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Maddie 'The Viper' Harper

July 24, 2552

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"Here we go." Jorge said, blasting through the glass, his massive weapon chugging and spitting rounds at the covenant. I watched a grunt try to flee and took a second to aim before slotting it in the side of the head, its mewling cries melting into the background of the firefight as it began to ramp up in its intensity.

"They're heading into the basement. Move down to the lower levels!" Carter shouted, jogging passed me. Noble Six took point, collecting a handful of grenades from the body of a slain trooper before wandering downstairs.

"Banshees! Heads up, Charlie 1!" The pilot noted, swinging his Falcon around to return fire.

Plasma peppered the window and I ducked.

"Ma'am, follow the team down there, it's getting too hot up here."

I reloaded and then nodded, crouching as I moved away from the window and down the steps, just as the rest of Noble Team entered the courtyard, blasting everything that moved. We pressed on, with the Falcon covering us from the Banshees as the Covenant near the farm were wiped out by the systematic staccato of our highly trained fireteam.

Jun's voice came over the radio, "Noble Leader, enemy dropships inbound!"

We arrived at a river, taking cover under the canopy of a bridge as a spirit dropship hovered overhead and began to drop troops at the far end of the farm. I followed Noble Six and Emile, ducking low as a Skirmisher pegged my position and began to take pot shots at me, then I leaned out of cover, brought the DMR sight to my eyeline, and squeezed the trigger, watching as he stumbled backwards before letting the life leave his body as he collapsed in a heap. Emile took that opportunity and launched himself from cover to cover, darting and diving behind hay bales as he attempted to get close to an Elite Captain, who strayed too close to the middle of the field.

I helped him out, flanking the opposite way, ducking fire as I moved, firing suppressing rounds at the captain who backed off into Emile's path. The SPARTAN lurched out of cover, snapping to his target with a robotic precision and pumped him full of shotgun pellets. I turned and ran inside a sweeping barn along the left flank, pushing a squad of grunts back with a series of shots at their panicked brothers, their screams rattled around me as I paused to reload. The fighting died down outside as I slapped another magazine in place. As I rounded the rear entrance, I watched Jorge mow down the remaining covenant, who spilled their blood fiercely, not letting up his fire until each body stopped moving. Cautiously, I watched him, his breathing ragged as he stood there, resplendent against the dismal skyline behind him.

"Stand down, Noble, stand down. Contacts neutralized." Carter said, sliding to a stop behind me.

"Contacts? It's the damn Covenant!" Jorge said, turning to face us.

Emile stepped in his way, "Cheer up, big man: this whole valley just turned into a free-fire zone." he tapped the SPARTANs chest but Jorge half-shoved him off.

"Kat, we've got to warn Holland. I need you at that relay outpost now." Carter said, ignoring the others.

"Boss, I'm showing more activity to the north-east!" Jun's voice was quick, like a bullet fresh from the chamber.

"Copy that, Jun, we're on it. Emile, you're with Kat. Six and I will run interference on the ground. We'll meet you at the outpost."

Kat-B320: "Noble Three, requesting air-lift. Over."

Noble Six, Carter, and Jorge led the way to a discarded flatbed truck. Carter offered me the passenger seat and joined Jorge, who stood on the truck bed, using his gun as a makeshift turret. Bee slammed the truck into drive and took off, as the Falcon airlifted Emile and Kat off the ground.

"Get to work, Noble." Carter said, "Let's make them hurt."

The next twenty minutes were spent driving between two settlements, each filled with Covenant fighters sweeping the area for intel and witnesses. It was a horror show, blood was splattered everywhere like spilled paint. I winced at each scene, trying to forget how it pulled old wounds and scars apart in my mind's eye. Years had passed and yet I saw her mangled body in every civilian atrocity the covenant committed. I knew I wouldn't sleep very well that night, the dreams would return again. They always returned.

In the rain-soaked Visegrad: the war had arrived, the valley seemed alive, swallowed by the rain and plasma that streaked towards us. Buildings collapsed, no civilians were saved. Another failure. Another daughter, son, child, or parent lost to the maw. It was numbing, more-so than the incessant rain, pattering over my face.

"Looks like we're clear." Carter said, rising to his feet from another body.

"This is a pretty large force." I said, looking at the Covenant dead strewn about the place. "We must have taken out at least seventy or so."

"Too small for a recon team" Bee nodded, "they're usually Elite's only."

"Speculating isn't worth our time right now, come on" Cater said, heading for the door.

I looked back at the body of a woman, slumped in the corner. I tried to feel something but all I saw was Nicola. I turned and left as Carter climbed into the truck, his hand to his ear. I followed him, sitting beside Bee again.

"Boss, we're picking up a distress signal." Jun said. "Patching it through."

"Mayday! 3 Charlie Six, does anyone read? We were attacked by Covenant forces. The Covenant is on Reach. I repeat: the Covenant is on Reach."

"The troopers?" Jorge asked.

Carter gripped the handrail behind me, "Let's move, Six. We've gotta find the source of that distress call."

Jun chimed in over the radio, his voice distant. "No disrespect, but don't we have more important things to do than round up strays?"

Quietly, I agreed with him. Saving these troopers would not help us get that relay online and every moment wasted was another moment that the UNSC wasn't being warned.

"We don't leave people behind. You see those troopers, you let me know."

Bee drove off again, skimming the perimeter of the valley, sticking to the main road that ran around the settlement. Rain bounced and flicked at my face, my clothes soaked, and I was low on ammunition as we swept the road, watching for any signs of activity. I heard my comms crackle and rested my gun on my lap, flicking the safety on and tuned the frequency.

"We're under attack! I repeat: mayday, mayday! 3 Charlie Six, we're under attack by the Covenant! I've got wounded - cannot hold this position!"

Carter tapped the handrail, "We need to find those Troopers, now!"

Bee pointed, "there!" he said, pushing the truck onwards. A plume of smoke rose into the sky, fading into the greying clouds as it rose ominously into the sky. Gunfire and explosions from a Covenant landing site could be seen as we drifted round the corner. Jorge didn't hesitate to fire back as he tried to relieve the several Army shock troopers that hid behind a burning warthog, pinned down by the Covenant forces. The three Spartans leaped out of the truck, letting it slide to a halt using an Elite's face to slow it down.

I grabbed my rifle and ran for cover, sliding behind the warthog and flicking off the safety on my rifle. Rising to a knee, I picked my targets carefully. Several grunts charged through the stream, waddling as the rushing water slowed them and I squeezed the trigger, knocking each of them down with ease as they tried to force their way further ahead.

"On the right!" someone yelled, and I turned, watching as an Elite charged us down, sword drawn. I fired until he came close, dropping his shields and rolling away, his swing panicked as his shields were sapped. I drew the axe, and threw it, watching it catch the elite square in its mouth. I pulled my pistol from its holster and began to pick off the cannon fodder as it assaulted the hill. Bee tore through the last of them like a Katana through a watermelon, mopping them up with an efficiency that impressed even me.

Carter looked at the beleaguered men and called Jun on the radio, "Noble Three, we've located the trooper squad. Request immediate evac - my coordinates."

"Solid copy, Commander. Recalling Falcon Charlie 2. Hold that evac position."

An army trooper jogged over to me, "You brought SPARTANs? Corporal Travis, sir, 3 Charlie. It's the Covenant..."

"We know, Corporal. Let's get you out of here."

The corporal nodded, returning to his men as Jun's voice returned, his voice urgent. "Noble Leader, be advised: I have visual on inbound Covenant dropships. ETA two minutes."

"Evac transport, keep your distance! Six, Harper, help me hold this position. Clear an LZ." Carter shot back, jogging back to cover as a Spirit appeared in the distance, floating towards us.

I watched as Jorge walked over towards some wounded troops hiding beside a grain silo and took a knee. Corporal Travis stood next to him and slowly crouched.

"Look baby brother, SPARTANs." He said, softly.

"Wow, I can't believe it. They sent SPARTANs after us?"

"We're gonna get you out, hang tight, okay? Jorge said resting his passive paw on the lad's shoulder.

I felt a bitter twinge of jealousy and regret running up my spine. Looking up at the ridge above us, all I could think about was the relay and the call that would save actual lives, lives numbering in the billions.

"Be advised: We've got hostile dropships inbound." Jun said, "lets mop up here and get back to Kat, they're going to need our help."

I nodded, looking back at the sky to see Covenant Spirits flying in formation, approaching us to deliver their deadly cargo.

The Falcon engaged, peppering the troops as the ship exposed them and they scrambled to eject from the ship. It circled as the Spirits weapon tried to target it but the turrets were sawn loose with a hail of fire from the helicopter, which could move and shoot simultaneously.

I kept low behind the warthog, watching as the SPARTANs stood in the open, their shields tanking the damage from the enemy who tried to assault their position. We worked like clockwork, with Carter calling out targets and suppressing their support, the Jackals and Skirmishers. Jorge would whittle and shred the shields of the Elites and I would pick them off with a single shot to the head as we held the line while Bee swept across the battlefield like a murderous red fog.

Bee was something else, his movement was graceful and his shots precise, he was a dancer and a killer rolled up into a ball of hyper advanced military hardware as he cut apart the Covenant who had the clever idea to try to fall back or flank us.

When all was said and done, it had been a massacre. The grass was purple and blue, soaked in alien blood and the smell of metal hung in the air as the river failed to wash it all away.

Carter and the SPARTANs were characteristically immune to the sight, and the lead SPARTAN stepped forward, looking up at Jun as they spoke.

"Transport, LZ is clear. Move in for evac."

"Affirmative. Transport inbound."

"Troopers, board that bird on the double! Pilot, stay close - watch for hostile air."

Two Falcons landed, a medivac team helping Travis and his younger brother onto the vehicle as it began to ferry the survivors back to Camp November

"Six, Jun, Harper - let's go!" Carter ordered, hopping onto the other Falcon.

We boarded, rising high into the air as I scanned the riddling in the distance finally spotting the radar dish beyond it in the adjacent valley and searching for signs of the covenant.

Carter leaned forwards I his chair, watching the valley pass us by. "Noble Two, sit-rep." He said, a finger to his uplink.

"We're at the relay outpost. Doors locked. Mechanism's been flash-fused." Kat replied over the radio.

"Can you beat it?"

"I dialled up my torch, cut a way through. Going to take some time."

"Okay, we're en route to your location."

"They're here in force" I said aloud, drawing the attention of Jorge, who huffed. "What are the odds they're just here to knock out that relay?"

"You should know." Jorge replied, bluntly.

I tilted my head, "we don't know everything, you know."

"This is my home. The only one I've ever known." He replied looking out at the rolling greenery of Visegrad, "I don't believe you. You turned up out of nowhere and then we stumbled across a covenant invasion. Sounds convenient, no?"

I shrugged, "believe what you want, I'm just curious to see what they're after."

Noble Team and I reached the relay, finding a group of Covenant in the courtyard, including several Kig-Yar that had formed a ship wall. Behind them, Elites and Grunts peppered Kat and Emile, pinning them down inside the outpost.

"Approaching the com outpost." The pilot said over the radio.

Carter flicked the safety off on his rifle and the rest of us followed suit, "Drop us in the courtyard." He said, readying himself.

"LZ's a little hot, sir-"

"Put her down, pilot. Break's over, people."

I could see Kat working on unlocking the door while Emile covered the entrance, alternating between the use of his shotgun and an assault rifle that lay next to him as we circled the outpost and began to lower onto the deck. The Falcon touched down behind the covenant who spun around to counter us. Carter, Jorge and Six got out and moved to assist Emile and Kat, setting up a base of fire to rain down upon the enemy. I ducked down and kept low, skirting behind the railing and keeping my shots to a minimum as Carter and Jorge suppressed the enemy.

"Six, Flank left through the building! Harper, go with him!"

We obeyed, entering the garage and dropping down a level as our companions began to chew through the covenant fighters, now under threat from the front and rear. I checked the safety on my rifle and nodded to Bee as we lined up beside one of the entrances. He rounded the corner and pushed onto the field, catching the covenant again as they reeled in shock, grunts panicking as they tried to flee.

"How we doing, Kat?" Carter asked as I dropped to a knee and picked off several grunts who reached for their grenades.

"Taking a little longer than I hoped, Commander. I've cut about halfway through the door."

Carter and Jorge descended from their position, pushing through towards the door at the far end of the outpost. I tapped Bee on the shoulder and rushed inside to where Kat was trying to splice the door.

Emile stepped back as I entered, "Contact!"

Carter spun around, his shield shimmering. He looked up and I followed the angle of his head, spotting a phantom inbound to our position. "Hold them off until Kat can hack the controls." he said, as the ship began to hover in place above the outpost. We engaged the Covenant infantry, but more and more troops seemed to drop from the skies.

I fired.

Click.

I dropped the DMR and ran over to the wall where several magnums and a security-issue shotgun were mounted, filling up on as much ammunition as I could before heading back into the fray.

"Kat?" Carter asked, felling a grunt suicider as it charged down the door.

I took a knee, and used the magnum, its barrel chirruping as I sent round after round down range towards the grunts. Waves of them exploded as live grenades outlasted their carriers and exploded at the feet of their compatriots who were too slow to get away.

"Just about...there! We're in!"

Carter stepped backwards, emptied his clip and retreated inside, "Everybody inside! Go, go, go!"

An overwhelming number of Covenant swarmed across the courtyard. An energy sword-wielding Sangheili Major and a team of Special Operation Sangheili dropped from a spirit as the door began to slide shut, the door was hot as I backed out of the fight, the doorway now too narrow for all of us to fire through. Last out of the firing line was Jorge. The barrel of his minigun glowed red as the door clunked shut and the outpost sealed itself off from the rest of the world.

Carter reloaded his weapon and looked around at us, "We need to find the control room. From there, Kat can get the relay back online. Emile, post here. If we flush any hostiles, they're yours. Alright, let's do this."

Emile walked past me and looked at the shotgun on my back.

"Nice choice" he said, plainly. Walking on before I could reply.

I focused, ignoring the welcomed praise as I followed them into the long dark corridors of the outpost. As the only person here without SPARTAN armour, I felt naked and vulnerable. It reminded me of walking through Orest back on Skopje, the only kid in a band of military trained and battle hardened survivors. It seemed to get even darker and moments later, that was proved correct when Carter turned to Bee, who was prowling at the front of the formation.

"Can't see a thing... Noble Six, turn on your night vision."

I was left using only my eyes, focusing on the flickering lights coming from a room at the far end of the hall.

"Control room." Kat whispered, "Go easy."

Noble Six and Kat turned the corridor and paused, "Noble Six, search that body." she said, quietly.

I followed them, watching as the grim scene unfurled before me. He was once an older man, likely around sixty five with salt and pepper hair. His hair was long and well-kept and his cheeks looked as though they had life in them yet. Six began to search the body as I held the shotgun firmly in my hands, scanning the room around us. The control room was dimly lit and smelled of iron, the familiar tang of blood, which pooled on the floor around multiple corpses as they lay strewn about the place. Carter went straight to the trooper sat against a wall, his chest rising and falling in quick and erratic patterns as he noticed movement.

"Where's the rest of your unit?" he asked, taking a knee.

"We got split. I don't think they... It sounded bad on the comms."

"Alright, Corporal, stay put. We'll get you a combat surgeon."

I walked over to the workstation, a picture of the old man was sitting there, dust settled eerily over his face. He was sitting with two young women, one was definitely his daughter, her resemblance was clear. The other, less so, her hair was darker and her features as fierce as they were beautiful. Each of them sat in lab coats surrounded by books and papers, not to mention a very curious artifact that reminded me of the spyware I found in the vault on Skopje. I picked it up and turned it over, seeing a message on the back.

Uncle Laz!

Not my best angle but the only one where Sara is smiling!

Mikaela

"Damn. Plasma damage!" Kat exclaimed as I stared blankly at the happy family portrait. I was wondering if this had been the last photo they'd taken together as Kat's words pulled me back in to the present. I put it back in place even though 'uncle Laz' would never know it had been moved and turned to see Six look up at Kat, a small data disc in his hands.

"Found something..." he said, curiously turning it over in his hands.

Kat snatched the data module from Bee's hand and held it up to the light.

"I'll take that, Six." she said, watching as the dim lighting bounced off of the module, shimmering in the darkness like a little lighthouse. "Not your domain." she added, eyeing me suspiciously as she tucked it into a pocket.

I opened my mouth to speak but a commotion behind us stopped me.

"I've got a live one over here!" Jorge said, reaching under a set of stairs as we turned to face him, "Come on, out you come."

Jorge dragged out a young female civilian. I recognised her instantly as the daughter from the photo on the desk and stepped towards them as she struggled to escape, repeatedly hitting Jorge while speaking frantically in a language that I could only assume was Hungarian.

"Engedj el, hadd menjek ki innen! Hé!"

"It's all right, we're not going to hurt you." Jorge said, putting his free hand up as he tried to calm her.

"Hagyjon békén!"

Carter stood up, "Jorge..."

"I got her." he said, reassuring his commander as he placed his weapon down and grabbed her by both arms, holding her in place until she stopped struggling.

"Keep still, and I'll release you." Jorge said, his voice surprisingly calming for a gigantic mountain of military hardware and illegal human experimentation.

Sara muttered something softly, looking up at Jorge with pleading eyes. Jorge seized, his body rigid in alarm as a great clattering sounded and a huge Elite dropped down from the upper floor, igniting its energy sword and snarled. Its teeth gnashed and dripped savagely as the alien slashed violently at Jorge, his great muscles snapping and springing as he tried to maim the SPARTAN. He was caught off-guard but Jorge dodged the strike, pulling Sara to the ground beneath him, covering her with his body. The Elite snarled again, a clear challenge levied at the rest of Noble Team.

He lowered his head and charged, two more Zealots jumped down to support their ally, charging forward as Emile's concerned voice echoed in her headset.

"What's your status, over?!"

Carter spun away from the Marine, "We've been engaged!"

I lowered my gun at them and fired, next to me, Bee's assault rifle bucked and Carter's chugged as we tried to bring the charging Sangheili down. He was too close. His shields absorbed the fire he charged us down, its shields taking the damage as it kicked me, launching me sideways with a mighty crash before wrapping its fingers around Bee's throat.

I wheezed, watching from the floor as the lead Elite slashed at Kat, slicing through the monitors on the wall behind her, a cascade of sparks and class shattering over them. Carter knocked her out of the way just in time. The Elite charged, his shields collapsing under sustained fire from Carter as I pulled the shotgun to me and aimed it squarely at the back of the Elite who had ensnared Bee. I pumped a round into the back of its body and then tried to fire at the escaping Sangheili, who barrelled towards the exit like a bat out of hell, its eyes aflame with the typical zeal displayed by the covenant Elites.

I hadn't killed the Elite who grappled with Bee by the neck. It ignored me as it extended an Energy Dagger from its wrist, snarling as I fired again, popping its shields. The Zealot attempted to stab Bee, but he knocked the blow aside, blocking the strike before following it up with punches across the Zealot's face, stunning him momentarily. The Zealot roared, trying to recover as it roared in Six's face, saliva and bile spattering across its face plate. Carter charged over, kicking him off as Kat fired three shots into its leg with her pistol. Crippled, it scrambled back to escape as I stepped forward. The mechanism pumped with a metallic clunk and I unleashed it into its neck, blasting chunks of Elite across the floor towards the civilian girl, who began to wail in terror. Carter kicked a discarded assault rifle to Bee, who jumped to his feet.

The last Zealot headed for another door leading deeper into the facility, holding the wounded corporal as a shield and forcing us to hold our fire. The girl's wails became screams as she watched the Zealots head through the door, taking the screaming corporal with them. The corporal flailed and thrashed about, trying to grab at the doors in a desperate attempt to break free. My stomach churned as I watched the Zealot holding him easily yank him out of sight and into the darkness beyond.

"That tango blew past me. Permission to pursue?" Emile said over the radio.

Carter held a hand to his ear, "Negative, Four, stay on the entrance! Two, handle her! Five and Six, clear the hole!"

I watched as Bee reloaded. He and Jorge head into the room, their bodies like gusts of a solar storm as they settled into that familiar SPARTAN battle rhythm, unfazed by the chaos and fog of war. Jorge then turned, glancing at the girl panicking in Kats arms before sealing the door shut behind them.

The room settled as I saw Jorge and Bee roll down the corridor like a tide of steel in the security footage. They were unstoppable, sending grunts fleeing in terror as they pushed onwards.

Sara had calmed to a whimper, sitting against the wall where Kat knelt, gawking at the damaged conduits on the wall.

"I'm going to make sure the upstairs is clear. Captain Harper?"

"Yes?" I replied, innocently.

"Don't touch anything."

"You're not in a position to stop me, Commander."

Carter bit his tongue and shook his head. He replaced his clip and stepped up towards the second level and out of sight as I turned. Kat watched me from the panel she stood besides, her faceplate betraying nothing as I walked gingerly back to Laz's Station.

"I don't think he likes me," I said, sifting through the bits of office debris and junk in the old man's drawers.

"In fairness, none of us do. Six being the exception."

"I read about the SPARTAN IIIs." I said, shrugging, "can't exactly blame you for hating ONI. You should give me a chance though…"

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"I cost them a lot of money."

"Hmph, ONI are the only organisation in human space that are not strapped for cash, Captain. You'll need to do better."

I sighed, "my sister was a SPARTAN."

Kat paused her work and looked at me, her head half cocked. "Which company?" She asked, gripping her tools tightly in her hands.

"That's classified. You'll just have to trust me when I say that I know the sacrifices you make."

"Hard to take a Spook at their word" she said, returning to her work.

I shrugged, preferring not to reply as I found a small metal box akin to the module that Bee had found on Lazlo's corpse. It was tucked inside a small leather diary, a keepsake filled with notes about xenoarchaeology and the beginnings of a thesis on the enemies of the Forerunner empire.

I frowned, then smiled to myself. It seemed as though professor Sorvad had been keeping secrets from ONI. The data module had a fingerprint scanner on the side, hidden under a thin piece of plastic custom made to fit the profile of the device. I stepped back and looked over to the girl, who stared absently at the floor.

I pretended not to find anything, sauntering over to her and sitting beside her with all the nonchalance that I could make seem believable. A sigh escaped me and she looked up, her eyes glistening.

"You don't like the SPARTANs." I said, pulling a ration bar from my pocket and tearing it open.

"They're puppets." She said, bitterly.

"They are." I conceded, watching Kat who had been groomed as a child for this life.

"My father… he worked for their bosses. He never trusted them, so he kept much of his research to himself."

"Now that he's passed, what will happen to it? His research, I mean."

She shrugged, "I don't know, he was teaching me how to do his work. I guess Mikaela would know."

"Mikaela?"

"My step sister. She was adopted before I was born. Our father and her were working on something big."

"Something he didn't want his boss to know about?"

She nodded, "Mikaela left us a while back. She said that his boss would get him killed eventually." she looked to her father's corpse, "turns out she was right…"

"Have you seen her since? Do you know where she went?"

Sara shook her head, her eyes puffy. "She wanted protection so it must have been serious."

'Protection? Who was your father's boss?"

"Catherine Halsey."

I swallowed. What the girl was saying seemed to make a lot more sense. Halsey wasn't ONI, which is probably why Sara seemed comfortable sharing this sort of information with her but Halsey's record was as spotty as it was dripping with congealed blood. Trouble always followed the woman and so did Parangosky's influence.

I offered her a chunk of a ration bar but she shook her head. We sat in silence as I chewed, wondering what to do. The data was best sent to ONI, even if the late Professor Sorvad would have hated me for it. I wasn't sure what a big discovery was to their field, as a fellow archaeologist of some sort, I knew the kind of impact that data might have.

Screwing Halsey is an added bonus, as well.

I scowled as I chewed, sitting quietly beside the girl and resting a hand on her shoulder when her mewling became sobs.

My eyes drifted towards the security camera and I watched as Bee battled one of the Elites. Jorge threw a flare into the darkness, illuminating the area and revealing a mob of hostile infantry blocking the way. Jorge and Bee continued to clear the room of Covenant, and headed down the corridor into another large room housing computer servers.

"There's more. Flush 'em out, I've got you covered." Jorge said, setting his gun on a rail that overlooked the server area.

At that moment, Carter walked back downstairs and holstered his rifle. "We're in the clear." He said, looking at me.

"Sir?" Kat asked, looking up, "can you radio Six, tell him to reset the junction at the back of the server room?"

He nodded. "Noble Five, what's your status?" Carter said, a hand to his uplink. "Kat needs you to reset a junction. Do it and get back here."

Kat pulled an access panel off the wall, finally dislodging it as Bee and Jorge walked back in. Emile also returned, looking down at the mess that Kat had created with apparent amusement.

"How long?" Carter asked, leaning over Kat to take a peek.

"Question of my life. If the question is when will this station be back online, two weeks, earliest. This is plasma damage. All major uplink components are fried."

"Two minutes is too long."

"Which is why I'm splicing into the main overland bundle to get you a direct line to Colonel Holland... You're in my light, Commander."

I laughed at that and Carter glared at me from under his helmet. He turned to Jorge and motioned with his hand towards the girl.

"Find out what she knows." He said, sharply.

Next to me, Jorge tapped the girl's shoulder, but she shoved it away. Emile, who leaned menacingly against the wall opposite, chuckled at the attempt to get her to open up.

"What's your name? Do you live around here?" Jorge asked, taking his helmet off. "A nevem Jorge."

"Sára." The girl said, looking away.

"Sára... Szép határozott név. Your accent sounds familiar. Sopron?"

I frowned, surprised by Jorge's apparent humanity as he attempted to connect to the girl.

"Tengeri." She replied, her voice hoarse.

Jorge looked at the body laying nearby and nodded towards it. "Friend of yours?" He asked, softly.

"Father."

"Sajnálom. I'm sorry."

"Why would you be?"

I had begun to wonder if Jorge was trying to manipulate the girl. Given the venom in her response, I could only assume that Sara suspected the same thing, as her eyes look imperious behind the tears that welled there.

"Big man forgets what he is sometimes." Emile said, looking to Bee.

To my surprise, Jorge seemed to genuinely care. "She just lost her father." He shot back, his face dire and serious as he spoke. He stared at Emile for a moment, who backed off. Jorge turned to Carter, "She needs a full psychiatric workup."

"She's not the only one..." Emile noted, teasing the giant SPARTAN who recoiled and turned in fury. I put a hand on Sara's knee and even Kat looked up, her eyes scanning the two of them for signs of escalation as they furiously glared at each other.

"Lock it down, both of you! Get her on her feet...the body stays here." Carter said, putting an end to it.

"Thank you, sir." Jorge replied, backing down as he walked by Emile and glared at him one last time. He came over to us and helped Sára to her feet. I found myself seeing a lot of Naomi in him. There was a quiet acceptance about his demeanour. It was as though he had made peace with his life, however unsuited to it he may have really been.

I imagined a past where Jorge could have been his own person. I thought of him as a teenager, doing what I had planned to do and taking a break to travel the stars, do charity work on a new colony, or see the sights of his homeland before he settled on a job that he loved.

Perhaps I'm just projecting. He's good at what he does, maybe he was born for it. The fact that he understands empathy doesn't change his training or skill as a SPARTAN.

I sat there, checking my breathing and closing my eyes. The last few hours had been difficult and there would be many more challenging days to come if the Covenant were to hit Reach in force. It would be important to take a moment and gain perspective whenever I could.

"Signal! It's patchy, but it's there." Kat said, standing up and handing a little communicator to Carter.

"I'll take it." He said as I leaned forward, my moment of quiet introspection already forgotten.

"Best not touch anything. You wouldn't want to ground this place." She added, with a grin.

I smiled at that. Kat had an incredible ability to keep a person on edge. That extended even to Carter, who seemed to trust her implicitly.

Noble Team, with the exception of Carter, left the room. I watched as Holland's image appeared on the screen and sat quietly as Carter delivered the news.

"...I'm barely getting you. What's your situation, over?" He asked, sounding worried.

"Colonel, this is Noble One. There are no rebels. The Covenant are on Reach. Acknowledge?"

"Come again, Noble One? Did you say Covenant?"

"Affirmative. It's the Winter Contingency."

Holland frowned, his face turning a shade grimmer, his hair wrinkled a little greyer.

"May God help us all..."

Hours later, I was sitting beside a pile of corpses on the landing pad. My face hardened against the wind and the drizzle as it smattered against my face. Through the clouds, a grey shadow descended, cloaked against the dreary sky. It was a new ship, one that I suspected that I had read about in one of the various briefings that Tuk had managed to intercept over the last few weeks.

A Prowler.

The Winter class was a hell of an upgrade on other small craft of its size. It had a slip space engine like the condor, it had plasma cannons, active radar scrambling, and the ability to conduct deep space missions with small crews for up to several months at a time thanks to its impressive suite of hidden amenities and comfortable living space.

It blew the grass apart as it landed, folding the blades downwards until they bowed before its engines. The ramp whined as it clicked open and descended, revealing two of my oldest living friends: Katya and Jack, who stood at the peak of the ramp as it finally slowed to a halt.

"I assume you two already know what's up?" I said as they approached. Jack knelt beside me and rested his hand upon the shoulder of Sàra as she sobbed quietly into her palms.

"We do. What happened to her?" He asked when she didn't respond to him.

"It's the Covenant's first confirmed patricide on Reach." I replied, dryly. "First of many."

He nodded, helping the girl to her feet. "What do we do with her?"

"We're going to SUDAN to drop her off for further debrief and gear up for the coming invasion."

"Just for that?"

I shook my head, "With all the confusion, we can grab some OpInt and do some talent scouting. I need a team now that this has become an invasion and there's plenty of troopers, analysts, and scientists on offer. Might even get to see them in action."

Katya nodded as well, "I've been given a data module from ATLAS, there's bound to be something on it that can help."

We walked up the ramp together, my body shivering as my damp hair and clothes were tickled by the air conditioned cabin.

"Is this my ride or my taxi?" I asked, looking about the place.

"Your ride, Ma'am. Complete with fugitive chauffeur." Said a familiar man, standing over the bridge with a strange grin on his face.

"I know you." I said, running through my head for a name.

"Newly reinstated Captain Ollie Van Graff." He said, tipping a hat that he wasn't wearing.

"Parangosky dragged you out of your hole this morning?" I asked, looking at the man's PT gear. His Captain's badge was pinned awkwardly to his tee shirt and he looked a little bit tired already.

"That she did. Gave me a shiny new ship and sent me on my way to you."

"That's kind of her," I said, running my fingers over the display. "Let's get her in the air then, we're on a tight schedule."