GOLD Base

[SuperCommando]

(( This social RP thread is for SPARTAN-IIs, ONI personnel, and Navy officers ONLY ))

2100 HOURS, DECEMBER 5, 2535 (MILITARY CALENDAR)\
EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM, PLANET REACH
CLASSIFIED LOCATION

Not much time had passed since the human victory on the planet Artifice and subsequent capture of the ancient alien android before the Office of Naval Intelligence and UNSC High Command decided it was in humanity's best interest to subdivide Task Force 77 in an attempt to spread their elite forces across the ever-worsening galactic battlefront. As a result, the task force's unit of SPARTAN-II super soldiers, Gold team, was expanded and upgraded to become more self-sufficient and deadlier than ever.

Out in the remote wilderness of planet Reach, an ONI communications outpost was repurposed into a full-fledged top level black ops command and control center. This classified facility was code-named...

GOLD Base


----------------------------------------------------------------

CPO SPARTAN-009 (Silas)

Year: 2537

GOLD Base, communications room

When the automatic door slid open to grant Silas entrance, the technician waiting for him inside snapped to attention and tried not to stare at the Spartan's face. Although there were certainly higher ranking officers on-site at GOLD base, the man with the eyepatch was widely recognized and respected as the Spartan team leader. Silas merely nodded to him and held out his brawny, muscular hand. The technician relaxed his salute and handed over a headset.

"The Admiral's on line one, sir," he reported.

"Thank you," Silas stoicly replied as he donned the headset. The device slid smoothly over his close-shaved sandy brown hair as he walked toword the back of the large open room. This area of the base was known as the communications room because it featured, obviously, comms equipment of various sorts. It was also used for video conferencing. A large screen that dominated the far wall cast a bright glow over the quiet room as it displayed the image of the Admiral in real-time.

"I'm here. What do you need, ma'am?"

[z]

SPARTAN Petty Officer First Class 077(Lucifer)

GOLD BASE, Mess Hall

Lucifer sat quietly in a table on the far side of the Mess. One hand on her head, her fingers in her red hair as she looked down at the datapad on the table in front of her. Her eyes traced over the words of the story. What was it called? She scrolled back up, bookmarking her place.

Harry... Potter...

It was an old book, sure. But she liked old books. Scrolling down to her page again she started reading quietly, reaching into her belt and pulling out a piece of bubble gum she had won off one of the Technicians. Her armor was weighed down on her shoulders, her helmet rested next to her, and Lucifer just... Sat there. Her Combat Axe rested on her shoulder. She'd gotten it on a stealth mission, chose to keep it. she enjoyed the balance of the weapon in her hand.... Comforting.

Her mind drifted away as she thought on about Luke.They told her he had been stuck in cryo over two years ago, and had told her nothing else. Sighing, she rested her head in each of her hands and her elbows on the table as she drifted away into her own memories.

She just wanted to get some time to herself... Maybe a mission... Though seeing the 'dead' would not be helping her stress level. She wondered what the other SPARTANs were up to.

[kuran]

Petty Officer Darius-075
Reach, Gold Base

As he passed the nose of the Hornet, Darius offered a wave to the pilot, who he had learned on the flight had worked with SPARTAN's before. The pilot waved back, a smile visible under his helmet as he lifted his craft off the ground and banked north, back towards it's base.

Darius slung his kit bag over his shoulder and made his way up the short dirt road leading between the landing pad and the Base gate itself. The guards at the gate tallied his identity before he even got close, and after a few moments he was let in. As he made his way into the building itself, the secretary directed him towards the communications room.

---

The communications room, as one might expect, was filled with all manner of radios, comms, and enough computers to fit out a Prowler. What was more interesting to Darius at the moment though was what his armor identified as his new commanding officer. Dropping his bag, he snapped into a ramrod straight posture, bringing his hand up to his temple.

"Sir! Petty Officer Second Class zero-seven-five, reporting for duty!"

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

Jethro tossed his bowie knife into the air, eyes tracking the weapon as it seemed to spin in slow-motion through the air. His other hand reached out to snag it, large fingers wrapping around the hilt. The very edge of the knife twinkled in the sunlight as he studied it for the umpteenth time that day.

The mini-HUD built into his mechanical eye flashed, informing him of the time: 2100 hours. He sighed to himself, left hand reaching for the knife's sheath. He slid it in, nodding when the small magnets at the end of the sheath latched on, holding the bowie in place. He belted the sheath onto his belt, then pushed himself into a sitting position.

Jethro's mismatched eyes surveyed his room. It was a bit larger than he was used to, but that wasn't saying much. It was sparsely furnished, and had only one window almost directly opposite the door. Shrugging to himself, he bent over to pick up the one datapad he owned. He turned it on, then started flipping through the apps he had downloaded. A few digital books, movies, and songs he had found on the rare times he hadn't been in combat.

Listing an eyebrow in contemplation, he debated whether to put on The Bard's Song, or Humbling River, two early twenty-first century pieces of music. He shrugged again, then selected The Bard's Song. A guitar solo started, followed soon after by a vocal accompaniment. He hummed along with the lyrics, one hand idly tapping with the rhythm.

An alert popped up on the screen, informing him that Darius had finally arrived. Excellent. He needed another Spartan to test his skills at the firing range; Silas was alright, but he was usually busy, and Lucifer was almost no fun to compete against. He'd talk to Darius about that tomorrow...

[SuperCommando]

CPO SPARTAN-009 (Silas)

Planet Reach, Epsilon Eridani system

GOLD Base, communications room

"...He is due to arrive later today," the Admiral concluded, brushing aside a stray strand of long golden hair.

"Yes ma'am, I read the dossier," Silas replied to the on-screen image. "We'll be happy to welcome him onto the team."

"Very good. Now then, moving on. As I understand it, your designated support AI is nearing the end of its operational life expectancy?"

Silas sighed. "With respect ma'am, you are exaggerating. As of yet, Bifrons has displayed exactly zero signs of rampancy, and statistics show that a smart AI is not in danger of said affliction until seven full years of service."

"Why risk it?" the Admiral pushed. "I can arrange for a brand new third generation artificial intelligence to be installed within the week. The transition will be seamless, I assure you, and base operations can only benefit from the increase in efficiency."

"Bifrons is already cutting-edge, and his efficiency is unmatched. I fully intend to keep him active until the very last nanosecond of his operational lifespan," Silas firmly declared.

The Admiral frowned. "If you insist."

Silas was just about to wrap up the conversation and log off when an out of place noise from behind caught his attention. It sounded like... armored footsteps? Who would be careless enough to interrupt a video conference? Why was this person even allowed inside the room? The heaviness of the footfalls and familiar armor-clatter noise immediately gave him an idea, but it wasn't until the voice identified itself did he know for sure. A number in place of a name, 075... It was Darius, the new Spartan. Silas twisted his head to look back over his shoulder with his one eye.

"Ah, this is the soldier I was just telling you about," said the Admiral. Darius must have walked far enough into the room to be caught on camera. "Don't look so perturbed, Chief Petty Officer. He was under orders to seek you out as soon as he arrived."

Turning her attention from Silas to the newcomer, she said, "The troops will miss you, Darius. Your training with them has made you something of a popular icon among the 14th Company. Let's hope your inspiration aids them on their deployment."

[kuran]

Darius stepped into what he could only assume was full view of the camera broadcasting to the Admiral. He stood at parade rest, with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Thank you ma'am." He nodded. "The 14'th will do well, they're good soldiers."

He occupied himself with his HUD for a moment, transferring a copy of his orders to the SPARTAN next to him. "Sir, I've been placed under your command. Fully operational, sir."

Which remained to be seen. His stint training the 14'th was in fact part refresher, part physical therapy for Darius. Taking an almost direct hit from a plasma mortar two years previously had led to a lot of surgery just to keep him alive. The last year had been mostly recuperation, and if he was honest, Darius couldn't wait to get back into action. He was already finding the proximity to other SPARTAN's suited him well. It had been a long time since he had seen any of his unit.

(Short, I know :/)

[SuperCommando]

CPO SPARTAN-009 (Silas)

Planet Reach, Epsilon Eridani system

GOLD Base, communications room

At that moment, an on-screen figure stepped up behind the admiral and cleared his throat. "Admiral Lakewood, the Kholo report is in." To this she merely nodded in acknowledgment without removing her attention from the camera.

"I'll leave you to get your new teammate situated, Chief Petty Officer," she said, rising from her seat. "...But don't get too comfortable. I am uploading the latest mission assignments to your ops center. As usual, your team's participation may prove critical to these vital operations."

"Understood ma'am," Silas responded. "Gold One out."

The screen winked out as the transmission was cut. Removing his headset, the Spartan spoke without turning around. "So... Skin grafts, huh? I know what that's like."

He turned to leave and began walking back toword the door. In doing so, the left side of his face rotated into Darius's view. A thick line of scar tissue worked its way down from a couple inches above his hairline all the way down through his lower jaw. The left eye socket had been completely disintegrated by the wound, and was covered by a black eyepatch with the UNSC eagle insignia sewn in gold on it. The injury was obviously repaired and smoothed out as much as possible, but there was no way to completely hide it. As he walked, Silas motioned for Darius to follow.

"First things first, let's get you to your quarters. After you unload we can get you the tour and meet the rest of the team."

[kuran]

Darius hastened to follow his new commander, hefting his bag and noting the eyepatch as he did. It wasn't surprising, at this stage in the war, they all had injuries, but most opted to have a replacement put in, glass or mechanical. The eyepatch itself gave the CPO a slightly more menacing air, and the scar tissue across his face seemed rather painful. Darius was reminded instantly of the pirates of old that he had been taught about in training. Though admittedly the focus of the lessons was on boarding tactics, not the pirates fanciful clothing.

"Yes Sir. Took three elites and a plasma mortar to put me down. Some a squad from the 14'th to pull me out. I...i've been out of action for a while. Looking forward to being part of a team again. Sir."

Darius followed the CPO through the base, passing by a seemingly empty mess hall as they did, and eventually arriving at the quarters rooms. "Well, this seems a good deal more efficient than the Military Hospital was."

[SuperCommando]

CPO SPARTAN-009 (Silas)

Planet Reach, Epsilon Eridani system

GOLD Base, crew quarters

"I should hope so," said Silas. Standing outside Darius's room, he dug into the pocket of his dress uniform. This was one of those uncommon times when the Spartan was wearing something other than armor or PT clothes. Usually it involved conferences with commanding officers, like today, special occasions, or times when his more administrative duties outnumbered his gruntwork.

Extracting a card from the folds of his pocket, he held it out for Darius to see. It was made of hard, clear plastic with a barcode and a golden strip with numbers running across the top.

"This is for you. It's a level five PAN card. It generates a short-range electronic feild called a personal area network. Just walking close to a door with this card on you will open it automatically. Level five grants you unrestricted access to all areas of the base. Only team members and select personnel are granted level five cards, so do not hand yours out to anyone else."

Each door in the corridor had a number 4 printed on it in red paint, indicating their security level. Silas merely approached the door to Darius's room, and it smoothly slid open by itself.

"Make yourself at home," he said, handing the card to Darius.

As the other Spartan got situated, Silas walked a few doors down the hall. Although he could have walked right in using his own PAN card, he opted for a more considerate method. The CPO rapped his knuckles on the metal door in a quick sequence.

KNOCK-KNOCK, KNOCK-KNOCK, KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

"Jethro, come on out and meet our new Gold Six."

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/center]

"Oh goody, fresh meat for the grinder, eh?" Jethro's voice drifted out from behind the door. Inside, he paused his music, locked the datapad, then rose from his bed. He opened the door, then gave a lazy two-fingered salute to Silas. The unarmored Spartan stepped out into the hall, head swiveling so he could look over at Darius' room.

"I heard he's fairly good at close-quarters; I remember fighting him a few times during training." Jethro muttered, glancing over at Silas with a half-smirk. He gave a mock sigh, slowly shaking his head side-to-side after catching a glimpse of the eye patch. "Still haven't gotten a replacement yet... I still say it would be pretty cool if we were mechanical eye buddies, or something to that effect."

[kuran]

Tossing his bag down on the bed, Darius stowed his set of PT gear and his dress uniform quickly into the footlocker at the edge of his rack. He didn't have much, even by the meagre standards that SPARTAN's lived by. He set his helmet on top of the locker, but only had time to remove his gauntlets before hearing a voice from the open doorway. "Oh goody, fresh meat for the grinder, eh?"

He stepped out into the hall, unable to remember who's voice that was... until he saw Jethro. Darius managed to flash a smile. "Jethro! You should remember me, I seem to remember flooring you a few times." He held out a hand to his fellow SPARTAN, forgetting that his hand, like most of his arms and torso, were criss-crossed with livid scar tissue. "I've also got a knack for explosives Sir," He added, addressing Silas. "If you need it blown up, in, or out, i'm your man."

[z]

Lucifer rolled her head on her neck and scooped up her helmet, reading as she walked. Her eyes scanning over every word of the datapad in her hands. She quietly read it, her mouth slowly moving slightly to the words, flipping line after line quickly.

Suddenly she felt her foot hit something and she backed up. Looking up there was another SPARTAN she hadn't seen around backed up, raising her head. Silas, Jethro... New Person.. .couldn't put the finger on his name, but he looked familiar.

Shutting off her datapad and letting it hang in her hands, Lucifer looked over at the team leader with a raised eyebrow and pointed at Darius. Her way of asking 'Who the fuck's that?' without speaking.

Looking the other super solder over, Luci ran a hand over her jaw and then moved her hands to her hips. Broody as ever.

[SuperCommando]

CPO SPARTAN-009 (Silas)

Planet Reach, Epsilon Eridani system

GOLD Base, crew quarters

Silas nodded in response to Darius's comment about his proficiency with explosives. He read about that earlier in the man's dossier. That was a useful skill that really rounded out the team's capabilities. He had a good feeling that this man would be a valuable asset. Of course, the only way to really test that was to get him out on a mission, but Spartans rarely dissapoint.

When Lucifer wandered around the corner and wordlessly inquired about the new face, Silas responded with patient understanding. By now he had grown used to her unique habits, and didn't mind that she rarely spoke.

"This is Darius," he told her. "He's new, so be nice. Why don't you and Jethro show him around, get him aquainted with the place? He'll need to be up to speed with the general layout in accordance with emergancy protocols. I need to take care of a few things with the AI techs, so if I don't catch you guys later I will see you at the briefing at oh-five-hundred."

With that, he offered Darius one more curt nod before turning on his heel and marching back down the hallway towords the ops center.

"Oh, and don't let Jethro talk you into anything stupid," he called back over his shoulder as he walked off.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/center]

Jethro reached out his hand, firmly Darius'.

"I believe I got you more times than you got me." He said, a crooked grin spreading across his face. He glanced at Silas as the leader of Gold spoke, his mechanical eye whirring slightly. "Will do, sir."

Jethro jerked his head to both Darius and Lucifer, bright teeth contrasting against his dark skin.

"Oh, and don't let Jethro talk you into anything stupid," Silas said over his shoulder.

"You wound me, sir." Jethro called at Silas just before he vanished around the corner, one hand mock-clutching his chest. He turned back to the other Spartans, eyebrow raised.

"So, about that tour..."

[SuperCommando]

((OOC: Finish up quick guys, I'd like to do a quick briefing scene and then send us off on some missions.

EDIT:
On second thought, just skip RPing the tour. Report to the breifing room and imply in your posts that the tour already happened.))

[Daenerys Targaryen]

((Not sure if I am suppose to post in this in between thread yet, but what bad can it do? I will save it for the next in between if I am told t take it down, lol. ))

Petty Officer Dani-047
Planet Reach
Gold Base

"Black clouds are behind me, I now can see ahead, often I wonder why I try, hoping for an end...." Hummed one of the two females SPARTANS of Gold Team, Dani-047. After the battle on the planet of Artiface where the team, with the help of several ONI personnel including Dr. Victoria Harper, an old friend of Dani's someone she considered a mother, which she never had. Now, back at Gold Base, Dani had little to do so she did what she always did when she had little to do, sharpen her knife. The dull metallic dragging that sounded out from the process reverberated along the walls of little corner she had situated herself in, the corner belonging to to the mess hall.

She knew Lucifer was off somewhere close reading one of her books. Dani herself enjoyed books and read them often, her mind just wasn't right for reading that day. A new recruit was coming in, he would be in the comm room shortly where he would get to meet his new teammates and Dani had to admit, she was interested in a new face to Gold team. Being a Spartan, she had met all other Spartans when she was growing up, she trained with them, competed with them, but when they were separated they had no way of contacting each other. Seeing Darius again would be like meeting a cousin you hadn't seen in years or a family member who went of to war for a long time. All of them have had their own experiences so you could say all of them have changed since they were kids.

A buzz of her helmet though, reminded her why she was thinking instead of reading, Darius had just arrived in the comm room. Time to meet the new recruit. After putting her knife away she got up from her spot and walked out the the mess, leaving shortly after Lucifer. It took only a few moments for her to run into where Silas had taken the recruit after finding out they were no longer in the coms room.

"So, about that tour.." Dani heard Jethro begin as she rounded the corner, clearly talking to the new member of Gold Team.

"Oh a tour? Mind if I join?" Dani chimed in, eyeing Jethro carefully with her vibrant, violet, swampy green eyes. But before he could respond properly she turned to look at Darius, "As for you, long time no see." She stated, looking him up and down.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

Jethro glanced at Dani as the other Spartan came around a corner, mismatched eyes contrasting oddly against his dark skin. He shrugged in response to her query, but her attention had already shifted to Darius. He drew his bowie knife, then started twirling it around his fingers; he knew Darius was talkative, and Dani seemed to be in a sociable mood, so he braced himself for several minutes of idle chatting.

[kuran]

Darius quirked an eyebrow. "Dani." He stated. "Good to see you again." His attention was mostly drawn by Jethro however, as he twirled his knife around. He chuckled, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Jethro. Still using that...thing, I see."

He tuned, walking back into the room that contained his bunk, and fished around in his still open locker for a few moments. Returning, he flourished a steel tomahawk. "Mine's still bigger," He commented.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/center]

"Mine's still more badass." Jethro retorted, eyebrow lifting as he looked over the tomahawk. "And besides, the blade on mine is longer. Heavier, too." He flipped the bowie knife into the air, left hand reaching out to catch it behind him. "But the real question is, which one of us is better? After all, a trained man wielding an iron pipe could beat an untrained hooligan using a tungsten sword."

Jethro smirked as he continued to twirl the bowie. "So I guess it does matter how you use it, too."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Petty Officer Dani-047

Dani gazed toward the two male Spartans in front of her, with the units she had been in this was common, usually the males like to challenge and test each other since they had been children. She had not seen Darius in a while, so she decided that Jethro would have to be her best bet, since she remembered more about him.

"Men will be men I guess.." Dani muttered, more to herself then out loud. Then with a clap of her hands to get the twos attention she decided to get the situation handled. "Well, lets not sever any limbs today, why don't you two settle your crap in the ring like we did when we were kids." Dani offered, not wanting Silas to walk in on a fight in the barracks hallway.

[kuran]

Darius shrugged, face hiding a slight smile. "We could go to the ring. Mine's still better. It's an axe." He stated, as if that decided that his was better. "So anyway, how are you Dani? I've been....away...for a few years, i'll have to catch up on the gossip."

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/center]

"Pfft. Can't stab worth a crap." Jethro grunted as he led the way to the ring. "And while you've been out of the loop for a while, I've been honing my combat skills so I can be even deadlier. So who do you think is truly better, eh?"

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Petty Officer Dani-047

"You two should really shut up and just start fighting, this is taking to long and I still want to eat dinner in the mess." Commented Dani, putting a hand on each of their backs and pushing them toward a larger room down the hall. Once she had pushed them inside it became clear as t what was inside of the room, just a simply boxing ring, lockers, places with boxing gloves, and punching bags.

"I want to see you to in the ring now, if I miss dinner for this you are both getting your asses kicked by your truly." She stated, giving them one last push toward the rings. "Oh and Jehtro, try to win while staying in one piece." She said in a softer voice.

[kuran]

Darius glared at Dani, rolling into the ring under the ropes. Standing, he took a moment to deactivate the last of his armor systems, peeling off the chestplate, leg guards, greaves.

Stacking it all in a corner, he was left with nothing but a pair of fatiuges on, light blue shirt and trousers. His arms, much like his hands, were criss-crossed with livid scar tissue. Plucking his tomahawk from it's sheathe on his leg guards, he twirled it a few times, stepping into the center of the ring. "I've been spending the last two months in rehab, training marines how to fight dirty." He informed them casually.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/center]

Jethro smirked mischievously as he glanced back at Dani. "Darius is the one you should be worrying about." He hopped up into the ring, then started twirling his knife while he waited for Darius to take off the last of his armor.

"I've been spending the last two months in rehab, training marines how to fight dirty."

"And I've been spending several years kicking Covenant ass." Jethro retorted. He flipped the bowie knife so he was holding it backwards, blade hardly glinting in the light. He crouched, body tensed, waiting for Darius to make a move.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Petty Officer Dani-047

"Try not to kill each other please!" Dani called after them, hoping that they would not actually wound each other two bad. "Remember there are two systems under attack right now and we might need to go on a mission soon. We don't need you in rehab again Darius." Dani stated, leaning back against the wall.

[kuran]

He snorted. "It took an almost direct hit from a plasma mortar to take me down. As if Jethro has a hope." He slowly circled Jethro, keeping his eyes on his and dropping into a low combat stance.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/center]

"Ah yes, of course." Jethro mock-sneered, stepping slowly to the side. "The one who does get taken out of action is the one who's more skilled. Methinks there's some backwards logic to that, Darius."

He struck, bowie knife arcing forward in an overhand strike. If Darius blocked, he would attempt to quickly punch him in the ribs with his left hand, whereas he would jump back if Darius dodged the blow.

[kuran]

"Not really, I was actually fighting."

Darius would bring his tomahawk up horizontally, the clash of the bowie knife against the handle reverberating through the room. He spun right, narrowly avoiding Jethro's punch while sweeping a leg around, the idea of which was to hit the back of his right foot to send him crashing down to the floor.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/center]

"And I wasn't?"

Jethro used his momentum from his punch to help him spin around faster. He hopped over Darius' sweeping kick using his right leg while still spinning, his left foot coming around at the other Spartan's head.