Mission 3: A Long Road Ahead

[hollowsaber]

Major Salvatore Foely Task Force 77: Reaper Platoon The Streets of Bracknell

This day… was becoming… so… annoying… Foely had expected an easy, walk-in-the-park night, until the Marines decided to go out and party… These guys, were becoming worse than a male, full of testosterone, who just reached the legal drinking age! Foely could only just stare at the ignorant Captain MADDOX who was yelling at his Sergeant. He stood there, quiet as a mouse, just a few feet away until another Marine came up beside him. The first thought that flew into Foely’s head was to just walk away, or possibly just ignore their presence… but that would probably get him in even more trouble than this Captain was going to be if he didn’t shut his mouth.

"Are you in need of assistance, sir?" At least these two Marines had some manners and abided by the chain of command. Standing there probably was a good idea.

“Well, first I guess you guys could grab that raging Captain MADDOX over there and pull him off my Sergeant before I ship him off to the inner colonies for desk duty…” Foely smiled lightly for a moment then lost it to his solid stare as he looked at the Captain. At least these two weren’t like that loon.

He gave the time for the order to register then waited again for the two to actually restrain MADDOX. Foely moved up and put himself directly between Lucy and MADDOX, his back to the Marine as he patted Lucy on the back. Foely smiled and chuckled a little as he looked at the woman and her shot gun. This Sergeant was a fine addition, Loudin would probably like the extra hand in Blackout.

“Good job Sergeant. I like Troopers like you. Ignore MADDOX, any report he decides to write has to go through me anyways.” Foely laughed a little at the thought. Maybe a promotion wasn’t so bad.

“Get in the driver seat, I’d like to ride with you guys for a bit.” Foely pointed to the driver seat of the Warthog everyone decided to pile into then did an about-face to see MADDOX. Foely only smiled and extended his hand.

“Major Salvatore Foely Frontline Leader of Ground Operations for all of Task Force 77 until my pal Major Dickson shows up to lead you Marines. He’ll probably be here in a few days, give or take. Pleasure to meet you MADDOX.” Foely waited for the hand shake then pulled his hand back.

“Now, there’s a warthog over there that you came out of. I’d like to ask you to go on back into the passenger seat, sit down, and have these two fine Marines that held you back and keep you from getting sent to the inner colonies for deskwork, drive you to the Grand Hotel or whatever it is. I heard that it’s giving out rooms to UNSC soldiers who like to sit at desks, or at least sound like it.” Foely turned and started to walk to the passenger seat of the Warthog, then his helmet buzzed and he raised it up. Seemed like everyone in the who damn Task Force was converging on this place…

"Major Foely, sir? This is ODST Captain Dylan Lloyd. I'm with Marine Captain Lloyd. We just saw what was going on with the civilians, but it seemed to be under control now. If you need our help, or anything else comes up, both of us are at your disposal, sir. We can both have troops assembled in five."

“Yea no worries Captain. We’re heading out in a minute. Authorities are going to be taking the trouble makers away. Everyone else is just playing follow the leader so once they actually were given the reason, kinda bitched at the drunkards and walked back to their homes. If you need a hitch somewhere, we’re heading to Glasgow but I’m sending Marine Captain MADDOX, James Maddox, to some hotel. Think it’s like the Hampton Grand or some bullshit. Never paid attention to the radio till this thing happened so I haven’t caught the name of the place. He‘ll take you there, and if doesn‘t want to, I‘ll make it an order.” Foely stepped into the passenger seat of the Warthog but stood so he could look towards the convoy.

Everyone was loaded up, and the police were already putting cuffs on a few of the mob members. The job was done and everything was being put back to normal it seemed. When Foely read up on the city, he noticed that they were cut off from the UNSC for a few years because of an accident. Can’t see why they hate the soldiers so much when it was them that kept the insurrectionists at bay… Hell, this planet hasn’t had any problems SINCE the accident because of the UNSC. Maybe to much alcohol for those fat boneheads…

“Alright, Let’s roll out!” Foely spun his hand in the air, bringing the convoy to life like massive chorus to a song. Foely sighed in relief as the sound lulled the aggravation away almost instantly. The sound of war always seemed to calm him, no matter how subtle.

“Lucy.” Foely finally sat down in the seat and rested his helmet in his lap.
“Let’s get to Glasgow. That way please.” Foely pointed straight up the road as he relaxed in his seat, not even worrying about the seat belt for the time being.

[z]

"Thank you Major Foley..." Lucy took off her helmet after hearing him say so and put it under her arm, giving a sly smirk to the Captain before walking across the bed of the Hog and stepped over the middle into the drivers seat. She tossed her M45 and MA5 back to Jackson and looked back at Foley and her good friend, the Captain she didn't even know the name of.

She rested her chin in two open hands and gave him a sweet smile, which was just her being a complete and utter smart-ass while watching the other Marines.

She yawned and got ready to drive when Foley ordered it and gave a nod before backing out of the alleyway and driving down the street.
"Glad you showed up when you did Foley, that ass was gettin' on my nerves."

[spartan129]

Corporal Giuseppe Raspallo and his partner Caleb McAbee were on the balcony of a hotel. They were hundreds of feet above the city streets, and the angle the hotel was at gave them a view of several blocks of Glasgow.

"Raspallo, why are you so serious about this?" asked McAbee, lowering his spotting scope. "We were told to come here for some R&R...No matter what those crazies might say, this isn't an occupation."

Raspallo didn't look away from the sight of his sniper rifle when he responded, "We were sent out here for a reason. This is right on the edge of Covenant space. If that doesn't say something to you, you must be daft." He sighed as he saw Marines driving away from a small riot a few blocks over.

"Damn, Raspallo, what did that training recall?" McAbee joked. "Permission to leave the balcony?" the Lance Corporal asked mockingly.

"Only by jumping," Raspallo said with a grin. "Nah, go ahead inside. Just be ready for anything on a moment's notice."

"Copy that," McAbee replied, laughing. He went into the sniper team's hotel room. Flipping the protective cover on his wrist, he searched for a nearby bar. Discovering that there was one a few buildings down from the hotel, he tightened the sling of his battle rifle and walked to the door, taking a left towards the elevator after walking out.

Raspallo stayed at the balcony. He had the hotel sending up chicken for a dinner. Finally lowering his rifle. He looked out at the city. This would not be a good place to get caught in an engagement...He felt the rappelling gear on his belt, and hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

As soon as they'd approached the lieutenant commander, a Navy captain walked up behind her, joining in on the brief exchange. Dylan and Sierra saluted her and she saluted back.

"Hello, I am Lydia Adelle Morgan, Captain of the UNSCS Fire Tear. Thank you for your help in our oh so dire time," she said in an amused tone.

Sierra smirked at her humor and tried to play along. "No problem, ma'am. I can see things are pretty bad over here." She glanced over at Dylan with a sly grin as he stood beside her. "We could tell it was time for some Marines to come in and help."

"Hey!" Dylan protested lightly. "You mean Helljumpers. I'm the one who knows the way, technically."

"What do you mean 'technically'?"

"Just...I know where to go, honey. Trust me."

Before the Navy captain in front of them could say anything more, they heard a shout come from nearby. Dylan and Sierra both glanced up to see another uniformed Naval officer running up to the scene.

"Hey!!" he called out. "We do have a transport you could use if you don't mind. I mean it fits nine people and why walk when you could drive?"

Dylan grinned. "Sounds good to me." He turned to Sierra. "Shall we?"

His wife nodded. "Yeah. Let's load up."

Just before they left, Dylan paused for a moment as he received a return hail from Major Foely.

“Yea no worries Captain. We’re heading out in a minute...If you need a hitch somewhere, we’re heading to Glasgow but I’m sending this Marine Captain, James Maddox, to some hotel...He‘ll take you there, and if doesn‘t want to, I‘ll make it an order.”

"Thank you, sir, but it looks like we've already got a ride," Dylan responded. "I guess we'll be seeing that Captain Maddox at the Hilton Grand when we get there."

When Dylan clicked off his COM to end the conversation, he saw that Sierra had already mounted up in the back of the military jeep. She sat a little hunched over because of the battle rifle slung behind her back and all the gear, but they'd fit no problem, just like the Naval officer had said. Dylan took a seat beside her, then felt her nudge his side with her elbow.

"What?"

"You're the grand navigator now, Captain," she said with a hint of a smile. "Lead the way."

"Oh, yeah," he said a little sheepishly. He turned his attention back to the Navy captain, who awaited his directions so she could relay them to the driver. "You'll want to take a right out of the parking complex, ma'am. Go down straight a ways across the next two lights, and then take a left. We should be able to see the hotel from there."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster

Well.. this was not how the two marines had plan on spend their evenings. but orders were orders. “Well, first I guess you guys could grab that raging Captain over there and pull him off my Sergeant before I ship him off to the inner colonies for desk duty…” Even though it was extremely embarrassing that two low ranked marines had to hold a marine Captain at the orders of some high ranking hell jumper, back from a Hell jumper sergeant that apparently was a bit cocky with her shotgun. So as the man had ordered, Chase and Victoria had pulled the raging captain away and had held him back.

“Now, there’s a warthog over there that you came out of. I’d like to ask you to go on back into the passenger seat, sit down, and have these two fine Marines that held you back and keep you from getting sent to the inner colonies for desk work, drive you to the Grand Hotel or whatever it is. I heard that it’s giving out rooms to UNSC soldiers who like to sit at desks, or at least sound like it.”

The two replied with their own 'yes sirs' and guided the marine captain toward the waiting hog as the others left by their own means of transportation. "I'm sorry about that sir... Now that 'Foley' is gone, we'd like to take you to the Hilton.. what ever. It sounds like some ODST will be there to check up to see if you go there.. and we don't want the brass on our asses, so we are going to Drive you there." Offered Victoria, in a low and confused tone, still in shock of what had happened.

"Yeah.. looks like you got em' playing favorites. So why shouldn't we? We won't treat you like a prisoner sir.. and hell renting out a room sounds nice." Added Chase as he gaze slightly flicked over Victoria, Victoria's own cheeks reddened slightly.

The two marines then piled into the hog, Chase at the wheel, and waited for the captain to enter. "Also we need instructions to the hotel.. so if you got any marines that know the way. I would appreciate it, sir." Mentioned Chase as he waited for the Captain to take his seat.


Captain Lydia Adelle Morgan

"Mmmmmm.." Added in Lydia, enjoying the play full banter that she had exchanged with the female marine who finally spoke up. Then the couple seemed to go into a small bicker, it was now obvious that they were in a relationship of some sorts.

At around this time, Troy had jogged u to the group and offered the use of their warthog as means of transportation. Good thing too, the three female Naval officers had all but forgotten about the hog and had left Troy to play around with the radio, they were much more interested in directions then him. Of course he was the type of man who hated directions, but he would take them eventually.

"Sounds good to me." The male had responded to the offer with a dashing grin strewn across his face and a tone of happiness. "Shall we?" He asked as he turned to his female counterpart.

"Yeah. Let's load up." Answered the female.

"Lets." Added the otherwise Caitlin Stracose as she made her way toward the trooper carrier toward the back of the hog, Lydia doing the same. Troy got up front, climbing into the drivers seat and turned on the ignition. The hog burst into life as Sarah sat in the passengers seat next to Troy.

"You're the grand navigator now, Captain, Lead the way." The female Marine said to her ODST counterpart.

"Oh, yeah,You'll want to take a right out of the parking complex, ma'am. Go down straight a ways across the next two lights, and then take a left. We should be able to see the hotel from there." Offered the ODST sheepishly as he tried to give directions toward Lydia, so she in turn could give them to troy.

Usually Lydia would of just spoke up and told the ODST to speak up himself and address the driver. She was, though, growing fond of this seemingly happy couple, so she offered the directions to Troy and he punched the gass. The hog entered the street with the rest of the busy traffic, heading the path the male had described to the two.

[Jakob]

Marine Captain James Maddox

Maddox put his feet on the dashboard and leaned back, opening a private com to his lieutenant. He coughed a bit and slide a cigar from his pocket, putting it in his mouth and chewing on it. He slide a lighter out and lit it, the embers of the tip moving through the air and past the warthog. He sighed and pulled it from his mouth, exhaling smoke and speaking into the com.
"Send a message to UNSC high command, an ODST Major is abusing power. Mhmm, yeah, I know, just do it. I swear to god if you start necking her in the middle of no where I will track you down, at least go to a hotel room if you are going to break military etiquette."

He sighed and leaned back, pushing his feet off the dashboard and tucking his feet under. He slid another cigar from his pocket and offered it to the driver.
"Good stuff corporal, costs a hell of a lot to get these this far out so I got it the last time I was on leave to earth. Good times." He bit the cigar lightly while he prepared for the car to move and paused. He then said,
"take me to the closest bar in a ten mile radius, the major has no command over me and I am well prepared to not give a damn if he wants his ODST's to threaten good marines. I will make sure that the admiralty will deal with him.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster

Well now... this was an even more un-expected and unwanted turn of events to happen toward the too. They had traided a night about the town, to ferrying around a smoking and not to mention rude Captain.. but once again orders were orders. "Send a message to UNSC high command, an ODST Major is abusing power. Mhmm, yeah, I know, just do it. I swear to god if you start necking her in the middle of no where I will track you down, at least go to a hotel room if you are going to break military etiquette." The Capain seemed to be talking to one of his underlings, he also seemed to be very displeased toward the showing of personal displays of affection so he would make sure to act completely plutonic to victoria until the Captain was out of sight.

"Yes sir.." Chase answered, not grumbling, yet not realy showing any emotion into his words. He did not plan on being yelled at and called 'gaggle fuck' by some cigar smoking drunkard.

"Good stuff corporal, costs a hell of a lot to get these this far out so I got it the last time I was on leave to earth. Good times." Offered the Captain to Chase, the smoke from the cigar almost made Chase gag.

He was not even a Corporal, just the Private first class spotter who was more acustomed to drving then his superior Lance Corporal Victoria, who sat beside him. "No thank you sir. Don't smoke'." Answered Chase. He did not bother to correct him though, for reasons similer to his lack of emotion.

"Take me to the closest bar in a ten mile radius, the major has no command over me and I am well prepared to not give a damn if he wants his ODST's to threaten good marines. I will make sure that the admiralty will deal with him." Orderd the Captain.

"Yes sir.." Chase replied, after looking around for a short while he had spotted in glowing neon letters, 'The Hilton Grand'. He planned on driving the Captain to the distination he was orderd to go by the previouse ODST, sure that this marine Captain was.. not quite right. He did not bother telling him were they were going though. "..Some local kid pointed me to the nearest bar earlier and I will head there now." Added Chase as he hit the ignition to the hog and started his way down the street.

[Jakob]

Marine Captain James Maddox

Maddox smoked the cigar briskly, when the private denied the cigar he frowned. The kid was obviously uncomfortable and had no idea what it meant to make a good impression. He shook his head, kids like that never survived long in the military.

He turned his head slightly,
"so where you from, son?"

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster

"Earth, sir." Answerd Chase, with a little irony in his voice. Would the Captain mention something about a man from earth not being able to enjoy the fine products the craddle of humanity had to offer. The hog came to a hault when it had reached a stop light. Chase's gloved fingers tapped the steering wheel as he waited for the lights to change.

During all of this, Victoria sat in the passanger seat with an uncomfortable look strewn across her face. It was obviouse that she was trying not to be thrown into a coughing fit by the clouds of smoke that ocassionaly drifted into her air space. This Captain was spending so much time fixated on the only other male marine in the vehical that she was getting rather anoyed, though she managed to hide it with a small sigh as the warthog screeched to a hault.

[Jakob]

Marine Captain James Maddox

"Good man." He said, reminiscing about earth. "You from the US area? I was born and raised in New York, hell of a place to make a man in." He breathed deeply and noticed the female marine pushing away some of the smoke, he tilted his cigar in the other direction to stop it from hitting her in the face and made another puff out of the vehicle, it pushing into the road.

"Sorry if I am irritating you ma'am, you from earth too?"

[Wax™]

Sergeant Jason Bowers

Sergeant Jason Bowers looked around as the Warthog he was in passed a series of surroundings, he spotted a bar next to the Hilton Grand and thought it would not hurt to have a small drink, he looked to the Navy Officer who was about to pull into a parking garage, Bowers tappedhis hand against the dash.

"Could you drop us off there Sir" Jason yelled over the sound of the roaring engine and pointed toward the bar next to the hotel, Jason held onto the roll bar as the Naval Officer pulled over to a side street parking lot, Bowers jumped out and was followed by the rest of his corporals.

"Do you mind if I join you Sergeant?" The Naval Officer asked as he shut down the Warthog.

"You may Sir" The Sergeant gave an informaly two finger salute before proceeding into the bar with his three corporals, the bar was buzzing with activity, Jason took a seat in a booth fit four ten or so people.

"Mind ordering the drinks Speirs?" Jason said and gestured for the man to go, Speirs shook his head with a smirk before going off to get the drinks, once he came back he would have four pintes and four shots of a random spirit.

[Dutch]

By coincidence, Fisher had been in the bar when his CO, Lieutenant Zaborowski walked on in with a slightly less-than sober Sergeant Aborn. The corporal paused to raise his glass of scotch at them before turning back to the business at hand, namely a very attentive and very gorgeous redhead on the bar stool next to him.

Fisher couldn't help a sly smile, having good looks was always helpful in picking up the babes, but dressed in absolutely bad ass armor, the helmet was cradled in his hands, and carrying an awesome looking rifle, he was a magnet for chicks.

"So, you've been in a few fights?" She was trying to sound calm, but Fisher could see her practically quivering with excitement. he kept his cool, rolling his eyes up at the ceiling and answering casually.

"Yeah, I've been in a scrap or two. Three major battles, two against the Covenant, and one against the Innies. Front-line shit none the less, feet-first and the whole nine yards. Here, see this?" He pulled off his thigh plate and unzipped the region to expose a vicious looking scar running along the skin. The redhead gasped in astonishment. Fisher grinned inside, he had her. "Now this little memento is from a Covenant energy sword," he explained, covering back up the wound. "One of those split-heads thought he could get the jump on me, I emptied my whole damn clip into him, still kept chargin.' So, I pulled out my little friend here," He whipped his combat knife out for effect, flashing in elegant patterns through the air. "and dodged his slash, stuck that nasty sonuvabitch right in the neck." He jammed the point into the counter. Her eyes widened as he slid the knife away.

Fisher coolly took another sip of scotch, but he was being sure to not get to drunk. The girl wa putty in his hands, all he needed to to make his final move. But before he could do so, one of the marines who'd been apparently listening in leered over and brought everything down on Fisher.

"Fisher to lying bastard, you got that cut when you tripped and activated that damn sword and fell on it!" He grinned like the Cheshire cat, and the ODST was ready to remove his need for any future dental work with his fist, only to be distracted by movement as the girl sat up, shot him a pissed look, and stormed off. Fisher let out a long and heartfelt string of expletives, then looked around for that damn marine. He was gone, wise man. Fisher swore again, and buried his face in his palm. He proceeded to retreat to the far end of the bar a midst a cloud of cigarette smoke and booze fumes, to nurse his scotch.

An hour later, Fish had cut himself off from any other booze. He was a bit buzzed, but nothing too serious. The lieutenant and the sergeant had both taken off a little while ago, Fisher had watched quietly as a drunken group chased them out to their warthog. He polished off his non-alcoholic beer, paid his tab, and headed off after them, careful to avoid their pursuers.

He just got out into the street when his headset crackled to life about a group of marines taking civilian fire. Fisher hissed out a "Shit" before looking around for a ride. But in doing so, he saw the rather large mob ahead, the mob shouting out "GO HOME UNSC" and engaging in mod-like activities like smashing windows and shit.

Fisher wisely decided that other units nearby would be able to get their faster than him, so he took his time in heading over. He stayed to the sidewalks, skirting the angry people as he headed towards the distress call.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

Once the Lloyds were seated in the back of the 'Hog, the driver took off in the direction Dylan had pointed out. The ODST captain had never actually been to said hotel himself, but he'd studied the maps of the area well enough before landing planetside, just as he was sure Sierra had. When he'd found out for sure that they'd be getting some R&R, he'd tried to scope out a few places he might want to take her out to. Dylan knew his frequent outbursts and bad moods had been putting a strain on things lately, so he'd wanted to make it up to his wife. She'd been patient and understanding with him, and he wanted to show his gratitude by being an attentive husband in return. That's how he knew that in the long run, they'd eventually find a way to get past all this and be okay again.

As Sierra sat beside him, she tried her best to hide her mounting discomfort, brought on by the motion of the Warthog as it raced along the roadway. All her gear was pressing into her old gunshot wounds - the area on her upper chest where two bullets had gone clear through her seven years ago. One piercing round had punctured her right lung, and the other had shattered her collarbone on the same side. She was lucky to have survived that at all. She'd eventually made a full recovery, but the area was still sore to the touch sometimes, and the weight of her equipment often chafed against it on long deployments. It was uncomfortable but she said nothing, knowing that what Dylan had gone through during his time as a POW was a lot worse, and not wanting to draw attention to herself. Unfortunately for her, though, her sudden change in demeanor didn't escape her husband's notice.

Dylan leaned in close and whispered under his breath, "Sierra? You okay?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can tell - "

"Not now."

"All right."

Raising her voice now so that the others in the back of the jeep could hear, Sierra lifted her head up and glanced over at the two Naval officers sitting across from them. Both were superior officers, but she felt obligated to address the Navy captain simply because of her rank. Sierra figured she'd try to strike up a conversation to keep her mind off the dully throbbing pain.

"Sorry, ma'am. I just realized you introduced yourself to us, but we never gave you our names. I'm Captain Sierra Lloyd, company commander for Alpha in the 2nd Marines. And this guy over here - " she continued with a smirk in Dylan's direction, " - is my husband, Captain Dylan Lloyd. He's in charge of a platoon in the ODSTs, as I'm sure you can tell."

The best Dylan could offer as explanation was a small grin himself. "Match made in hell, right? A Helljumper and a regular." He chuckled. "Works for us, though."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster

"Mmmmm.." Chase answered in some sort of reply, earth was a nice place to be when compaired to being cooped up in giant UNSC flying tin cans that ferried them around from planet to planet.

"You from the US area? I was born and raised in New York, hell of a place to make a man in." Asked the captin again, before moving the cigar from Victoria's area, she no longer had to choke on the smoke coming from that thing.

"Actualy yes sir, but a little farther south then that." Chase replied, with a small grin on his face. Atleast he was getting along with the Captain.

"Sorry if I am irritating you ma'am, you from earth too?" Asked the Captain as he faced her, finaly throwing some attention her way.

"No sir, Reach sir. Born and raised on a base near New Alexandria. 'Both parents served in the UNSC Marine Corps." Answered Victoria with a surprising openess, Chase hadn't ever realy asked about were she was from so a blond eyebrow was raised from him. The warthog began to slow as it neared it's destination, a few more hogs could be spotted on the streets that lead to the Hotel itself.

Captain Lydia Adelle Morgan

It had been a short while of driving in silence when the couple began to speak again. It was impossible to over hear what they were saying, though. They were whispering like they were in a hot combat zone. Never-the-less the hog slowed, stuck at an intersection, waiting for civilian cars to pass.

At around this time the Marine spoke up, "Sorry, ma'am. I just realized you introduced yourself to us, but we never gave you our names. I'm Captain Sierra Lloyd, company commander for Alpha in the 2nd Marines. And this guy over here - " The woman flashed a small smile to the ODST before continuing, " - is my husband, Captain Dylan Lloyd. He's in charge of a platoon in the ODSTs, as I'm sure you can tell."

The ODST with a new name, Dylan, finaly spoke after his wife had finished. "Match made in hell, right? A Helljumper and a regular." He then let out a series of small laughs and continues with his reasoning. "Works for us, though."

This seemed to make everyones day as of yet, all the officers in the hog, including Lydia let out some small laughs when Dylan explained. "Well, may I say that it is a pleasure to meet you two." Offered in Lydia with a spry smile strewn across her lips.

"Sierra and Dylan Lloyd the match made in hell, huh?" Butted in Troy as he turned around the face the couple, a grin on his face aswell. "You two must cause hell on the battle field as well... I'm glad your on our side." He added as he turned back to the road, it was finaly their turn to go and he took off down the road, but at a much slower speed.

[Jakob]

Marine Captain James Maddox

Maddox sighed and nibbled on the end of the cigar a bit as the hog slowly came to a stop, the streets were almost deserted everywhere besides the area around the bar. Probably because of the riot that had just started, he tapped the cigar on the side of the car, some tobacco coming out, and pushed it back in his mouth. While it was in there, he carefully moved it so that when he talked it would not topple out onto the ground. That shit was expensive.

"Either of you wish to come in for a drink or something? On the house for giving me a tide, more than happy to." He breathed the air out onto the road outside, the smoke nailing a man in the face who went into a coughing fit as the vehicle passed.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster

The hog continued to travel down the emptying streets, little to no conversation had been passed for a few minutes until the sergeant let out a sigh and spoke again. "Either of you wish to come in for a drink or something? On the house for giving me a tide, more than happy to." He sounded sincere.. if not looking for a little company, he had been decent enough to the two and actualy wanted to know them. Unlike some superior officers they had ment.

"Yeah sure." Victoria and Chase had responded in unison, both feeling a drink would not be bad before they checked into a hotel room for the night.

"Sounds like a plan Captain." Chase had added with a small chuckle as the hog pulled up infront og the 'Hilton Grand' and more exclusivly the Bar area attached to the 'Hilton Grand'. "Looks like we are here." Stated Chase as he and Victoria climbed out of the hog, waiting for the Captain to exit aswell.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

The Warthog continued down the road as the passengers in the vehicle spoke to one another. The Navy captain seemed nice and personable enough, a pleasant surprise given their vast differences in rank. After the riot Sierra had begun to think that this wasn't going to be such a forgiving deployment at all, but some friendly conversation with the Naval officers had brought her mood back up - even though her old wounds were still making themselves felt in the background. Before she or Dylan could say anything more, the driver spoke from his seat up front.

"Sierra and Dylan Lloyd the match made in hell, huh?" the Navy commander said with a grin. "You two must cause hell on the battle field as well... I'm glad your on our side."

Sierra exchanged an amused look with Dylan and then replied, "Yes, sir. We always try our best to wreak havoc against the enemy wherever we go." She thought of Dylan's scars and her own wounds, however, and amended solemnly, "Doesn't mean that the battlefield doesn't screw with us sometimes instead of the other way around, though. But I'm proud of what we do, and I wouldn't change this for the world."

[hollowsaber]

Major Salvatore Foely Task Force 77: Reaper Platoon The streets of Bracknell

Foely smiled and adjusted in his seat to get comfortable. He looked forward, watching the road and cars disappear as the convoy moved. The lights on the buildings were brilliant, it almost made him feel like a little kid reading his first colored book.
"Yea, men like him should just stick to their own groups. Don't know why he yelled at you anyways. I hate it when people just burst in an' think they heard and saw it all. Hell, don't even know where the dude came from. He wasn't in my hogs, and the one you were in was empty. Didn't see another one in the area... Kinda like he just appeared. Either way, if he wants to put a report on you, let him. He'll be talking to ONI."

With a smirked, Foely pulled out a datapad then placed it in Lucy's lap so she wouldn't have to let go of the wheel and reach over to grab it. On it, a 3-D symbol of ONI spun slowly in the middle of the screen. It was locked, but just the picture was enough.

"Welcome to a Task Force that doesn't exist Sergeant." Foely grinned then looked over at Lucy as he spoke clearly for her to hear.

"The hidden blade of the UNSC, composed of the most highly-trained units that humanity could gather. Ranging from the best medical and engineering personnel, to our very own team of SPARTAN-IIs. I only read-up on a little bit of the file I was given, but we've got enough fire-power to wage our own war against humanity and win without even trying. Those ships that are our transports? Listed as scrap. And all of our names have been removed from the actual books. Everything we use has the ONI stamp of approval, and everything we need to get is given high priority." Foely gave a few moment pause to let the words sink in, then looked forward again.

"We're the best of the best, and the Ghosts of the UNSC. No one know we are here besides ONI. This planet's government had no idea we were going to show up until 5 minutes before we docked and started going down those elevators. Right now, I'm technically in command of everything on the ground, but there's another ship coming that has our orders and some other prestige commanders from all over the UNSC. Namely for the ground units so I don't have to hold everything on my shoulders." Foely sighed then looked down at his helmet. When he was told of this, he actually denied the proposal. Though, when they told him he was already considered dead, he had no choice. He wasn't that good of a commander, just got really lucky, but he wouldn't tell his new squad leader that...

"But, it seems like I have to for the time being. ONI said to put us here, on the edge of covenant space, so the ship could catch up. It had a slip-space drive failure when it was getting ready to leave the Sol System. Everyone was fine, but the damned drive shut down the entire ship because some asshole didn't recheck the systems. Now, all of our plans have been setback about a month." Foely poked at his helmet as he looked at his reflection, going through the event that occurred a few days ago when he was told this.

"All I can hope for is that the Covenant don't find us... We're a strike force... Not a global defense force... If they come and attack us... We're most likely going to lose this planet." Foely sighed then looked up at the street, looking around to take in the changes of scenery.

"I pray to whatever god is up there, if they do attack, to give us all the strength to fend the bastards off..." Foely started forward, just looking as he got lost in his memories of war. His mind replayed the fighting he had been through, and the deaths he had seen... All because of stupid mistakes...

[Spartan 999]

First Lieutenant Isin Herald

"Well that's comforting. If we die, no one cares. Wunderbar." Isin said from the backseat, his tone very much sarcastic. "However, if the Covenant do come, I'm still gonna fight until the end. No matter what."

Foley looked back at Isin, an eyebrow raised. Jade eyes gazed out at the Major from the helmet, unwavering and strong.

"First Lieutenant Isin Herald, sir." Isin said, his edge of sarcasm replaced by respect. "Just transferred to Reaper a week ago. Pleasure to meet you, Major. I was also told I would have a new squad put under my command, led by one Gunnery Sergeant Lucy Gray." He looked at the ODST in question, a twinkle coming into his eyes. "I believe that is you, Gunny."

[Soulstep]

Sergeant Andrew Deiran Indigo Squad Sheffield

As the somewhat paniced COM chatter died down, Andrew couldn't help but groan. Lieutenant Zaborowski was getting himself in trouble AGAIN. How had he not been busted down to a desk job by now? "Fucking hell... What's HE doing on this op?"

"Maybe since he knew some of the people in the task force, they had to bring him in to maintain secrecy." Sarah suggested, as the pair of them walked out of the club. The officer's blunder had put them off of doing anything tonight.

Seeing as how, in this town at least, no-one was trying to gun down anyone in a UNSC uniform, Andrew hit the COM to Major Foely. "Major, this is Sergeant Deiran of Indigo squad, all's quiet in Sheffield, sir." It wasn't a particularly necessary report, but he was sure the CO needed SOME good news.

"So, back to the barracks?" Sarah asked him, sighing.

"Looks like it. Maybe grab some sleep before any sort of shit goes down."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Captain Lydia Adelle Morgan

"Yes, sir. We always try our best to wreak havoc against the enemy wherever we go." Commented Sierra with an ammused smile strewn upon her face. "Doesn't mean that the battlefield doesn't screw with us sometimes instead of the other way around, though. But I'm proud of what we do, and I wouldn't change this for the world." Added the female, a bit more solomly this time around.

"Yes.. I understand what you are saying my dear.." Lydia offered up in almost a motherly way, answering the first part of the female's addition. "I'm proud of what you do.. and what I do...." She offered again, not directly referring to the two in general. "Times have certainly changed from when I was a small girl, but there is always a silver lining to every grey storm cloud." She added, finishing her statement. The other three she had originaly came to the surface with stayed quiet, stunned into silence actualy, they had never heard much emotion or story from her. Never would they of thought she would share this around two soldiers.

[Jakob]

Marine Captain James Maddox

Maddox stepped out of the warthog briskly, his age not showing, he walked by the hog and up to the building. His walk was full of life and energy and he was resonating an aura of respect. His cigar sat well in his mouth and its smoke pushed out behind him. He stepped through the large doors to the nice looking bar with the two marines.

He pointed to a bunch of chairs around a glass round table near the back, almost every other seat being filled. He slid down in the seat and the two marines did the same. He stood up for a moment and stomped his foot several times, the marines turned around and looked at the captain, many of them hopped up and stood at attention. Maddox waved them down and shouted.

"For the most hard core mother fucking sons of a bitches that has ever graced the galaxy, the next three rounds of drinks on me!" Every single glass in the building went up and cheers were shouted. Maddox felt several pats on his back and he turned to the waiter. "Get me the finest whiskey you have, get the best quality what ever the hell my two friends here want as well." He slid back into his seat when the bar tender raised his glass in appreciation and briefly turned on his com helmet while the corporal and private ordered.

"Message for me? Oh? Put him through." He paused while he took a puff of his cigar and leaned back, smiling as the messages came through. "Admiral Patterson sir. You son of a bitch, you enjoying your time at my damn house?" He paused for a moment, smiling as he disrespectfully chatted with Admiral Patterson, an old friend of his.

"Oh is that so? Hilarious, fucking hilarious. Shame you could not be with us over here on what ever the hell planet they sent us to." Maddox smiled broadly even more, something foreign to his face. "Oh? You better treat my wife right you bastard, staying in my house is a privilege. Oh yeah, like yours is much better. Oh you have to go? Do not let me wait you my lord." Maddox chuckled and sat back down as the com ended. Looking at the two soldiers when his drink was put down next to him.

[Wax™]

Sergeant Jason Bowers spotted Marine Captain James Maddox as he entered the bar, he smiled as he saw the Marine Captain bought the next three rounds of drinks for everyone, this was bad for his team since they already had their table almost filled with glasses emtied and full, Bowers stood up and waved to Captain Maddox with a small smile.

"Captain Maddox Sir! Come sit over here... We could use some bad-ass company, got room in here for a few more" James sat himself back down and smirked his team cheering over to Maddox before going back to their conversations with other Marines, Bowers watched as Corporal Speirs and Winters had a drinking contest each of them were on their fifth shot and still finishing their first pint, Bowers then turned to his side and watched as Captain Jonathon Michael played around on his data-pad, Bowers only caught a few glimps' of the ONI symbol before the Captain tucked the pad closer to his chest, Bowers shook his head and turned his head left, Clair was asleep on his shoulder, how she could sleep in here one could not know.

Bowers gripped a shot-glass as the waitress brough Captain Maddox's first round around, he clinked it against another fellow marines glass before taking it down, he closed his eyes hard before resting back in his seat and leaning his head slightly against Clairs, his free hand griping hers slightly.

"Saw how you spat in that ODST's face Sir... Very nice... Haha" Bower over at Captain Maddox, the spat in the face comment just a simple figure of speech.

[hollowsaber]

Foely listened to his new Lieutenant and kept his eyes straight towards the road as the man talked, listening and observing as he watched they passed through a massive arch, which seemed to have a collapsable doorthat looked fairly thick, and onto the open highway connecting Bracknell to Glasgow. Foely guessed that the door was put there as a last line of defense if someone attacked. It may have been used when the rebels attacked. Foely hoped they wouldn't ever have to use that door again...

"Just transferred to Reaper a week ago. Pleasure to meet you, Major. I was also told I would have a new squad put under my command, led by one Gunnery Sergeant Lucy Gray."

"Well, if all things go well you two will be seeing a lot of each other. My XO, back towards the rear of the convoy, is in command of my other squads at the moment. So for now, you two and your teams will make up Lunar Squad. You report to my XO if you have any problems, or me if I'm near by, which is usually the case. I will warn you though." Foely looked over at Lucy, then up at Isin.

"Stay away from those Marines. Most of them are bad news besides a couple pals of mine. I'd rather not get ONI telling me to hit you guys upside the head for getting into arguments." Foely looked down at Lucy as she drove.

"I'm probably gonna get buzzed later for you because of earlier but that Captain probably over exaggerated the report anyways. I always get in a few fights here and there, give the guys back home little laughs, but don't do it a lot." Foely sat back into his chair and relaxed.

"Understood?"

[SuperCommando]

CPO SPARTAN-009 (Silas)

111 Tauri System

UNSC Ares, Albert orbit

The question hit Silas like a bullet.

What’s a super soldier supposed to do with his free time…?

He lay silently on the lifting bench contemplating the answer. He was alone in the small gym, offering plenty of quiet solitude with which to help think. The sounds of mechanic power tools could be heard from down the hall where ONI technicians were doing maintenance on his suit of MJOLNIR power armor, providing a sort of rhythmic background noise. He had been laying there in his sweaty workout clothes for some time – it was annoying to think that he, Gold Team leader, couldn’t come up with such a simple decision.

Despite being called Gold “team”, the group of Spartans was a rather loose unit. “Operationally flexible”, was the technical term. Its individuals were diverse and had a wide range of skill sets and specialties, so it was common for members to phase in and out based on both the current mission and possible demand for their abilities elsewhere. Silas himself had been temporarily called away from Gold Team to assist ONI with recon operations prior to the engagement on Lethe, and later provided backup to another group of Spartans during the assault. And on a different occasion prior to that there was Operation BLACKBIRD, but he didn’t want to think about that. Most recently Gold Team had taken on a pair of Covenant Scarab walkers in the Procyon system, after which Silas received transfer orders to the new task force being created. He was informed that more teammates will arrive soon, and that others were delayed in battle and will join up eventually. For now, he was the only Spartan on the ship.

Silas took his time rinsing off under the shower to kill time and think. If he wasn’t on the battlefield, he was in transit between battlefields, which meant he was either in debriefing, cryo, eating, sleeping, or working out. There was never free time for anything else. That’s why now that he had some, he was at a loss for what to do with it. He realized that they were only on this planet until the Task Force had enough time to assemble and then they were off to war, but even so he couldn’t help but feel sitting here doing nothing was a waste of his abilities. This brought him back to the issue at hand… what to do?

There was little to gain by going outside. They were just going to leave soon anyway. But than again, he had already taken a nap, ate an MRE, cleaned a few weapons, and just finished his workout, exhausting his typical options. He didn’t feel like taking another nap, and the techs were busy with his armor, meaning he couldn’t kill time re-inspecting it over and over. Also, Albert was said to have been an Insurrectionist hotspot at one time, and only last week Spartan Blue team conducted an operation that killed a major URF leader. Perhaps if he went down to the planet’s surface, he could think of it as a recon patrol.

So finally it was decided. Outside it is.

Silas slipped into a standard BDU and left the gym, stepping out into a hallway. This particular corridor of the Ares served as Gold Team’s base of operations in the Task Force, it contained everything they needed, including its own armory, gym, crew quarters, maintenance areas, briefing room, and all that. It was a restricted area, locked and off-limits to everybody except the Spartans, ONI, and authorized personnel such as the Captain of course. This way regular servicemen wouldn’t accidently interfere with the Spartans and vice versa.

Silas went down to the armory to suit up. UNSC personnel on the ground were ordered to be fully equipped. It would be somewhat conspicuous if he went running around in public wearing his MJOLNIR, so Silas donned the ODST body armor ONI field agents wore and selected a basic loadout consisting of an M7 SMG, M6C sidearm, and three magazines for each. Even wearing the biggest set he could find, his hulking frame made for a tight, yet not totally uncomfortable fit. In his MJOLNIR, Silas stood seven feet tall. Right now, he was somewhere around six and a half. It might draw some attention, but hopefully seeing big people in military armor wouldn’t be too unbelievable. If nothing else, the ONI patch should keep most people from asking questions.

Finally ready, the incognito Spartan once again entered the corridor. Walking over to a terminal on the wall, Silas hit a key and spoke to the ship’s AI.

“Athena, this is Gold One requesting permission to leave the ship.”

[Spartan 999]

"Yes sir. Completely." Isin said, sounding more sincere than usual. "I just don't fight with Marines anymore; much fewer broken bones that way. And they don't try to sue me afterwards." His tone sobered as he added, "And I believe we have bigger enemies than each other."

Isin fell into deep thought, remembering Rensel, and the reason he had joined the ODST's in the first place. He polarized his visor so no one else could see the anguish behind his eyes. His breath became slightly ragged, which he quickly stifled, hoping no one else had heard. He then contented himself with staring at the blurred countryside, his eyes glazed over, though no one could see.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

"There is always a silver lining to every grey storm cloud," the Navy captain said as she concluded her brief exchange with Sierra.

Dylan had sat in silence while they'd spoken, re-adjusting the weight of the assault rifle slung behind his back and trying to keep his mind off what might occur during the upcoming mission. When he heard those words, though, he quickly reached into a side pocket of his battledress jacket, just beneath his torso armor, and pulled out a photo he had from the last time he and Sierra had been home. A ghost of a smile appeared on the ODST captain's face.

"Yes, ma'am. There is." He flipped the picture over and held it out in front of him so the Navy captain could see. Sierra already knew what it was, because she had a copy of the same image tucked inside her helmet. "These are our two kids back home on Kholo. Grace is three, and Caleb's almost one. My son was born while I was...away, so I only just got to see him for the first time a little while ago."

Dylan wasn't about to tell the Naval officers about his having been a prisoner of the Innies up until recently; it was still too raw of a wound in many ways. But he did reach over to place a hand on Sierra's leg as he spoke next, and she placed her own on top and squeezed. He took strength from that and added quietly, "Everything we do, we do for them."

The Warthog began to slow then as Dylan waited for his superior to respond. He and Sierra glanced up at the same time and noticed the big, bright sign just ahead, informing everyone that they'd now arrived at the Hilton Grand hotel.

[Wax™]

Captain Jonathon 'Ricket' Michael

"Permission Granted Gold One... I will alert the Captain that you are leaving the Ares, if you wish to see him he will be staying at the Hilton Grand in a Deluxe and Executive room on the 92nd floor, room thirteen Gold one" Athena responded with a elegent and femanine voice, she always did give authorized personnel all the details.

Jonathon yawned as he sat with the UNSC Marines in the bar, he had not had a single drink yet he just thought some sort of company would be better of one, really he was quite bored, watching two Marines having a drinking contest was not is sort of thing, he was bored, that was when his data-pad glowed, he raised a brow before he moved around the far side of the booth so he could exit, he straightened out his uniform and stepped outside where it was more quiet, the Naval Officer lifted up the data-pad and tapped the screen, on the screen an ONI symbole rotated around before he tapped it again, Jonathon looked around before tapping the data-pad a few more times entering the password, Jonathon digged into his left pocket and pulled out a ear-peice in which he attached to his right ear to enable contact between him and the UNSCS Ares AI, Athena.

"Captain... Gold One has asked for permission to leave the ship... I have gave him authorization to do so and he may visit you at your room in the Hilton Grand" Jonathon smiled as he saw he would have some company, not just any compant, SPARTAN company, Jonathon tapped around on the Data-pad for a few moments minimizing the files he had up before responding to Athena.

"Thank you Athena... If he is not gone yet could you please -send- him to the Hilton please... I could use the company" Jonathon spoke into the ear-peice as he walked just next door to the Grand Hilton.

"Aye, will do Sir" Athena responded before cutting off.

Jonathon stepped into the hotel and walked up to the receptionish, the woman was wearing rather fancy business clothes and sat down behind a huge wooden desk along with one other woman and a man.

"Excuse me I would like to check in... Room thirteen on the 92nd floor, Capt--" He was cut off by the rather -sharp- and cold voice of the female receptionist.

"One Captain Jonathon... Here is your room-key there is a spare one inside your room and if you wish to keep your items safe there is also a safe in your room... Have a nice stay" Jonathon raised a brow before taking the room key, it was a card, everything was on a card these days, Jonathon looked at it once before he was told to move aside by a waiting businessman, Jonathon stepped up the stair-case just to the side of the reception desk which leaded to the elevators and a nice fancy restaurant, Jonathon pressed a button and waited for a good minute before an elevator came down, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 92nd floor, there were 100 floors.

"Gold One... Before you go, the Captain has requested you to visit him at his room within the Grand Hilton, if you could do so please, he added he could use the company" Athena said to Gold One before cutting off again.

Jonathon reached his floor in the Hilton and counted the rooms till he reached his, sure they had numbers on them but he was just wasting time till his 'company' got here, he reached his door and looked at the right hand side of the door, there was an old style door handle coated in a nice gold, under it was a little cut in the handle where you slid you card in, Jonathon slid his card in and waited a second for a click to be heard, he then pulled down the handle and opened up the door before removing the card and closing it behind him, inside the room there was a small corridor on the left was an open closet where towls and dressing gowns hung and on the right was a shower, Jonathon kept walking till he reached a king size double bed, at the end of the bed was a small gap to walk through then a large flat screen televison hooked into the wall, Jonathon kept walking till he reached a large window, he placed his data-pad on a computer desk overlooking the city before cuping his hands behind his back, waiting for the SPARTAN.

[nex]

Lieutenant Steve 'Crash' Colsten, ONI Section 1

111 Tauri System

UNSC Ares, Albert orbit

"They want me to what?" Spluttered the ONI Lieutenant Steve 'Crash' Colsten, sitting up straight and nearly spilling his incredibly strong coffee over the desk in the process.

"Accompany the SPARTAN to the surface. Keep an eye on him." Said the ONI officer stood opposite him.

"Babysitting a SPARTAN? And they chose me of all peop-?" He bit his tongue, remembering that not everyone had clearance to the entirety of his personnel file.

"Yes. You of all people. Now get ready, you don't have long. Full Combat gear." With that, the officer turned and left the room.

Crash sighed, downed the rest of his coffee and begun to get 'geared up'. In other words, he appraised the more essential of his things that had become strewn all around his room and decided there was only one thing worth taking.

He pulled his TACPAD off charge, and slipped it into a front pocket.
He left his room, into the hallway, and headed towards the nearest Armoury.

The place was empty compared to how the UNSC Mirage prior to Lethe. He called up for some recon armour, and while they fetched some in his side, he filled out the paperwork for the rest of the items. Some C-12, assorted pyrotechnics, a lock picking kit, a M6C sidearm with a spare magazine, and a weapon which wasn't even listed amongst the armoury's official stock.

The technician arrived with his battle suit soon enough. Considering he'd fought the last operation in little more than a glorified flight suit, he considered this a step up. The armour was less bulky than traditional ODST armour, but the flexibility was a better bonus.

He dressed sharply, but avoided putting on the helmet. He watched as the technician made his way through his request, until he reached the last item. He stopped looked up, and recognised the ONI patches blazoned on each shoulder of the armour. He dropped his gaze, and hurried away to a secure part of the armoury that couldn't be seen from the door.

Crash patiently waited, slipping the rest of the gear into the respective parts on his belt and webbing. He finished as the technician returned with a black box bearing an ONI logo on it, and no clues to its content.

Crash held his thumb against a scanned where a lock would be on a briefcase, and a light flashed green as it clarified his identity. Opening it, he withdrew a sleek covenant weapon. Two prongs of that mesmerising purple metal, connected by a single handle. Delicate, yet deadly.The tag inside the box declared it a Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle.

Crash checked the display, and was pleased to see the plasma rifle was fully charged. One of the salvaged spoils of ONI operations. He checked to ensure the safety was engaged, before hooking it into a holster on his belt.

Adding his signature to the forms, he slipped on his recon helmet, and started to look for this SPARTAN, already dreading this next assignment. He'd started to trust the UNSC more now, but the SPARTANS were still non-emotional killing machines to him. And he didn't trust them.

[z]

Lucy eyed the data pad with a raised eyebrow and listened to Foley talk.
"I can imagine it now, The Captain calling in and ONI says that neither of us are in the system."
Lucy gave a chuckle and turned her head slightly to hear her new LT talk before focusing on driving.

"Nice to meet you too LT, I am Lucy, the two annoying asses that look alike are Anders and Alex and that badass lookin' motherfucker with the Sniper Rifle is Jackson. Seems like your stuck with us now,eh?"

Lucy stopped and heard Foley's warning. Giving a clumsy salute, as to make fun of a Marine.

"Sire Yes Sir"

"Won't make any promises though."