The Spartan examined his helmet and was satisfied to find it in good condition. He was afraid the close encounter he had with a rebel's homemade bomb on Harmony had left a mark.
The Warthog hit a sudden bump, lifting the occupants in the air before being pushed back down by gravity. Six glance at the private who was driving. He was still shaking with nervousness. Despite the Spartans being the defenders of Earth, a lot of people, including his fellow soldiers, saw six and the other Spartans as an intimidating sight, almost as frightening as the Covenant.
Six glance down at himself to see how he looked. His blue and white armor wasn't nice and shiny, but dented and grimy from all the past days in the field. Command pulled Six out of the action and chartered him a ride to Reach before he could clean himself.
Here the Spartan snorted. Six. That was to be his new name. Obviously this Noble team he was being rotated to thinks he wouldn't last long. He was determine to prove them wrong. He wasn't some newbie marine. He was a Spartan III veteran. He was sure he's been in this war just as long as any other Spartan who was still living and breathing.
They were approaching the base. He couldn't see it, but command told Six that it was position just over the hill. As they approach, Six placed his helmet over his head once more and check the systems. Heads up Display (HUD) was working, his shield levels were charged, ammo counter reported his weapons were lock and loaded, and the miniature radar showed massive activity up head. They were approaching base camp. Six looks up in time to see twin Falcons pass the ground vehicle overhead, both heading towards the base. That must be transportation. Was Noble team returning, or are they getting pick up for a mission? Either way something is happening, and Six was determined to prove himself.
The base camp was more of a camp than base, no fence, no airfield, only a few movable buildings. He gave the scene a brief scan before settling his eyes on building A1, Noble team's barracks. The private pulled the warthog up to the building just as the twin Falcons landed. No one was onboard, save the pilots. Noble must still be in their barracks.
Six turns to thank the private, but the kid flinch at Six's movement. Irritated by the rough ride and the private's actions, Six just got out and walk towards the barracks, not looking back at the Warthog. Six was passing the Falcon when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man sitting inside the falcon, causally filling a clip with long sniper bullets. The guy was bald and had a tattoo on the side of his head, a fist of arrows, but what stood out was his green MJOLNIR armor; he must be part of Noble team. He look up from his reloading work, but Six to keep walking without giving the man a second glance.
As he approached, Six could hear a conversation going on, the one talking sounded like he was on audio, must be a call.
"Contact with the relay outpost went dark, we're afraid the local insurgents are behind it, their activities are just as high as the ones on Harmony. We sent in a marine recon team to check it out but we soon lost contact."
Another speaker replied, "And now you're sending us?"
At that moment Six walked in and his attention was immediately drawn to a fellow Spartan sitting on an ammunition crate. His armor was red and grey, he was sharpening his kukri to a wicked sharp point, yet what caught Six's interest was the skull design on his helmet. The Spartan paused in his practice and looked up at him. Six in return started moving forward to introduce himself when another Spartan intercepted him.
This one was a woman who wore a light turquoise armor with light armor attachments; her helmet was revealing short brown hair, a tough face, and a scar on both her forehead and right cheek. She blocked Six's advance with a cybernetic prosthesis arm. Six raised his eyebrows slightly, few, if any, soldiers are allowed to fight on the front line when they're critically injured, but here was another example of how much CIC is willing to bend the rules for the Spartans.
The female soldier seems to be studying Six as if he was a bug under a microscope before dropping her fake arm and said, "Commander."
At this Six saw the final two men who were at the end of the room. Six was shocked to see one of them, gold and green armored man was huge, he must be reaching 7 foot five easy, the heavy machine gun resting beside him hinted the man's strength. He had his helmet off and he looked older than the other Spartans, they were in their thirties, but this guy looks like he was in his early forties. Six's mind did a double take when he realized the guy was older because he was one of them, a Spartan II, he must have been part of the first class of Spartans to ever be created.
Beside him was a man who fit the description of a commander, serious face, hair cut at regulation, and the way he held himself up, like he was ready to salute at any given moment. His blue Spartan armor was the same color as Six's but it lacked the white color that crisscrosses on Six's armor. He gave Six a glance before turning back to the table behind him.
On the table Six could see a holo-communicator, in which an image shows the veteran face of colonel Holland, acting commander in chief of all special warfare personnel on Reach, the only man from ONI that Six trusts.
The giant Spartan spoke in a leather voice. "So that's our new number six?"
Number six, yes that's his name now, exactly what he was expecting.
The skull face Spartan spoke next. "Kat, you read his file?"
Kat, the woman he was addressing, responded. "Only the parts that aren't inked out."
Six turn to talk to the commander and report to duty, but he was talking to Holland again.
"Anyone claims responsibility?" He asked.
"So far all signs point to the local insurgents. Recon the area, report back, and get the facility back online. Holland out." With a flick, the hologram disappeared, ending the conversation.
Carter turns from the screen and now addressed his new team member. "Lieutenant?"
Six answered with a formal, "Commander Sir."
"I'm Carter, Noble team leader. That's Kat, Noble two. Jun, Emile, and Jorge; three, four, and five." As he spoke the rest of Noble already started filing out of the barracks. "You're riding with me Six." He finished.
He started walking out and put on his helmet while Six followed close behind. They climbed into the first Falcon where Jun, Noble three, was already sitting. His head now bearing his helmet.
"Just one thing Six." Carter continued, "I've read your file. Even the parts ONI didn't want me to. You work well alone, but we're a team." At this he turned and looked Six square in the face plate. As if he could see past it and see into his eyes. "That lone wolf stuff stays behind, got it?" He asks with an edge to his voice.
Six nodded his head and said. "Sir."
The Falcon started to take off when June looked to Six and said. "Welcome to Reach."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I am taking over this story from Christian Knight. I will be keeping everthing that he has done the same. I will be reposting chapters after I rework the grammar and spelling errors.
Unlike Christian there will eventially be a lemon. It just did not feel right to skip it when the story is perfectly set up to have one.
I am currently trying to get my hands on the video of halo three gameplay and cutscenes in order ot continue writing this story.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me by PM.
Please review. It helps keep me motivated and it is a good visual of how I am doing.