with Covenant cloaking technology.
"Get down!"
His warning, however, came too late for two of Tonraq's men. Instantly, they were skewered by plasma swords popping out of nowhere. Their nightmare only began as nearly a dozen figures materialized into existence. Each of them stood nearly eight feet tall, powerfully built and possessed unique armor.
Six took out his assault rifle and started firing bursts of rounds at the Zealots.
The energy shields of a few started flickering brightly as they came under familiar stress. In response to his suppressing fire, the Zealots let out a roar before rushing forward with tenacity and fanatical fervor.
Those charging at him and the survivors wielded plasma blades. They cut through the bodies of anyone unlucky enough to be within reach of these creatures. As for the others, they put plasma down range in an attempt to pin them down. There was even a nearby explosion, killing three humans in seconds. The spartan spotted a Zealot using a fuel rod.
Damn it.
What started as a group of twenty-something humans was dwindling quickly.
Six positioned his body directly in front of the man who threatened him for harming his daughter. His energy shields were able to take a few hits from the plasma, but the same couldn't be said for everyone else. They were either running for their lives or trying to fight off the Zealots.
Unfortunately, Six knew these people had no experience dealing with the Covenant with the way they responded. Some of their benders weren't prepared to deal with plasma as it splashed around, burning a few of them badly. The spartan clicked his teeth as he focused on shielding the man he suspected was of importance and laying down fire to keep the Covenant focused on him.
"We need to leave!" Six ordered, squeezing off another burst of rounds at the Zealots.
Another nearby explosion threw snow and flesh high into the air. It was followed by a corpse of what had been a human being landing several feet away from him. Their half-blown face conveyed a sense of terror Six had seen more than a few times during Reach.
'Not again. I refuse to let another world fall to these bastards.'