'Negative, I have the gun. Good luck sir.'
Noble 6 looked to the orange sky, Phantoms and Spirits flying over head.
Reach had fallen. UNSC had failed.
They were losing.
Noble 6 turned his gaze back to the ground, fallen Spartan IIs and IIIs were littered on the ground on this hill.
They were dying.
But they haven't lost yet,
And Spartans sure as hell never die.
What was once a pristine black Mark V [B] Mjolnir was now heavily battered and damaged. Few parts were replaced with whatever Mjolnir plates he could replace with his fallen brethrens.
Noble 6 briskly touched the handle of the knife holstered on his shoulder pad.
'I'm ready! How 'bout you!'
He could've left. He had that chance when the Pillar of Autumn was still here.
Should Noble 6 have taken it? Left with the Pillar of Autumn?
'You're own your own, Noble. Carter out.'
'Six, that AI chose you… She made the right choice.'
No. That was indeed an option, but that only had outcomes none of them would want.
Noble 6 didn't regret this. He made a choice, he stuck with it.
A nearby corpse of an Elite Major had its wrist blare with holographic sigils.
Noble 6 had enough of a clue from the codes he had to decipher from the Covenant ships to know what it meant.
'First glassing? Me too.'
The Covenant had been armies after armies at Noble 6. They needed this planet and they needed that Pillar of Autumn.
The only thing stopping them at this point was Noble 6.
The current battle had been engaged for several hours, Noble 6 shooting and running until they managed to corner the Spartan III on a hilltop.
The Covenant wasn't hesitant on deploying an entire Warhost of Elite Generals just to see the sparks in this Ghost of Reach die out for sure. To incapacitate it long enough for the glassing to happen.
Phantoms and Spirits were circling around the hilltop in the sky. They were closing in.
Noble 6 grasped onto a dog tag wrapped around his wrist for the final time.
'Reach has been good to me. It's time to return the favour.'
'Tell 'em to make it count.'
It was fine. Noble 6 grabbed an assault rifle from one of dead Marines.
He wasn't alone.
"Noble 6."
Plasma shots flew in the air, blue light illuminating as it hit and vaporised any structure it landed on.
Noble 6 had a crack in his visor. It was an old buddy issued when he came to Reach.
It was a strong partner, Noble 6 would give it that.
He grabbed one of the elites from the back, lodging Emille's knife into their neck and give the Sangheili a harsh twist.
He quickly grabbed the Plasma repeater and unloaded on the other Elite Majors marching up. Energy shields were depleted fast thanks to the sheer power and heat of the plasma rounds.
Elites were getting vapourised as they fell to their knees, but Noble 6 wasn't feeling to great either.
How long?
How much longer can he hold this up?
For who?
Is there any reason he's still trying to put up a fight for this long?
Any more soldiers, any more civilians that needed to be extracted?
Any more ships that needed to escape from Covenant's grasp?
Noble 6 felt a charged shot from a Plasma Pistol hit his back.
His radar went down a while before.
Noble 6 immediately turned around, Needler in hand, and unloaded the blamite crystal on the Grunt.
The Unggoy exploded thanks to the supercombine of the crystal, which caused the methane gas tank to light up as well.
It was a firework, setting off a chain reaction in that area.
Noble 6 chuckled as he ran behind cover.
His shield went down from that shot.
It didn't really matter anymore why he was trying to survive for so long. Even if the only thing left in this planet was him and those Covenant, he'd still fight tooth and nail.
All those deaths, all those Spartans…
They didn't just give up either as they drew their final breath. Why should he?
"Noble 6?"
Noble 6's eyes landed on a Spartan laser, laying next to it's Former owner - Spartan III with a Gungnir helmet.
Noble 6 promptly picked it up, charge was on 40%.
It was enough. Noble 6 aimed at the crowd of Generals, and let the red stream burst through the air.
He then started unloading the rest of the charge on the Phantom coming in, enough shots caused the Phantom to explode before it could deploy any of it's troops.
Elites and Grunts fell out from the exploding Phantom, limbs flailing before hitting the ground and never standing back up.
That made Noble 6 curious. Did the blast kill them, or them hitting the ground?
Maybe it was a combination of both.
Noble 6 saw his periphery light up, and in that instance time seemed to slow down.
He knew what it was. Spartan IIs and IIIs had these happening thanks to the augmentation. Average unarmoured Spartans had their reaction time reduced to 20ms. This was reduced further with Mjolnir Suits and AI, as well as combat situations. And over time, SPARTANs' augmentation would improve as they get adjusted to them. Their physical speed also accelerated to allow them to respond quickly.
Average human's reaction speed was 250ms, if they were lucky.
Noble 6 saw the plasma torpedo falling down on him from the various Phantoms and Spirits.
Elites always considered direct territorial combat as the honourable way to fight and kill.
The very fact that they had decided to shoot Noble 6 from the distance told him that they would rather feel dishonoured than fight him directly.
Noble 6 felt honoured as he sprinted out of the way, throwing the Spartan Laser out of the way.
The force of the blast from the torpedo hitting the ground gave back-draft to further accelerate. Average Spartan IIIs could run at 30 Kph, and Noble 6 was a CATS-II damn it.
Further torpedo fires drew an ark in the air, the trajectory suggested it was a ground vehicle firing them instead.
Noble 6 saw how it took a little moment later for the Elites to realise what had ran past them. Ghost of Reach, they shouted. Demon, they cried.
Noble 6 saw the Wraith hiding behind the boulders, and immediately leaped towards it.
The one handling the turret was panicking, trying to take aim at the Spartan.
Emille's knife flashed in Noble 6's hands, as a swift punch to the jaw discombobulated the Elite before Noble 6 came back with the curved blade ready to be lodged in the Sangheili's skull.
He threw the corpse out of the turret, and striked against the cover of the Wraith repeatedly. Shockwaves resonated throughout the Wraith everytime the Spartan's fist slammed down, the cover fell off and Noble 6 could see the fear in the Elite's eyes as it's only barrier was diminished.
It tried to fight back, grabbing the Energy sword hosltered on its side to strike.
Noble 6 was faster, he grabbed the Elite's wrist and slammed his fist down again.
A kick caused a sickening crunch as the Elite fell limp.
Noble 6 immediately threw the body away and sat in the seat of the Wraith.
The rest of the army was coming.
He took aim and fired.
Arcs of Plasma bolts landed in the crowd, causing them to scatter either through their panic or by the sheer force of the blast once it contacted the ground or the unfortunate Covenant soldier.
The Wraith glided across, wreaking havoc.
But it was too good to last as Airships fired on the location.
Noble 6 had to abandon the Wraith and run once more.
The air was slowly getting thick with Plasma shots, it was getting harder for Noble 6 to run.
"Sir?"
Noble 6 was picking up weapons and returning fire, but more and more Plasma shots were finding their intended target.
Shields were going down, helmet had too much cracks on its visor to do it's role anymore.
Noble 6 took off his helmet and threw it too the ground. He needed better visuals.
He picked up a Magnum and an Assault rifle, advancing on a General as he focused all his shots.
Once the Elite went down, he immediately turned to elbow another Elite sneaking up behind him.
He heard that bastard from a mile away. And once the assassin fell to the ground he took out the Magnum and made sure they stayed down.
More Plasma shots hit Noble 6 as he took down couple of the Elites, until one managed to grab the Spartan and push him to the ground.
They saw the chance and tried to take it.
Energy swords unveiled and swung at Noble 6.
Noble 6, still on the ground, dodged and kicked the Elites away, until one managed to properly pin him down.
Several more Elites unleashed their Energy blade.
But some of those Energy blades were not for Noble 6.
Elites that were pinning Noble 6 down saw as the tips of the Energy blades emerge out from their chest.
They turned back in shock to see their own soldiers running the honoured weapons through them.
Heresy. Betrayal.
… Heretical.
Heretics.
Noble 6 saw as the Elites fell, the traitors grabbing Noble 6 by the chest piece and picking him off the floor.
[The artefact was true. The Ghost of Reach still lives.] They had said over their comm link.
"Noble 6, sir?"
"Noble 6, sir? Can you hear me?"
Noble 6 turned to Spartan Killshot.
Noble 6 wasn't in the hill anymore.
The sky wasn't orange, and nor UNSC soldiers were dead nearby.
It was pitch black, night sky was even darker thanks to the heavy downpour.
Noble 6 and Killshot was scouting the area tonight. Using scopes they had scavenged from precision rifles as improvised binoculars.
"… Sorry."
"I was saying that there were Arasaka trucks coming in."
Noble 6 focused his scope where Killshot was pointing to, heavy duty trucks were forming lines as they hit the road. Killshot chuckled a little as he lowered his scope and crouched down near a scaffolding pillar.
"Man, your files mentioned this… but I didn't know it was that bad."
"It… happens sometimes."
Noble 6 continued scanning the area with his scope, when Spartan Killshot decided to pass the rest of the time asking further questions.
"Is it getting better or worse, sir?"
"How long was I gone for?"
"About… 5 minutes."
"Then it's getting better."
Killshot shook his head.
"You go on for thousand yard stares, disappear faster than any of us, effortlessly pilot vehicles, hand-to-hand combat is unrivalled, and you chuckle when you take 3 head shots in a row. You scare me, sir. You know that?"
"I had people tell me that."
Killshot looked to the distance.
"We can rest tonight, sir. We're only on scout duty for tonight."
Noble 6 looked between the scope and Killshot, before taking the Spartan IV's offer and sitting down next to the opposite pillar.
Locust and Leon were talking with Reilly over the phone, Ram was making something with scavenged circuits and machinery.
Jim was… Jim was sitting quietly in a chair. None of the Spartans knew if he was sleeping or just waiting.
It was only Noble 6 and Killshot on the top of the half-constructed building.
"Do you have anyone waiting for you, sir?"
Noble 6 watched as the screens installed on the buildings changed from one commercial to the other.
Majority of the ones he's seen were… quite graphic. Ads were saturated with excess sex appeals and gore.
Overly reliant on shock values, probably made majority of the Night City citizens desensitised further.
"No."
"You sure? No friends or families?"
"I'm sure."
Killshot quietly nodded his head. "… I see."
"How about you?" Noble 6 asked without removing his gaze from the Corpo Plaza area in the distance.
"Not much either. Thanks to the Banished, I'd be glad if there was anyone I knew that's still alive."
Silence fell between the Spartans for a bit.
Then Killshot decided not to beat around the bush.
"What do you think, sir?" Killshot softly asked.
"About what?"
"About Earth."
Noble 6 was quiet. Pondering his choices of words.
"Not particularly liking it."
Killshot laughed.
"Honestly, who is? At least New Mombasa wasn't so bad when I was an ODST. Even if it was in the middle of a Covenant assault."
Noble 6's head perked up. He had heard about that a lot from the other UNSC personnel. About how Master Chief had gone in with Cortana to defend the City.
"How was it?"
"Chaotic, sir. An EMP caused our drop pods to go haywire. A fell 200 Km from my intended location. A lot of us were already dead by the time I made it."
"… I'm sorry."
"No, no. It's okay. We managed to fight them back. We all knew we wouldn't be expected to come back from New Mombasa alive. I know the Spartan II that helped my team survive didn't."
Spartan II… Spartan II…
Noble 6 had heard about that as well. The Spartan II that escaped to Earth, went into Hiding for the next 33 years.
Only to resurface in New Mombasa to assist the UNSC with the Covenant assault and dying there.
"Leonard-131, right?"
"Yeah, I guess you read the file. Was confirmed KIA by the file once UNSC lost the Spartan on Earth. They could've done a more thorough search to find our missing Spartan… but that would've risked UNSC's existence getting exposed. They assumed he would commit suicide, and wrote him off."
Killshot removed a worn out dog tag around his neck. Noble 6 noticed that the strap was also carrying a wedding ring.
"It was a shock to everyone when they found out he survived- made a false ID and started a family. Used his wife's surname. He was known as Leopold Martinez on Earth."
Killshot extended the dog tag towards Noble 6. A wordless exchange between the two Spartans to check out the Spartan II.
"He said that he saw what was happening on New Mombasa. About UNSC revealing themselves. At first he got scared, but then he saw Master Chief. He didn't like UNSC, but he knew at that moment that they had to win if he wanted his wife and kid safe."
"…" Noble 6 turned the dog tag over his palm, then softly gripped it.
A silent prayer given to the fallen. For their sacrifice.
"… We were going past a heavy infantry. Majority of us injured. We had a package the UNSC needed to be delivered to protect New Mombasa… we would've all died then and there. Failed the mission. The Spartan II with us gave us his dog tag and ran in there, acting as a distraction for us to escape without conflict. He asked me if I ever had time on Earth, and I could go to Night City. Then to find his wife and son for me. Give them that. According to him- for all they knew, he just suddenly ran away and disappeared."
Noble 6 handed the tag back to Killshot.
"… It's the least I could do for him. Probably the only thing I can do for him. I… know that none of us wanted to come here. I know Commander Washington didn't. But even then, I guess I have a reason to be stick around here."
Killshot had heard the tale.
About how Master Chief accidentally killed ODST during a fight they had instigated. It was enough to form bad blood between the former best of UNSC, with the newest best that replaced them.
… Killshot couldn't really bring himself to hate the Spartans. Especially not after one of them had willingly saved their lives at the cost of theirs.
"What's their name?"
"… His wife's name is Gloria. Gloria Martinez. And his kid's name is David Martinez."
"… I assume it's not just personal reasons to find them, is it?"
Killshot let out a sigh.
Sound of a heavy heart carried out from the voice.
"No, sir. Once the war had ended, ONI wanted me to look for them on Earth so they can research the kid. They thought Halsey only altered and augmented the Spartan IIs in their somatic gene. But her records were discovered, and they realised Halsey altered their germ lines too. And some of the augmentation surgery could be passed down as epigenetic factors. David Martinez is a potential Spartan 2.1. Sure, I doubt he would be born inheriting ceramic bones or coated lungs… brain surgery won't be carried through either. But the Catalytic Thyroid Implants that dissolved into the body, and growth hormone catalysts could be potentially transferred. And the Superconducting fibrifaction of Neural Dendrites were done with Nanites, which they found to also be a potential epigenetic factor thanks to their size and attachment to DNAs. We'd be seeing a kid that is slightly faster, stronger, smarter, and more resilient than the average citizen. Probably capable of performing sudden bursts of reaction speed accelerations matching those of Spartans when adrenaline level is high enough."
"You sure know a lot about that."
"I asked Ram and Cell about it. The twins were… very enthusiastic about the potential inheritance of the augmentation."
"Guess that's more than enough incentive to find the kid."
"You could say that. In the end, though. Never managed to go back to Earth until now. Created Conflict and Banished attacks forced us to be deployed for black ops missions on other planets. Then ONI disappeared. Captain Church did ask me to find the kid, however. He said that if Megacorps knew about this, then we could risk our biggest secret about Spartans getting leaked."
"I see."
"… A lot of reasons to find them. In the end, what's important is that I try and find them as soon as possible."
For Leonard-131,
For his Wife and Son,
For the UNSC,
For everyone's sake. Killshot thought.
"… I'll tell you if I find anything about them." Noble 6 replied.
"Thank you. I'd appreciated that."
[Killshot, Noble 6. That should be enough Recon for today. I need you guys to join up with the rest of us. We have a new job.] Locust's distorted voice flared up in the comm link.
Both Noble 6 and Killshot stood back up, packing their scopes and rifles and heading back down.
"Oh, and Noble 6… sir?"
Noble 6 turned around, looking up at Killshot who was still at the top of the stairs.
"Thank you. For saving all of us."
Noble 6 stood there for a second, before lightly nodding his head.
"I wasn't the only one. Just part of the few who had a stroke of miracle to live."