Chapter 1: "There'll be another time…"

A Spartan clad in black armor fights among the ruins of a battlefield. The visor of his helmet cracked beyond use and the advanced shield generator of his armor had long since been fried.

'Just one more! Just one more!' The Spartan thinks to himself. Removing his helmet and drops it onto the glassed dirt, he picks up an assault rifle and moves to meet a white armored Ultra elite. The two exchange fire until the alien is brought to heel. Noticing an elite with an energy sword try to sneak behind him; the Spartan elbows the elite with all his might and knocking it down. taking his pistol he fired a round through the elites skull and places it back onto the magnetic holster at his thigh.

Plasma fire from his right sears through his armor; engaging the enemy the Spartan is pelted by plasma fire from his front causing him to recoil from the hits. Taking fire from multiple angles the Spartan uses his left hand to fire his magnum and his right to fire the rifle. The Spartan is able to bring down two elites before he is knocked down by a third. The elite goes to stab him with its energy dagger, but is kicked off. A fourth elite approaches the downed Spartan with an energy sword but is punched in the mouth, causing the sword to fly from its users grip. The third elite runs in for an attack but misses and receives an elbow to the head. The fourth elite bears is wrist mounted daggers and plunges it into the Spartans chest before he can react; piercing his heart.

Burning pain flared from the wound, causing him to clench his teeth like a vise. His vision starts to darken as his strength is drained away. As the energy blade is withdrawn from his chest, he looks up the ruined skies of Reach as his breathing weakens and his eyes shut. The last thought of Spartan B-312 is of his home planet. At least it should have been. Before losing consciousness; Noble 6 beheld a clean sparkling city underneath a bright blue sky. He saw school girls with halos above their heads and guns at their sides milling about, laughing at something or other. The city before him disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. The city was replaced by rubble, the brilliant sky was now dead and grey, the only person around is a wolf eared woman pointing a handgun at him, her eyes on the verge of tears. The woman fired three shots, striking a tablet at his feet. His vision

--

"Lieutenant."

'A… voice?' Noble 6 thought, confused.

"Please wake up, we do not have much time."

Becoming more and more conscious not only was he hearing a woman's voice, but also the clatter of train tracks. The Spartan fought to open his eyes, getting irritated at the sluggishness of his body. Managing to open his eyes. The Spartan took in his environment through his unblemished visor. He was sitting in a train car facing a city he had never seen before. A young woman sat across from him, her face bearing a look of regret and relief. She had pale blue hair and eyes and was dressed in a white uniform that was seeping blood from her abdomen. Noble 6 about to move to treat her wound, but was stopped by a hand and a chuckle from the girl. "Please forgive my imprudence, but I need your help."

"That depends on what you need of me ma'am."

The girl exhaled a long breath before speaking, her tone dire. "Kivotos is being destroyed. It won't be long until it is forever lost." She looked down as if she had done something shameful, before continuing. "It was all my fault. The cause and effect of my decisions." She looked back up at 6, her eyes sparkling with confidence and faith. "Only you are capable of guiding Kivotos to a better future."

"It sounds like your need of a hero ma'am, not a soldier." Noble 6 solemnly said as he leaned back in his seat.

Undeterred the girl responded. "The package you delivered will lead another like you to destroy a relic, shattering your enemy's resolve. Allowing your people to thrive. Without you, your people would have been annihilated. You are every bit the hero Kivotos needs."

Noble 6 was stunned at her words. He searched her expression for signs of deception, only to find she was sincere. How did she know about the package? Why was she so confident? 6 quelled the sea of questions he had, and only asked the most pertinent one. "Why me? You mentioned that another Spartan would save humanity. Why not them?"

"His story is not yet over, he still has a fight to finish. But yours is over. All that you have witnessed and experienced is invaluable wisdom. It is my belief that you will guide Kivotos to prosperity."

The girl was offering him a second chance to do his duty. He would be remised to pass up an opportunity to save others. Standing up from his seat Noble 6 made a proclamation to the girl. "I will do what I can"

"That is all I ask." Gratitude showed on her mien. Reaching at her side, the girl pulled out an M-Spec reentry pack?

"What's this for?" Noble 6 expressed his bewilderment.

"I'm sorry, but you're in for a rough ride to the Academy City. Everything you will need is contained inside."

Noble 6 reached for the pack, but the girl grabbed his wrist and pulled him close. She stared through his visor and spoke with dictation. "The words I am about to say will be the most important thing I've said so far. So please repeat after me."

"We thirst for seven wailings,"

"We bear the Koan of Jericho."

Satisfied, the girl then let go of him and the pack; allowing 6 to don it onto his back and walked to the train's doors. While waiting for his stop the girl said one last thing. "You won't remember these words, but that doesn't matter. Even without your memories, you'll probably make the same decision in the same situation. Go forth, Spartan. Only you can save us from out twisted fate."

The train came to a stop and it doors opened, unveiling an ethereal white light. Noble 6 had no more to say; he had a mission and another chance to do what he had sworn since his childhood. 6 stepped out from the train and the doors closed behind him.

--

Noble 6 regained consciousness as he plummeted down to an unfamiliar land, shocked that he was alive and that he was falling very rapidly. He remembered racing to the Pillar of Autumn, covering the Autumn's escape, his last stand at Aszod.

'Where in the world am I!' Noble 6 shelved the thought of how he got there and instead took stock of his current situation. On the middle-left side of of his visor, 6 could see that an M-Spec reentry pack was slowing his decent. The impact of the fall was a different matter. The only was to soften the impact would be to harden the gel layer of his Mjolnir armor, grit his teeth, and pray he doesn't land on something stubborn.

'1200 meters, 700 meters, 400 meters, 100 meters… this'll hurt.' Noble 6 crashed into a city park, losing the reentry pack on impact and carving a trench before coming to a stop. 6 rose to his feet with a grunt limped to the reentry pack and retrieved an M6G magnum and an undamaged letter that instructed him to deliver it to Nanagami Rin and a set of coordinates. The letter bore a wax seal that had iconography, of a tower encircled by a ring, that he did not recognize. Nobel 6 placed the letter into an empty ammo pouch and pulled the slide on his magnum, chambering a round. He looked around to get his bearings, finding himself in a 21st century city. Ads in Japanese were plastered on billboards and skyscrapers dotted the landscape, the tallest of which emitted a weak blue beam into the sky. Noble 6 stared at the sky, curious about the rings that intersecting other rings. The sound of a distant firefight brought him back to his senses. Listening closely he could hear a cacophony of small arms fire and explosions. 'Break times over Spartan, you have a job to do.' Noble 6 thought to himself as he plunged once more into a burning concrete jungle.

Authors message

I hope you enjoyed this short chapter. Sadly, this will most likely be the only chapter for a long while due to life stuff. If you have any criticisms or suggestions then let me know.