It was a planet of ash and desolation. The mighty mountains stood strong, but were charred, and only molten lava could trickle down its once lush ridges and slopes. There were intense thunderstorms, caused by the thick layers and layers of ash in the sky, dotting out the Sun.
In the center of the ashen wasteland lay a helmet, half embedded into the ground.
From the helmet, came a woman's voice, breaking up by intense static.
"If…Hear…Respond! Can…hear…Please…Say…Something!"
*
The Warthogs and Falcons blazed through the surface of the colony. Reach - green and so Earth-like it was almost too familiar. The leading Warthog raced through the gravel and dirt, but the others in the convoy kept up.
The Spartan-armored woman in the second vehicle smirked at the other passenger. Her helmet was off, revealing her Rainbow-colored hair.
"...Pretty homey, ain't it?" Master Sergeant Rainbow Dash smirked. "Gotta admit it's a nice planet. Kinda like Earth, right? Just…bigger."
Master Sergeant Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with the side of her vision. "Well, it ain't Earth, is the point. We're still on a colony. Ah'd rather be servin' anywhere else."
Through the radio came the voice of Sergeant Fluttershy, who heard them. "Well, being here on Reach has the potential of introducing us to really interesting Fauna! We could encounter really fascinating species!"
"...Unless they wanna bite us and chew on our bones." Corporal Sunset Shimmer muttered.
"Hey, uh…" Then came the voice of Private Spike, who rode in the back with their second Lieutenant. "I hate to be a wuss but just for clarity, Manuel is gonna be there, right? I mean, I feel like if we're gonna meet Spartan dudes that hardcore, we're gonna need him there to vouch for us."
"Nothing to worry about." Lieutenant Twilight smiled. "All paperwork has been done by ONI, so nobody can really protest us being on this assignment."
"You think this planet has any entertainment though?" Sergeant Pinkie scanned the horizon as she rode her Warthog. "There's not a single place that spells FUN for miles! It's all mountains and marshes!"
"Well, it is a colony. Speaking of which, care to remind why we're here?" Private First Class Starlight Glimmer's voice came, having taken the Warthog with her battle buddy, Trixie. "I hope this ain't an attempt to seek glory because usually any job that involves ONI doesn't actually have any, you know?"
"Then we'll make our glory." Private First Class Trixie laughed into the microphone."Imagine - as you, alongside the Great and Powerful Trixie, save this planet from some incursion or invasion, foiling the Covenant's evil plots, and saving Reach from being glassed! Yours truly shall be a hero, as well as you and her squires!"
"...Starlight, what do you see in her?" Rainbow Dash quietly muttered under her breath.
"I-It's just a quirk of hers, pay it no mind…" Starlight said, trying her best to focus on driving.
Although Twilight was driving in the rear, she could still see the lead vehicle. She frowned a little, concerned. "Lieutenant? Sorry about the noise."
The Spartan in the lead vehicle did not say anything, merely looking at his own helmet and putting it on. The driver, Sunset Shimmer, smiled at him awkwardly.
"They're definitely a bit extra, but I wouldn't trust anyone more than them." Sunset Shimmer told him, carefully taking the vehicle through the particularly bumpy ride. Receiving no answer from him, she merely looked on the road and focused, driving them to their destination.
As they all parked the Warthogs and began to disembark, the group would see the building where they were to meet the team. A Spartan with a shaved head closely watched them as they loaded bullets into their magazines, giving them an inquisitive, curious, careful look.
Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, grimacing a little. "Eh, really welcome here…"
Entering, they heard the sound of talking. The room's inhabitants were talking with a remote voice. The voice spoke…
"Contact with Visegrad Relay was lost last night. All signals flatlined at twenty-six hundred hours."
Commander Carter sighed, exchanging a glance with the man standing beside him. "And now you're sending us…"
Master Chief Petty Officer Manuel folded his arms and smirked back. "Come on, Carter. Who else can but us?"
The voice behind the communication's device answered. "The Office of Naval Intelligence believes that the deployment of a Spartan team is a gross misallocation of valuable resources. I disagree."
Just on cue, the door opened. B312 stepped first, greeted by the sight of an armored man with a skull etched into the glass of his visor. They exchanged a quick look. The other Spartans attempted to follow, but with B312 at the lead they were blocked off as an arm of a short-haired, female Spartan stopped them.
This did not please Pinkie Pie, who frowned. "Hey, we're the ones who were invited to this party, what gives!? You got our RSVP's!"
The commotion caught the attention of the others in the room. The woman who tried to block them sighed softly, turning to Carter. "Commander…"
It took the attention of Carter, Manuel, and another Spartan who was sitting when they entered. "So that's our new Number Six…All the way until sixteen, huh?"
"Don't worry too much about numbering seven to sixteen." Manuel smiled. "They're with me. Think of them as our auxiliary secondary squad. I got a decent hunch based on what I've read in their files."
"Whoa, is that an actual MCPO?" Spike whispered softly to Twilight. "That must be like, a bazillion ranks above me."
Kat's eyes quickly scanned them, focusing the most on the young lad in the back. "...A Private? Commander, Master Chief Petty Officer, don't you think that this may be a little bit too dangerous for their ranking?"
"They're in capable hands, just trust me." Manuel said.
The team, regardless, exchanged uncertain looks with one another.
The Spartan with the skull etched in his helmet looked at the team from head to toe as he kept sharpening his machete against his own gauntlet. "Kat, you read their files?"
"Gave the the greener ones a read." Kat smirked, folding her arms. "But our new Six? Just the stuff that wasn't covered in black ink."
"Yeah, Six's really an enigma, isn't he?" Starlight laughed softly, gently nudging the senior Lieutenant. It earned a silent look from him, and she quieted down, nervously laughing.
However, as the skull-etched Spartan looked around, he figured that the room truly was too small for the amount of Spartans within it. "...Little bit crowded, ain't it?" Emile asked curiously. "I mean, our team has six members. I got a feeling that my style's gettin' cramped on here." He eyed each member of the team, however Manuel put a hand on his shoulder.
"They're alright, Emile." He said. "Some of our intel suggests that whatever's going on is going to need the backup. Besides, give the rookies a chance to prove themselves. We're going to be taking them into a pretty tough part of the planet, as it is."
"Speaking of which…" Cartner turned to the screen, intending to speak with the man they were remotely connected to. "Anyone claim responsibility, sir?"
The voice responded."ONI thinks it might be the local Insurrection. Five months ago, they pulled a similar job on Harmony. Hit a relay to take to take out our eyes and ears, then stole two freighers from dry-dock. That cannot happen here. Reach is too damn important. I want that relay back online, Noble One."
Carter nodded. "Sir. Consider it done."
"Sir." Manuel said, nodding alongside the other commander.
"Then, I'll see you both on the other side. Holland out."
With the transmission closed, Noble Team began to exit the room, moving past the now-dubbed Noble Six and the auxiliary team behind him.
"Commander, sir." Noble Six said, then followed by the same from the Rainboom squad.
The older man nodded. "Pleasure to meet you all, though I can't say I have the time to shake everyone's hands and do all the honors. I'm Carter, Noble Team's leader. That's Kat, Noble Two, Emile and Jorge, Four and Five. Since our team's getting expanded beyond its usual six-man size, we're going to have a small tactical reorganization, which is why MCPO Manuel's presence here is important. He'll be the actual Commander, though I'm keeping most command over Noble's initial element. You'll mostly be taking orders from him."
"Pleasure to meet you." Twilight smiled. "I understand that we're probably a bit of a…bizarre element here."
"Don't let them give you crap." Carter said. "Any Spartan around is a friend, it's just that my squad's a little jaded, is all."
"Does Reach get a lot of action?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, if the whole thing with the Insurrection is true, I feel like we're gonna have our hands busy."
"The UNSC's always got their hands busy." Manuel said. "Let's get going though, we're not gonna be able to delay for much longer."
Carter nodded at Twilight and Noble Six. "You are riding with me." He said, the rest of the Spartans began to board the transports.
Manuel would board together with Spike. The Private was nearly shaking in his armor, gulping as he saw the Master Chief Petty Officer. In response to the clearly intimidated gaze, the senior soldier just shook his head and smiled. "Hey, no need to worry. I got your back."
Sitting with them was Kat and Emile, who each looked at Spike and then at Manuel. Emile couldn't help but mutter…
"Yeah, let's make sure this guy doesn't end up as minced meat…" Emile said. "Hey, have you ever seen an insurrectionist before? Anyone from the covenant?"
"Uh…" Spike gulped. "A little bit I guess!"
"...Please just stay in the back and don't peek your head out." Kat softly sighed. "Oh, poor souls…ONI really has strange priorities…"
"They'll be fine." Manuel assured her. "Anyone who can put on Spartan armor has potential. They went through the recruitment and the whole modification process, haven't they?"
"Hmph."
*
Meanwhile in the other Falcon…
As he sat down, Carter addressed the other passengers, apart from Spartan Jun, who was sitting there in wait. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Lieutenant. You're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled." He told Noble Six, while turning to Twilight. "Although I'm glad that this extra backup on your side is gonna provide us with a good backup against the shit that took out one of our own, this is still pretty dangerous."
They approached the landed Falcons. They would have to divide themselves up, and Carter would sit in a Falcon with Noble Six, as well as Twilight. They would split up into smaller groups that would man the transport until they arrived.
Carter continued. "Me? I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength. Just one thing - I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. I'm glad to have your skill set, but we're a team. That lone-wolf stuff stays behind. Clear?"
"Got it, sir." Noble Six said, his voice dry, but understanding.
Carter turned to Twilight, expecting her input. She nervously smiled and waved her arms. "W-We're pretty inseparable, sir. Teamwork is part of our motto." She said.
"Glad to hear." Carter smiled, both at her and at Noble Six. Her attitude seemed to put him at ease, too used to the gruff and hardy personalities of his team.
The Falcons began to fly up, lifting up as their rotors spun. The team looked at one another, some strangers, some familiar to each other. However, there was that tension in the air. They could feel that Noble Team didn't feel that the newcomers were at home, and yet, what could they do? Each was eager to continue and to do their part in protecting humanity.
Most importantly, each of them was eager to protect this colony. Perhaps even too eager.
Jun, the other Spartan sitting in the Falcon with Noble Six and Twilight, nodded towards both of them.
"Welcome to Reach."