Alright, thank you all for leaving so many reviews. Keep sending in those pairing suggestions. I'm especially happy to those reviewers who brought up Red Team and possible pairings for them. Keep them coming in cause we got a lot of time. Get creative with it.
It's awesome just how many people have already Favorited and Followed the story in such a short amount of time. Really humbling and still makes me feel all giddy with how much you guys are really enjoying this different take on a Halo X Mass Effect crossover story.
And there are still many surprises to come.
So let's not delay it any further.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Spirit Unto Dawn Chapter 3: Days in Solitude Part 2.
Spirit Unto Dawn Chapter 3: Days in Solitude Part 2.
Noble Six flew through Geth controlled space towards the set of cruisers and one dreadnought. Piloting his ship towards a specifically made hangar for his ship at the dreadnought, the Prowler entered the Geth ship, touching down a moment later.
The back ramp opened with Six walking out, being greeted by several Geth platforms all standing there waiting for him.
"Spartan-Six." One of the Geth greeted. "Construct-Dot."
Six merely nodded in turn, Dot letting out a "hello" as well.
"You called us?" Six asked, getting straight to the point. "Has something happened?"
"We have come to a conclusion." the Geth that greeted him said. "A conclusion and proposal we wish to offer to you both."
Six tilted his head. "And that is?"
"Geth study and observe organics constantly, analyzing data and behaviors upon daily life and conflict. We have come to the conclusion that for us to better understand organics, we must have more direct interactions with them."
Six regarded the collection of Geth in front of him. There were only five, with all having the same body. All save for one. This one stood behind the Geth who was speaking directly to him. It's platform/body was exactly the same as the others. Yet it's coloration was distinct. More silvery grey with an accented stripe around its head while sporting a pauldron that none of the other Geth had.
"We would like to request that we accompany you upon your travels throughout the galaxy and learn on a more direct level of organic life and behavior then from afar." The Geth that greeted him then stepped aside for the platform with the pauldron to step forward. "This platform has been specifically designed to learn and interact with you with an adaptational level for situations that would need to involve a number of actions. Combat, stealth, reconnaissance."
The Geth with the armored shoulder then spoke. "We are here to learn and observe."
This… certainly was not what Six was expecting when the Geth had called upon him for a meeting.
"What are you called?" Six inquired.
"We are Geth."
"No, you specifically as an individual. Does this platform have its own identity, something to call itself?"
"There is no individual. We are all Geth, there is no other identity." The Geth before him stated.
"He said," Six nodded his head towards the first Geth who greeted him. "That you were a specially designed platform to assist me and learn personally for the Geth. So do you not have your own specified designation to distinguish yourself?"
The Geth's head fins moved about, showing a sign of contemplation upon Six's questioning. Even though they were Geth, what the Spartan said rang true. They were all Geth, yet the platform the programs all resided in was uniquely designed. In their studies of organics, this would normally warrant a sort of specified naming of distinguishment to stand out from others that are identical in design but different in makeup.
"We are Geth-1183." The Platform said. "There are over 1183 programs active within this platform."
Six let out a small snort. "That's a bit of a mouthful."
It was then that Dot spoke up. "My name is Legion, for we are many."
B312 thought on this for a moment. "That's… actually apt. Seems appropriate."
The Geth platform had its one eye stare at Six, the manner in which there seemed to be one curiosity and acceptance.
"Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine." The Geth stated. "We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the Geth, here to observe and assist Spartan-Six and Construct-Dot in their endeavors."
Humming in thought, Six privately conversed with Dot.
"What do you think, Dot? Should we take them up on this offer?"
"Unclear, Noble Six." Dot said. "In a usual circumstance, would advise caution in dealing with unknown entities and beings. Geth however have proven to be helpful as they have shared data and information that have assisted in helping us better understand our situation.
Six mulled it over in his head for several moments before nodding to himself.
"Alright then, we accept your proposal."
Legion nodded in return.
"So you are programmed for combat, correct?" Six inquired.
"That is one of our capabilities, yes." Legion responded.
"Good." Six said. "We have a mission on hand, Dot will inform you on the way."
"We wish you luck Spartan-Six, Construct-Dot." The Geth from before stated with Six only nodding back before he and Legion entered the former ship.
-Scene Cut-
Traversing through Slip-Space, Legion had its one eye observing the phenomena with deep fascination as this was greatly unfamiliar to the Geth.
Another means of traversing the stars without the use of the Mass Relays? It was something that the Geth consensus have at one point considered and spoken of several times before.
This Spartan and AI were certainly a unique pair considering how much of the galactic society reacts in regard to Artificial Intelligence. Six seems completely calm and appears used to the presence of AI. This behavior shows extensive exposure to AI thus marking a sense of normalcy for the Spartan.
Yet humanity follows Citadel laws and limits AI capacity to VI. Pre-sentient Geth.
Construct-Dot similar yet different from Geth Consensus. Shows more individuality as well as identity. Close working relationship with Spartan-Six.
Then there was the data exchange showing something truly strange and staggering. Construct-Dot displayed a timestamp date of August 30th, 2552.
What did this mean?
Any conclusive or cross references drew blank results.
Construct-Dot also showed her the designation of a UNSC AI. the UNSC being an acronym for the United Nations Space Command. This further confused the Geth. As far as they were aware, the United Nations was defunct with the Systems Alliance representing humanity, earth and all its colonies.
What was this UNSC?
Perhaps direct questioning may further elaborate on these contradictions and mysteries.
"Spartan-Six." Legion spoke up.
A casual turn of the head was enough to signify for Legion that Six was listening.
"We wish for clarification of data that you and Construct-Dot shared with us that is contradictory to much of the data we have accumulated on the known galaxy."
With a gesture of a hand, Legion was unsure what it meant.
"What do you wish to know?" Six clarified.
"The date upon the cache of data Construct-Dot transmitted to us. The year in particular. 2552." Legion elaborated. "This time stamp goes into direct contradiction of the current Galactic year of 2182. By 370 years. This would suggest time-travel yet the Geth Consensus had not come to a conclusion."
"Let's just say it's a bit more complicated than that." Six stated. "Frankly, time-travel would be and not be a more preferable means of explaining our particular situation."
Legion's fins moved about, attempting to further understand the Spartan's enigmatic words.
From his phrasing and pitch, the programs within Legions body agreed and ruled out the possibility of time-Travel. It seemed very clear with the way Spartan-Six delivered his statement on the matter.
"What do you know of the Batarians, Legion?"
Spartan-Six's line of questioning momentarily cut through the 1183 programs processing Six's words.
It took a moment to process Spartan-Six's new question.
"Batarian Hegemony. Main governing body of the species known as Batarians." Legion answered straight away. "They were a Citadel race up to a point with them withdrawing their embassy and overall presence from the Citadel and Citadel space."
"That is correct." Six nodded, recalling the data on the Batarians having been similarly worded as Legion had just done. "And do you know what they have been up to since withdrawing from the Citadel?"
"Batarians primarily known for enslavement of other races." Legion said, bringing up the data on the species that the Geth have acquired over their years of studying the galaxy's species. "Numerous attempts made at destabilizing and bringing the Batarian Hegemony to answer for these operations but little to no proof has ever been concretely found."
Six nodded. "The Batarians have been harassing many human settlements and colonies since the arrival of the Systems Alliance to the galactic stage. They've conducted many slaving runs on human worlds as well as other Citadel Colonies. We're currently tracking a large freighter that has recently raided a human world, taking nearly a fourth of the colony's population before vanishing."
Legion's fins moved about. "This is a liberation mission?"
Six nodded again for confirmation. "Dot, give Legion the rundown of this op."
With the data received and layout of the mission shared, the Winter-class Prowler exited Slip-space after another few hours with the ship engaging its cloaking and jamming features as it flew down towards its targeted planet.
The planet was a backwater world used for Batarian slaving operations, being home to only one of these areas as to not draw unwanted attention to the area. It would be mighty suspicious of Batarian ships being seen around here constantly as this backwater planet also was a base of several merc gangs.
Touching down planet side, Six and Legion exited the prowler with the Spartan turning to Legion.
"How are you with that weapon of yours?"
Legion reached behind and pulled out its primary weapon being labeled as a Pulse Shotgun.
"This is a suitable weapon for close quarter combat." Legion said.
Six gazed at the alien weapon for a moment before walking back into his ship. Within the ship was Six's armory, splayed out and hung upon the walls of the Prowler. Looking around, Six spotted what he was looking for and grabbed the weapon with ammo and returned to a waiting Legion.
B312 held out the gun for Legion to take which the Geth tentatively took into its hands.
"The SRS99 Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle." Six said, holding up ammo for the Geth to take. "May seem primitive to some but it can clip a Krogan head piece of clean at 2000 meters. I'll be clearing out the Batarian guards on the outside. Make sure to pick your targets, those bullets aren't easy to make and they ain't cheap neither."
Legion held the weapon in its hands, momentarily weighing it before holding it up for its one eye to gauge the scope on the rifle.
"What is the plan of this mission?"
"The freighter Dot has been tracking attacked a human colony a week ago, as you already know." Six said. "She's managed to accumulate a solid number of Batarians that we're dealing with as well as the layout of their little rest stop. Two stories and a basement. We take out the guards on the outside, specifically the northern entrance. Least amount of guards with the most amount of blinds spots. You handle the rest on the outside before joining me on the inside. We get in, take out the Batarians and get out."
"We will not be assisting the captured slaves in escaping the base?" Legion inquired.
Six shook his head. "We'll be drawing too much attention as is from those who may likely see us. A Geth who was seen outside of Geth space working with a human that has powered armor beyond anything the Alliance or galaxy has seen? Much as our actions are contradictory, keeping a low profile is more beneficial for the time being."
Legion's programs processed this information and agreed.
Down at the base, in the northern entrance, several Batarians stood about on guard.
There were only a half dozen of them in total but they were armed with heavy grade weaponry that their species wouldn't normally utilize.
However, circumstances of a raiding operation calls for increased security as they were awaiting the arrival of one of their own to pick up their recent haul.
This base has been a primary staging ground and holding for the Batarians when going about their raids within the Attican Traverse and Terminus System. Capable of holding nearly 300-400 newly acquired slaves at a time.
Currently, the Batarians inside were resting up after returning from a successful raid of a human colony. Their third raid overall these past two weeks. The Batarians outside were fresh and keeping watch while waiting for their pickup.
"So what was this week's haul?" One of the Batarians asked randomly, fiddling with his pistol.
"The usual." Another said with a shrug. "Several colonies were hit. Got some real good ones this time around."
"Like what?"
"Humans for the most part." The Batarian suddenly had a lecherous, sinister grin on his face. "And a good number of Asari too. Maidens from the looks of them."
The group of Batarians let off malevolent laughs at the thought of getting their hands on an Asari maiden. So young and easily corruptible and breakable. Some of the best the galaxy had to offer.
"Got a few others. A dozen Turians or so, probably more. Several Salarians. And you will not believe what we got on our last stop. A-MMPPH"
*CRACK*
The other five Batarians jolted, four sets of eyes widening in shock and jaws dropping at the sudden and violent death of their comrade before them. An unseen force had seemingly grabbed hold of his head and violently twisted around to face in the opposite direction.
Before they could react any further, the faint sound of a boot hitting the ground was heard before something the one closest to the recently deceased had his throat cut open with blood spewing everywhere.
Suddenly, there was a barely registrable sound of two cracks far off in the distance with two Batarians having their heads blown open.
The last two could only stumble, reaching for their weapons before one had a dozen or more holes in his chest that rendered his dead with the other being tackled to the ground by what felt like a thousand-pound sledgehammer. He too had his neck snapped with brutal efficiency.
All of this death happened within the span of eight seconds.
'Huh.' Six internally mused, flicking the blood of Emile's kukri. 'Figured I'd be faster.'
"All hostiles eliminated." Legion's voice rang through the comms.
"Good shooting, Legion. Make your way over to the base." Six instructed, gazing at the entrance. Within the bottom right corner of his HUD, Dot had made a detailed scan and display of the base they were currently standing before with all the red markings being the Batarians.
There were 50 here.
Ten were still outside on watch duty while the rest were inside resting up, taking stock of their "haul" and preparing for transfer followed by plans to make their next set of raids. Of course, this will be their last days of living.
Active camo still on, Six quietly entered the base.
It was dimly lit with many darkened areas within the hallway he stood in.
"Dot?"
"Cameras have been turned off, Six."
Nodding, Six deactivated his cloak and began walking forward. Kukri in hand along with a magnum, B312 was a shadow as he moved down the corridor.
He was on the first floor right now and from his map on his HUD, it showed that there were only eight Batarians on this floor. Four more on the second with another four situated in a balcony facing south on the second floor. Six were outside on the ground floor, south as well.
The last twenty-two were all downstairs in the basement where all the captured humans and other aliens were being held.
"Legion, status report?"
"Approaching base, identified several targets upon second floor balcony. Should I terminate?"
"Not just yet." Six instructed. "Wait on my mark."
Six peered into the room that had no door, spotting five Batarians sitting around a table in a dingy room all playing some sort of card game.
Checking his magnum, he placed it back onto his thigh and pulled out his other knife. Activating his camo once more, Six entered the room with slow steps sticking to the darkened shadows of the room. There was only one light in the room overall, with the light being bright enough to reveal most of the room yet still dim enough for Six to go relatively unseen.
He stood behind the closest Batarian who just threw down his hand in triumph.
"Ha, full house."
The other Batarians grumbled as they tossed their cards down in defeat. As the winning Batarian collected his reward, one of the others gazed at him with a flat look before a strange shimmer caught his eyes.
"What's that?" The Batarian asked when his head jolted back violently from a knife that was embedded into his head with blood gushing out.
The Batarian that had won had his head violently spun round, with the Batarian to his left getting his throat slit with the last two barely being able to get up out of their seats. The one beside the Batarian with a knife in his head suddenly had one of his own through the side.
The last one had his mouth muffled by a black gloved hand that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
The Batarian struggled violently yet could not move whatsoever as his four eyes began to widen considerably as some sort of armored being materialized in front of him.
It was covered in black armor with the only distinguishing color being its solid blue reflective visor the Batarians terrified reflection being the last thing he saw before having his neck snapped.
Three more left on the first floor.
"Noble Six, two of the guards outside have entered the building and are walking towards this room."
Quickly retrieving his knives, Six moved over to the side of the door and waited. He saw them approaching on the radar from his HUD and he could hear their footsteps growing louder.
As soon as the two rounded about and entered the room, Six was already in motion.
With Emile's kukri, he sliced through the neck of the first one closest to him, spun his blade around into a backhanded grip and jammed the knife into the side temple of the other Batarian.
Both bodies fell to the ground.
Once again, three more left on the first floor.
"Legion, how far off are you?" Six asked through the comms, moving over to his next set of Batarians.
"I am a dozen meters out from the southern entrance of the base with four Batarians in my sights on the ground floor with three more on the balcony."
Three? Checking his radar, he noticed one had gone back in and was heading downstairs to the first floor.
"I'll be taking the ones on the second floor out." Six informed his Geth partner. "Once I take out the three on the balcony, snipe the four outside."
"Acknowledged."
Six quickly made his way over to the staircase, seeing the Batarian come into view and immediately stabbing his kukri right through the bastard's chin. Body slumping down to the ground, Six moved past the dead Batarian, climbing up the flight of stairs in a matter of a second.
Arriving at the second floor while activating active camo once more, he spotted four Batarians all strewn about on chairs and tables all eating. From the corner of his, he saw the entryway to the balcony with one Batarian walking through.
"Where'd Galton go off to?"
"Ya just missed him. Went downstairs for a drink."
"Ah, fine, I'll get it myself."
The Batarian approached the staircase with Six backing down.
As he began to descend, Six tripped him hand shooting up to cover his mouth with the other stabbing him in the throat. Laying the body down, Six spun his knife with both being held in back handed grips.
Tensing up, Six sprinted forward, getting to the nearest Batarian and slashing through his neck in an instant.
"What the fu-GLRCK"
"Tarnol!"
The Batarian who cried out his friend was jabbed in the neck by an unseen force, with his head being bashed down into the ground. His head was then crushed into paste, blood splattering everywhere as well as coating what seemed to be a pair of legs.
De-cloaking a second later, Six stood before the remaining Batarians while reaching for his shotgun.
"Legion, take the shot." Six commanded, pumping his shotgun before shooting the last two Batarians in the room with rapid succession.
Both now dead, Six heard the repeated cracks of a sniper rifle with the other two Batarians on the balcony shouting in shock.
Walking out to the balcony in long strides, Six pumped his shotgun once more gaining the attention of the two.
He shot the one on the right, the shotgun shells sending the Batarian flying off the balcony and down to the ground.
The other, in a fit of desperation rushed at Six only to have his neck grabbed in a powerful grip. The Batarian struggled for several moments before Six applied pressure.
Rather than having the neck snap like previous ones, Six's fingers pierced through the flesh with the Spartan having literally ripped the front half of the Batarians neck.
The Batarian could only have his eyes wide in apt shock as he fell to his knees, death consuming him a moment later.
"Hostiles clear." Legion reported, Six gazing to see four bodies littering the southern entrance to the base with Legion running over.
"Noble Six, the Batarians below are sending men up to see what the cause of the disruption was upstairs." Dot informed the Spartan-III with Six only nodding, jumping forward over the balcony railing and down to the ground with Legion joining him a moment later.
"Come on." Six said. "They know we're here. Let's make this quick before one of them runs off."
Six wasn't worried about having them send out a distress signal. With Dot jamming their comms, the chances of help coming to the Batarians was slim… had it been any other individual targeting them. A Spartan was attacking them right now. A Spartan that has fought Aliens three to five times stronger than these fragile Batarians. They had no chances of survival.
Re-entering the Batarian base with Legion in tow, Six quickly reloading his shotgun as he made his way down the hallway turning to the left which was the corridor that had the stairs that lead downstairs.
And up those stairs came several Batarians.
Six counted five as he crouched down onto one knee, giving Legion some room as the two unleashed a barrage of bullets onto the Batarians killing them all in a matter of seconds.
"Let's move." Six reloaded once more, placing his shotgun onto his back and switching back to his knives.
Going forward, Six and Legion walked down the first flight of stairs only to come across three more Batarians who were hauling themselves up the next flight.
The moment they came round, Six instinctively booted the lead Batarian in the chest with all his might. The sound of a ribcage shattering was heard followed by the other two Batarians falling down the stairs with their comrades' body over them.
Six and Legion wordlessly strolled past them with Six unclipping a plasma grenade and dropping it next to them.
The explosion behind them completely incinerated the trio of Batarians behind them with the remaining fourteen all jolting in shock with their eyes all on the Spartan and Geth that had just entered the basement chamber.
And it was an extremely large, circular chamber with 20 hollowed out cells meant for holding a great number of captured individuals.
The Batarians stared in stunned silence at the arrival of Six and Legion, their surprise morphing into seething rage and defiance.
"Stay behind me Legion." Six ordered with the Geth nodding as he tossed down a bubble shield that encompassed the two while the Batarians unleashed a hailstorm of fire onto the duo.
The bubble shield however remained firm, the hexagonal dome absorbing the bullets that were stopped dead in their tracks upon hitting the seemingly impenetrable wall.
After seeing that their firepower had no effect on the bubble shield, the Batarians stopped firing which was the opportunity Six was waiting for.
"Get ready Legion."
"Acknowledged."
The bubble shield burst and in a burst of speed, Six was in front of two Batarians.
The two could only jolt their bodies, startled at how fast the Spartan was upon them. They did not have time to react or move as Six jammed his combat knife and Kukri into their chests. The force of which, coupled with the Spartan's strength, had them raised up off the ground and promptly slammed down onto their backs.
Knowing they were dead, Six ripped both knives out and flung them at full force at the next two Batarians in his line of sight. Legion was already running forward, killing two more Batarians and ducking for cover behind a stack of crates.
Six had already switched over to his shotgun, his shields flaring up as the remaining Batarians had realized that they just lost six of their comrades. They were firing back at Six and Legion though one was quickly killed off by a quick shotgun shell to the head.
Another was overwhelmed by Legion with the one next to him getting tackled down to the ground by a large black armored human and had a foot to the face, breaking his skull.
Six had rolled out of the way of a grenade, stopping at a body that had his Kukri. Pulling it out and tossing it around to hold it by its edge, Six flung it at the Batarian who lobbed a grenade at him getting him right between his four eyes.
Legion had moved on to another, killing the Batarian quickly with Six recovering his blades to violently stab a Batarian to death throwing both once more into the neck and head of a slaver nearby.
Six heard a whimper making his head snap up to see the last surviving Batarian holding a small human child in his arms as a shield with a gun to her head.
She couldn't have been no older than six.
The last Batarian snarled savagely.
"Don't you dare make any fucking moves." He roared out. "I'll blast this little shit stains head right off her pretty litt-"
Six had already switched to his magnum at lightning speeds, firing at the Batarians exposed kneecap rather than his head.
The Batarian cried out in pain, unintentionally dropping the girl before Six fired off several more shots into his head.
Lowering his sidearm, Six glanced around the room to see if there were any left just to be sure.
"All threats neutralized." Legion said aloud.
Six simply went over to the girl on the ground who was trembling in abject fear of the entire situation. The moment she saw he was standing over her, she froze with her eyes wide in horror and face ghostly pale.
"It's alright kid." Six said softly, his voice only heard by her. Kneeling down to her he held out his hand for her to look at. "See, human, just like you. I'm here to get you home to safety."
The little girl looked at his hand then at his visor. She cautiously placed her own hands upon his much larger one with her expression changing into one more of acceptance and wonder.
"Spartan-Six." Legion's voice cut in from the corner. "We believe you should come see this."
Glancing over to his Geth ally, felt the little girls hands firmly clamped around his own. Six stood back up to his full height, the slightly comical instance of Six being very much taller than the girl to the point her feet slightly lifted up off the ground.
Six's lip twitched upward as he angled himself to set the girl onto the ground. He walked over to Legion with the girl not letting go of his hand.
"What is it?" Six asked with Legion only staring ahead.
Gazing inside the cell, Six's eyes widened slightly at the lone figure that was curled up against the cell wall shivering uncontrollably.
"Isn't that-"
"A creator." Legion stated single optic gazing at the Quarian female who jolted upon hearing a synthetic voice.
Carefully, the Quarian's glowing eyes was the only thing visible past her faceplate.
"A Geth?" She spoke in shock, though her tone showed a clear exhaustion.
"Legion." Six said to his companion. "We need to move. See if there's a means of transport around here. They'll all need a way off this rock."
Legion regarded the Quarian one more moment before walking off to do as he was instructed to do with Six gazing at the Quarian who was now staring at him.
The cell doors soon began to open, confused and scared murmurings echoing out from the cells with the people inside unsure of what to do.
Six knew now wasn't the time to be lounging about so he spoke aloud to all present in the basement.
"Come out." Six said in a commanding tone. "The Batarians are dead and I need people out here now."
Slowly but cautiously, humans began filtering out of the holding cells. It wasn't just humans, holding true to an earlier conversation Six eavesdropped on. A few Turians, Salarians and Asari had walked out equally as bewildered and scared as the humans.
And then, all eyes fell upon the Spartan and Geth pair that stood before them.
Many starred, unsure of what to say or do as they were attempting to rationalize what they were staring at with Six getting slightly impatient.
"Can anyone here use a gun? Communications expert?" Six asked aloud.
The group jolted back, surprised such a calm voice came from the black armored being that had some stains of Batarian blood upon him.
"I sent out a distress beacon for the Systems Alliance to come find you all and pick you up since they were the closest ones to this planet." Six said in a clear voice. "I need those who know how to use a gun and operate communication devices to step up. Keep yourselves armed until help arrives."
Silence reigned as the people before him were still attempting to break out of their stupor until at last, several individuals began to step forward.
Most of the Turians walked forward, hesitantly reaching down to pick up the guns that once belonged to the Batarians with some humans, Asari and Salarians doing the same.
Seeing them begin to arm themselves, Six nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright. Set yourselves up defensively within the base and wait." Six ordered. "The distress beacon has been sent out. Help should be on the way."
With that, Six turned to leave with Legion until he was stopped by a multitude of voices calling out to him.
"What is this?" A human called out.
"Yeah, who are you? Why'd you do this?" Another asked.
"Not that we aren't grateful." An Asari quickly added.
Six turned his head back slightly, corner of his visor being slightly visible before he turned away and left with Legion in tow.
This left an extremely confused and befuddled group of now former captured slaves that were trying to make heads or tails as to what just happened. Their rescuer just up and left them, telling them all that help was on the way.
"What in the name of the Goddess was that?" A random Asari asked aloud.
She got no answer for there was none to be found.
Six and Legion departed from the base, returning to the Prowler with Dot sending out a signal that started up its engines and cloaking device.
Upon flying off into the atmosphere, Six had the ship remain idle, hidden from plain sight as he and Legion sat there and waited. Cloaking and jamming systems were on and the Spartan with the two AI's waited until help would arrive.
"Spartan-Six." legion spoke up after a prolonged period of silence. "We have a query."
Six tilted his head slightly in the Geth's direction.
"You have just conducted an operation involving the liberation of captured organics yet left them alone upon the termination of the Batarians." Legion stated. "Why did you conduct the mission in that regard?"
Six didn't answer, leaning back into his seat as he thought his answer over.
"I'm pretty sure having a human like myself around with a Geth would attract unwanted attention." Six said. "More so than we already have with us two essentially taking out a squad of Batarian slavers. More so you than me."
Legion's fins moved about with intrigue.
"We do not understand this mission. Why bring us on this mission, Spartan-Six?" Legion asked.
Six didn't respond once again.
He thought on his words, his actions, his purpose.
"I did this… because I need to." Six said in a slow manner. "It's my purpose, it's why I became a Spartan."
Legion stared at the Super-soldier.
"Better question be…" Six took his helmet off and eyed the Geth platform. "When you were made to come and learn for the sake of the Geth, why didn't you question the mission until after its completion."
Legion didn't respond.
Six leaned forward. "Why did you agree to help me on this mission, Legion? Why go and attack organics if you wish to understand them without being violent as your consensus told me and Dot?"
The one thousand and thirty-eight programs all conversed with one another, multiple thought ideas and speculations going about. Yet the one that had constantly come up was the Creators and the Morning War.
After several long moments of silence. "... No data available."
Gazing intently at the Geth, Six slipped his helmet back on and swiveled round to gaze back down at the planet.
Soon, at long last, the Systems Alliance arrived.
Knowing that those that he freed were now secured in their freedom, he piloted the Prowler away from the planet and activated the Slip-Space drive, leaving the system a moment later.
The mission was a success. Quick and easy.
For now, it was time to rest and recuperate. Continue consolidating on the knowledge he had acquired as well as planning their next move.
But he thought on the Batarians. The four-eyed slimy bastards that hedge their whole government on slaving, raping and pillaging the galaxy.
To say that he didn't take too kindly to such a matter, would be putting it mildly.
This raid, this first one was just the beginning. He knew there would be more to come. More captured people to be rescued.
More Batarian scum to be killed.
This wasn't his galaxy, nor his universe. But he still had a duty to uphold.
And quite frankly, that was better than doing nothing.
…
…
...
Three months have passed since Six and Legion had begun conducting their attacks on the Batarians raiders and slavers. Multiple freighters and bases had been taken out with no Batarian survivors and only confused and astonished former or were-to-be slaves left in their wake. Many questions were asked with only one consistent set of variables. Rumors, sightings and descriptions of a large Armored being and Geth going around liberating slaves from the Batarians.
Ideas and speculations run rampant on just who or what it was that was tearing through the Batarian slaving operations.
Many have speculated their new Alliance division testing experimental armor and weaponry but dismissed due to the fact eyewitness claim the Armor being is seen with a Geth unit. The survivors' claims have been brushed aside without any evidence to back up their existence. Which was frustrating to those who have seen it to say the least.
Yet there were no photos, camera footage, no audio, no nothing of this armored being and Geth that had been going around and liberating those that had been captured or enslaved.
This of course wasn't unnoticed by several organizations that were growing more and more curious about this armored being and Geth that were being sighted all across the Terminus System and Attican traverse.
The Quarians a specially are interesting, only hearing about the one Geth going around with help freeing slaves and other unfortunate individuals that had been captured by the Batarians. All they had was one Quarian who spoke on the matter.
The one Quarian who was captured only to be freed by this Geth and Armored duo.
She had babbled on for a time, speaking on those that had rebelled coming to her aid.
Questions were a near constant these past few months with many Quarians having picked up on several transmissions that the Geth had sent out to an unknown party.
This brings concerns not knowing if the constant transmission will mean for the Quarian Fleet that may or may not be under threat in the near future without any more intel to go by.
The Quarians however were not the only ones who had their eyes set on the mysterious duo, these vigilantes.
A figure known only to the galaxy as the Shadow-Broker had spent countless hours trying to acquire just a small smidgen of information on these illusive figures.
His agents constantly came up with nothing. Nothing other than speculations and words from those who have had eyewitness accounts. To be honest, the Geth was an afterthought in regards to this armored being.
From what he had gathered, it looked human in appearance. Just a giant human really in armor that was unlike anything he had heard of.
When there were those that managed to land shots upon him, a gold barrier was seen, deflecting them all.
Then there was the strength, speed, reflexes, dexterity and above all else… the lethality.
Wherever this armored individual went to, death followed with it. Batarians were either found dead or missing. Entire forces were wiped out, vanishing in an instant. This armored individual came and went as if he were the reaper incarnate.
The Shadow-Broker had been adamant on gaining information on this elusive bastard. The fact that the Salarians own STG and the human extremist organization known as Cerberus had come to him seeking information on this figure and its Geth ally.
The STG had been monitoring the Relays as well as System Alliance communications as well as the Perseus Veil where the Geth resided. The Systems Alliance seemed to be just as in the dark as they were.
Cerberus was also attempting to try and find this elusive Spartan.
And fortunately for them, their search would eventually have the mysterious armored being instead come to them rather than them seeking him out.
However…
Their methods had a lot left to be desired.
And that was a light way of saying that they had gotten on the Spartans bad side. Bad side being the Spartan discovering their known status of being a human terrorist and finding one of their bases that were dedicated to the advanced study of human biotics via the use of kidnapping and torturing subjects to death. The aliens of this galaxy had suffered similar fates.
Now Cerberus found themselves being attacked by the Spartans with ruthless efficiency.
There were next to no survivors every time Six and Legion set their sights upon a Cerberus base.
Like before, no visuals, no audio, no photos were left behind. Nothing by the slaughter and bodies that were left behind.
The past few months of the year 2183 were a bit of a nightmare for Cerberus. The Spartan and Geth were impossibly difficult to predict as to where they would strike, so many of the bases were placed on constant alert.
And speaking of which...
The duo wrapped up another raid when Dot intercepted a transmission from Cerberus speaking about the successful transport of shipment to a new world. The cargo is currently unknown but it wouldn't be long until the Spartan and his Geth partner would find out soon enough.
The signal came from Saltu Prime, a jungle filled world. Unique for being one of the few colonies to resemble the rainforest of Earth. The planet is known for constant rain due to the unique climate properties than that of rainforest back on Earth or similar colonies.
The Prowler parked at a cliffside overlooking the Cerberus base of their next operation. Six and Legion observe the Cerberus base from a distance. Six looked through his sniper rifles scope to see a group of soldiers that are patrolling the area. Cerberus seemed to have armor and weapons leagues above those Six had seen pirates and mercenaries carry around.
Six glanced up from his scope, mulling over the numbers in his head.
"The base hosts a large number of soldiers and guards." Dot informed the two. "There are several entryways all of which are guarded heavily."
"Looks like they've been upping their game." Six muttered.
"We believe this mission's rate of success to be 72.3 % possible." Legion stated analytically.
"Only 72.3?" Six asked in slight amusement. "You can't bump that up to 73? 74 even?"
"Roundabout analytics-"
"Spartans know enough about analytics." Six said, getting up onto one knee. "Victory cannot be attained by data alone. I'll see you on the other side. Stick to the trees for cover."
Six scales down from the cliff and goes into active camo, entering the jungle as silent as a snake on the ground. Bypassing several Cerberus patrols, Six reaches the base perimeter and crawls under a ventilation shaft, as he closely examines the enemy soldiers.
Two guards pass by Six's position, speaking to each other with vocal scramblers. Interesting. They were using a greater degree of discretion here.
Dot directed Six to the side of the building where there were the least amount of guards placed with him instructing Dot to loop security and audio footage while jamming radio signals. This base was well armed and protected. He figured that should they discover video footage being jammed; they may be alerted to his presence.
From his HUD, he got a blink from Legion signifying he was nearby and was ready to strike.
Counting up to ten guards, Six made sure to strap an extra mag around his arm as he steadied his breath and aimed.
In rapid succession, Six and Legion fired off rapidly and killed off the Cerberus guards in seconds. Rising up to his full height, Six went to the door with Legion approaching while keeping his own rifle raised in case of any Cerberus guards stumbling through.
Dot opened the door with Six entering the base, switching to his assault rifle with Legion right on his tale sporting his own Pulse Shotgun.
His AI was making sure the footage and audio was in constant rotation in order for him to remain undetected.
He had encountered several Cerberus Guards, killing them along the way.
It didn't take long for him to arrive in the central server room. The guards were quickly disposed of with Legion holding the scientist and researchers at bay with his shotgun.
Knowing that it won't be long before no one reports back, Six got Dot to hack to see exactly the purpose of this facility and what their shipping off world. Dot found this Cerberus base is studying into Cyber Warfare and developed a new chip drive using a rare element known as Celerium. They process it to render all existing microchip technologies obsolete. Quantum entanglement. This single device has more processing power than any entire military infrastructure in the galaxy.
"Dot download everything on Celerium Drive"
Alarms started blaring.
"They are aware of our presence." Legion said, single optic gazing up at the red flashing lights.
Dot had informed the two that many guards and soldiers were on their way to the Server room. The doors had been sealed by Dot yet they had still tried to get the door open through other more conventional means.
"Legion, get the hostages out into the empty corridor behind us." Six instructed, Legion holding his gun up and gesturing for the Cerberus personnel to begin moving. They complied, with them quickly rushing out the door.
Soon as the door closes behind him, Six cloaks himself and watches as Cerberus troops storm the room with one giving out orders to secure the room. The one in charge notices the one door that Legion had gone through. It wasn't open. Curious, the Cerberus soldier approached the door only to jolt. He let out a garbled mess of incoherent words with blood oozing from his mouth and his neck.
All the other guards snapped towards noise that came from one of their own being cut down so suddenly. He had remained standing, twitching and trembling letting out croaking garbled noises.
Six uncloaked himself, knife embedded into the neck Cerberus soldier. He pulled it out and in an instant the guards were upon him. Yet it was all for naught.
The Spartan's burst of speed caught one of the closest Guards off guard with a powerful punch to his chest. The force of which sent the guard sailing through the air and crashing into another guard.
Swiftly switching to his assault rifle, Six emptied the cartridge into another nearby guard before changing once again to his sniper rifle. He jabbed it at the neck of a Cerberus guard and shot right through him.
Their chance to retaliate was all but denied, with Six dispatching and killing them with deadly efficiency.
"Noble Six, more Cerberus guards are on route to your location."
Dot had brought up a live feed of a swarm of Cerberus guards from two separate hallways rushing towards the server room.
"Dot, lock down the base and seal off the hallways."
"Legion, what's your status?"
"Still with the hostages as you instructed."
"Get ready to move out." Six ordered. "We're done here. Head back to the ship. Dot, begin purging all data here and send out a signal to the Alliance. Pretty sure Admiral Kahoku will have a field day here."
Legion complied, beginning to gesture the Cerberus personnel over to a nearby door which turned out to be a small meeting room. Holding his gun up in a silent message for them to enter the room, they complied with the door shutting behind them and locking them in.
The Geth turned, beginning to jog away with Dot sending him instructions on the quickest route out of the base and towards the Prowler.
With Legion on his way back to the ship, Six had only one last problem to take care of.
The Cerberus troops were coming in from one hallway and there were about two dozen of them.
Nodding to himself, he had Dot set up a timer within his HUD that would count down the amount of time it would take for them to get here.
Timer in place, Six reloaded his assault rifle and primed two grenades. He cloaked himself a moment later just as the timer reached three seconds and the door to the hallway of soldiers opened.
Tossing the grenades forward, the explosion and screams echoed throughout the base with Six walking forward. He saw at least half or more still alive.
Not that it mattered.
It was a bit of a gruesome display at him simply unloading into all the bodies in a straight line with his assault rifle, reloading to get the other row. He then went on his way, taking out any Cerberus guards or soldiers that stood in his path.
Eventually, Six linked up with Legion and the duo returned to the prowler and were off.
Onboard the Prowler, Dot is going over the data recovered from the base.
The information from the base gave details not just of the Celerium drive but three other Cerberus warehouses that are ready to be distributed to other Cerberus Cells.
It appears they were in for more raids. Not that it bothered him. Cerberus was a terrorist organization and he planned on dismantling them entirely.
Beginning to set up the coordinates for their next location, Six was already maneuvering his Prowler for a Slip-space jump.
Just then…
"Slip space rupture detected"
Six's head snapped down to Dot's projection.
"What?" Six was unsure whether or not Dot was either referring to their prepared jump or…
"I have detected a Slip space rupture separate from ours."
Six couldn't believe it.
"Where?"
"Not far from our location, actually." Dot said. "Several Hundred Kilometers."
Six quickly changed course with the Slip space drive powering down and had his engines go at full power. His Prowler rocketed through the vastness of space towards his new location.
Until…
He saw it.
What was unmistakably a UNSC ship.
Legion's single eye momentarily widened upon seeing the ship.
"A ship that size… shouldn't be possible."
"Noble Six, we are being hailed from the ship." Dot informed him.
"Put it through." Six saw that they had received his transmission, speaking immediately. "This is UNSC Sierra B-Three-Twelve of the UNSC Winter-Class Prowler…. Noble."
"B312?" A feminine voice responded with surprise. "Spartan-B312? Noble Six of Noble Team?"
"Affirmative."
There was a momentary pause. "Noble Six, this is CTN 0452-9 Cortana of the UNSC Spirit of Fire speaking for Captain James Cutter."
"Glad to hear that." Six still couldn't believe his luck right about now. Legion all the while observed with clear intrigue. "Captain Cutter?"
"Spartan." Cutter responded.
"Permission to come aboard sir." Six said. "You're gonna wanna hear my debriefing in person."
"Permission granted Spartan-B312. Head for Hangar 2. Should be enough space for your Prowler."
Flying his ship into the designated hangar, Six was welcomed with the familiar sight of a UNSC hangar bay with pelicans, warthogs and all sorts of other UNSC vehicles and personnel he was grateful to see.
Six walked out of his ship to be greeted by Captain James Cutter himself with a company of Spartan-II's.
"Sirs, Lieutenant B312 reporting, callsign Noble Six." The Spartan-III said in a crisp militant manner.
The other Spartan-II's saluted him back in kind with Cutter doing the same.
"At ease, Spartan." Cutter said. "Mind telling us what you're doing out here, Noble Six?"
"That's… a bit of a complicated question to answer, Captain." Six answered plainly. "The better question is, sir, how did you all appear out here?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" a woman in a lab coat inquired.
Six regarded each of them individually for a brief moment with him letting out a sigh.
"Dot?"
"Yes Noble Six?" Auntie Dot's voice emanated out from his helmet speakers.
"Bring up everything we've recorded this past year." Six instructed. "Captain Cutter and the entire are gonna need a lot of proof."
"Proof?" the woman spoke up in confusion. "Proof of what?"
Six regarded them all with an aura of stone-cold seriousness.
"To put it plainly, Captain Cutter, Spirit of Fire overall… Welcome to another alternate reality." Six stated. "I've been here for the past year and you're all gonna want to sit down for this one."
Alright, so we got another one down and again thank you all for reviewing, favoriting and following this story in such a short amount of time.
So much to do and all and Six has been a busy little Spartan. Figured we'd go with a more assassin based Noble Six cause all things considered that's what many have referred to him as in many points during his life as a Spartan-III.
BSX: It has been mentioned Six silence entire Insurrection and broken up terrorist organizations. With entire militia groups vanishing.
FMW: So that just helps in having Six be a stealthy and deadly killer. But now, he's linked up with the Spirit of Fire and we've gotten ourselves a large crew with much to do within the coming chapters. Hope you're all ready for it.
BSX: I'm sure I am ready for it. And keep suggesting for pairings. Will take any pairing idea you guys come up with. You never know which ones will make it, even an unexpected pairing can make it. So keep voting and suggesting.
So everyone, until next time. We'll be hard at work as per usual. Stay safe and all.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.