Mission 3: A Long Road Ahead

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Captain Lydia Adelle Morgan


The marine man had sat quietly until he was finished, then he did something that was not expected on his part. He reached into his jacket and pulled out what looked like a picture. With a movement to his wifes leg he spoke out, "Yes, ma'am. There is." The man then flipped the picture toward Lydia, the picture was comprised of the two marines sitting infront of her and two small children. "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."

"Ah I see, they look very cute and handsome indeed. I hope you two arn't far away for too long, kids need good parent." She mentioned, not having the best childhood herself. "I have never had any kids of my own, I'm glad atleast some of us are." She added with a small frown, never having a mother-child bond with anyone.

"Everything we do, we do for them." The marine added weakly.

" You are both great people.." She stated, not wanting to leave, but they had arrived at the Hilton Grand, they'd have to go their seperate ways some time. "...Maybe we will run into you two in the lobby tomorrow, but for now, It has been a pleasure to meet you both. If we can't get in touch again on Albert I will be sure to keep up with you both." Finished Lydia, knowing that the two would want to be alone soon. "Have fun." She added before climbing out of the warthog and slowly making their way toward the lobby, the other three followed in suit but the four as a whole walked slowly enough to hear what ever the two soldiers would have to say at their leaving.

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster

"Mmmmm..." Came a sound from Victoria's lips as she thought. The cheering and mumbling above the crowd drowned out most voices, but from across the bar Chase and Victoria both had heard an invitation for the cigar smoking Captain to sit with them. "You should go sir." Offered Victoria, with a small smile of gratitude.

"Thank you for the drinks, sir. But I think we've had enough for the night. Maybe we can have ours tomorrow? Eather way you should go and have fun with your marines, hopefully we run into you again." Stated Chase with some small excitment behind his voice, he was ready to go up stairs and to a room. A room he woud be sharing with Victoria more specificly.

After their words toward the Captain, the pair had gotten up and waited for his words, after he responds they would go up to the front desk in the lobby and rent a room for a single bed. Not being seen until the morning, unless something happened before then.

[Bippwatt]

Sabrina had far too much paperwork to do to be goofing off on the planet. So, she was in her office on the Raven and doing said paper work.

She was, oh, about .3 percent done with her backlog, when Jason walked into her office.

"Ma'am." He stood at attention in front of her desk.

"One second." She read the last few lines of the report and then signed off on it. Then, she set her electronic pen down and leaned back, lacing her hands together and resting them over her stomach.

"Yes, Jason? Is there something you need?"

"Yes, ma'am.", he said with a smile. "I need you to give me the pen, get on your best dress uniform and take the next Skua down to the surface."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She gave a half laugh and then returned her chair to it's upright position. She picked up the pen again and chuckled. "I'll take it under advisement, Commander.", she said in a serious tone, but there was a smile on her face. "I can't promise anything though."

"Ma'am. I would not very much like to have to take the pen out of your hands and have the marines man-handle you into the aforementioned uniform and take you down to the surface as a 'honor guard'." His tone was half ominous, half jesting and she laughed.

"Oh, gods! Not the marines! Ah!" She faked a shudder of terror. "I submit to your 'order', Jason! I relent!"

He smiled then. "Good." He lifted his hand and clicked the radio on. "She agrees. You can stand down, Captain."

"Roger that, Commander."

"Really? You were really going to mutiny just to get my butt out of this chair?"

"Sort of. You need to get off this ship, ma'am. It's killing you. Almost literally. I checked with the Doc. He said you have come in five times in the last two days for headaches and at least twice in the last week for stomach troubles."

She looked at him for a moment. "Perhaps I need to have a talk with him about Doctor/Patient confidentiality."

"Ah, but his oath to the UNSC overrides his Hippocratic Oath. I checked. All UNSC navy, marine, ect, doctors swear a slightly different oath, both for the UNSC and as a doctor. Basically, it allows them to break one oath for the good of the other. In this case, it would be a break of his oath to the UNSC if he did not disclose this information to someone such as myself, for it is obviously causing you...undue distress. And I don't think I need to tell you the whole issue about a ship commander in undue distress?"

"No. You don't. Well, I guess I had better get that dress uniform, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am."

---

Sabrina sighed as she stepped off the Skua and onto the pad. Of course, as with all ship CO's, she had the honor guard send-off. And now, she had the honor guard arrival. Great. Sometimes, she hated pomp and circumstance.

Course, if she hated it, what was she doing in the Navy?

"Honor Guard! Pre-SENT ARMS!"

The twenty marines drew their ceremonial swords and metal chimed on metal as tips touched, to create a sort of...sword tent.

She passed under the swords as the trumpet sounded the annoying music of an arriving ship commander. Oh, she wished she could be blowing the crap out of the Covenant right now.

As she passed each pair of Marines, their swords stroked down and became a collapsed sword tent.

Finally, she reached the Lieutenant at the other end of the Marines. The poor boy looked like he had been up for at least 20 hours and done this at least 20 times in the last half of that time.

Then she thought about how she had thought of him. He was probably at least 25. More likely about 28. And she was 32. He was hardly a "boy".

She stopped directly in front of him and saluted, as was tradition. It got a bit hazy when a ship CO came to the surface, but for the most part, it was okay.

"Permission to leave duty, Lieutenant?", she asked formally. It was a stupid question, since it had been approved by the higher ups...but, hey. The military loves their traditions!

"Permission granted, Commander", he responded as he swung his hand up in a precise salute. After the exchange, they both lowered their hands and the Lieutenant pointed the way to the garage.

Finally, she left the pomp and circumstance behind and began looking for an appropriate vehicle. She almost laughed when she saw the pink Warthog, with sparkles all over the turret, but she contained herself. Someone was gonna be in trouble. Big trouble. She found a basic car, just something that would work and opened the door and slid into it. Keys. Crap. Who knew-

"Really? You people need to get a security clue." She reached for the keys that were already in the ignition and turned them. The car hummed to life and she smiled and closed the door.

Now, to get settled at the hotel. Her neural lace had picked up her destination and plugged it into the car's built in GPS and she smiled.

Now to drive there. "Let's see. Oh, yay. Automatic. I haven't driven a stick in years. Not sure how I would have fared in one." She backed out of the parking space and began to drive toward her destination.

[hollowsaber]

Lieutenant Colonel Julius Dillenger and Captain Shawn Orion Task Force 77: Apocalypse Wing and Scorpion Squadron UNSC Flying Turtle; Just above Planet Albert

“Alrighty.. We are whiskey tango…”

“What?”

“I don’t know… going with the flow…”

“If you keep rhyming, I’m gonna hit you in the head with my boot…”

“Rodger that… Shuttin’ my gap…” Shawn swatted Jitter hard upside the head, causing him to bang into the wall of the cockpit.

“And THAT’S why you wear a seatbelt!”

“THAT’S NOT THE REASON THEY WERE PUT IN HERE!!!” Jitter hollered back, as Shawn simply rose his hands, giving the ‘I don’t know’ gesture.
“Damn you….!” Jitter growled then turned back to his controls.

“Alright, sounds like everyone is buckled in and ready to go. All flights will follow Apocalypse down. They won’t be to quick till we hit atmosphere so everyone keep their eyes on. Once the atmosphere thickens and the four flyboys get some air under their wings, we’ll be heading to ‘Outpost ‘Greece’. It’s just outside of Sheffield. It isn’t big, but it’s where they need most of our supplies. Once we reach Greece, Apocalypse will be linking with Albert’s own Air Defense Force to provide air superiority. Apparently ONI doesn’t really like leaving us to fend for ourselves. Once superiority is established, which will probably take about a minute, all wings are to disperse evenly to each of the three cities, hunker down, and await further orders.

As ONI’s orders, all pelicans will fly with fighter-wingmen, whether they be Sparrows or our lovely Peregrine friends up there. For each bird, everyone will get a wingman when they take off so let the base know when you’re leaving. If you do need help in any situation though, I would suggest calling for our guys to come get you. To tell you the truth, they are the only ones I trust to save my ass next to you all. Our Lieutenant Colonel up there is a lot better than you all may probably think.” Shawn gave a quick salute to the fighter across the hangar where he knew the LT.C was listening.

“You done, Captain? I’d like to see daylight soon…” LT.COL Dillenger sighed from his Peregrine, trying to ignore the flattery which was making him uncomfortable.

“Alright alright. Well, just make sure you guys don’t do anything stupid once we touch down/ Be ready at all times. Never know when somethings going to--”

“WHOA! CAPTAIN!” Jitter hollered, his hands jumping up into the air as if to avoid touching something.
“I didn’t do it!”

“didn’t do wha-…” Shawn unstrapped himself then looked down to the control pannel, which wasn’t how it was supposed to be. The buttons were shorted out, and the screens had all been illuminated a with a dark, orange and yellow color.

“There is no escape…”

“There is no turning back…”

“You all will perish…”

Shawn listened to the universal COM channel as the message shot through the entire squadron. He immediately looked up and saw that an ONI operative that was sitting across the hanger, staring directly at his pelican. Something wasn’t right…

“All birds, take off as planned. You all are to report to your designated locations that have been sent to your pilot’s HUD. Ignore your cargo, and head straight to those points.” The Operatives secretive voice smeered all over the COM, and Shawn growled in his throat at the bastard… What was ONI planning? It’s almost as if they got something hidden up their sleeve or something…

“You heard ‘em! All birds, fire it up! Circle out, and when you’re cleared, head to your designated location. See you all dirt side!”

And with that.. The four Peregrines and their drones shot out from the belly of the massive Transport carrier into the semi-blue upper atmosphere of Albert, disappearing as they charged forward without any wings. Shawn was amazed at their bravery, no one had ever done that before, least that he had seen. Shawn gave a quick pat to Jitter, who regained control of the cockpit, and signaled him to take off. In near unison, the line of pelicans rose from their pads, turned forward, and flew from the hangar openings towards Albert. Shawn was able to catch a glimpse of Apocalypse just before they disappeared…

They plummeted with their engines spinning slowly, diving into the atmosphere. With no lift, they simply disappeared, nose-first, into the clouds below. A few slow moments past before the Pelicans were able to break the clouds. When he was finally able to see, a sigh of relief washed over the Captain as the Peregrines suddenly burned their engines, their tough wings flexing slightly under the stress, then cut upwards above the city of Glasgow. In a small show of supreme pilot-skills, the fighters and their drones had a quick dance over the three cities. Like little suns shining from the core of a small team of ballerinas, their engines blazed through the skies as they broke the speed barriers that the residents below had not seen in a long time; causing a slight outburst from the younger ones that were still sneaking into the later hours.

Shawn rubbed the bridge of his nose and settled into his chair, simply let Jitter fly them where they needed to go… Outpost ‘Alaska’… He had only been in the chair for at most an hour and this place was already getting interesting…

[Wax™]

Captain Michelle 'Letty' Rodriguez
Task Force 77: Apocalypse Wing and Scorpion Squadron
UNSC Flying Turtle; Just above Planet Albert

"We are lean, mean and green for go" Shouted Lietuenant Michael Bennet from the co-pilot/gunner seat in Letty's Pelican.

"Roger that... Checking harnes' " Letty shouted back before walking up and down the back of the Pelican griping the harnes' of each Marine pulling hard against the adjusters to make sure they were all in nice and tight.

"Oh-yeah tighter!" One marine moaned with a smirk as Letty tugged on the mans harnes, Letty put her boot up against his seat and tugged harder on them before setting off in the direction of the cock-pit, she pressed a button on a control button next to the cock-pit's sliding door, the door slid open and Letty stepped in the door closing once she stepped in, Michael had hit the close button on his console.

"Woah... What the---" Michael lifted his hands up and looked down at his controles, Letty had just sat down in the Pilot's seat when all the controles shorted out.

“There is no escape…”

“There is no turning back…”

“You all will perish…”

“All birds, take off as planned. You all are to report to your designated locations that have been sent to your pilot’s HUD. Ignore your cargo, and head straight to those points.” The Operatives secretive voice smeered all over the COM, Letty leaned forward and looked left out the window of her Pelican at the rest of Scorpion Squadron.

"You heard ‘em! All birds, fire it up! Circle out, and when you’re cleared, head to your designated location. See you all dirt side!” Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Captain Shawn Orion's voice over her helmet COM.

Rodriguez nodded to herself before fireing up the Pelican's engines, the huge metal bird growled to life along with the rest of Scorpion Squadron, it took a second before all the engine sound merged into one HUGE growl, Rodriguez lifted up on the joy-stick as the other Pelicans began to move out before pushing the throttle handle in the full-forward positon, she waited till the rest of the Pelicans cleared out of the hanger before doing so, the Pelican then soared out of the metal container, as the Pelican entered zero-gee Rodriguez fliked the joy-stick to the right and did a barrel roll before falling into formation with the rest of Scorpion Squadron.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lieutenant Aspen "Jade" Watts
Task Force 77: Apocalypse Wing and Scorpion Squadron
UNSC Flying Turtle; Atmosphere of Planet Albert

"Mmmmm.. Ready for ground operations.." Aspen muttered into her coms with her usually collected voice, flipping switches and pressing buttons as the two man crew prepared to take off. "Hey Dan... All the Marines strapped up back there?" She called back a few moments later into the trooper bay.

"Yeah there all fine, are you ready to go?" Called up Dan as he took his seat directly behind her.

"Yeah yeah, no down time for us huh? Business as usual I guess." She mentioned before speaking into her comms once more. "This is Zulu 24, ready to take off-"

"The fu-?" Dan mumbled as all of the controls in the pelican began to short out, huds flickering to a dim dark green, yellow-orange, color. Then haunting words echoed out through the coms channel.

“There is no escape…”

“There is no turning back…”

“You all will perish…”

“All birds, take off as planned. You all are to report to your designated locations that have been sent to your pilot’s HUD. Ignore your cargo, and head straight to those points.” Was all that came across the coms after, eather the message was short lived... or someone up-stairs started jamming the communication.

"You all will perish?... What the hell does that mean... What the hell is going on?" Mumbled Dan under his breath as a the cockpit door sealed the now filled with freaking out marines from the flight crew.

"Shut your fu***** mouth Dan, we will find out sooner or later. No sense in worrying our marines back there.... activate your weapons systems just in case though.." Aspen ordered in a calm and clear voice before activating the pelican's thrusters, everything in the pelican had blinked back to normal after the man butted in.

"You heard ‘em! All birds, fire it up! Circle out, and when you’re cleared, head to your designated location. See you all dirt side!” Shouted the Captain ,that Aspen never made important to remember his name, over their coms.

"Got it.. Zulu 24 dusting off!" Aspen shouted over her coms, trying to fill the silent void that now crept among the squadron. A deafening roar filled the hanger as many UNSC craft began to lift into the air. All went quiet when Aspens Pelican entered the blackness of space. After pulling left and right on her flight stick to get her bearings, she formed up with the rest of the squadron, not yet ready to break off to her assigned way point.

[Wax™]

Sergeant Jason Bowers
Task Force 77: DELTA DESTROYERS
Glasgow; Planet Albert

Jason stepped out of the dark light of the pub and into the illuminated light of the street, Corporal Jake Winters and himself looked around before Bowers turned and began to walk down the sidewalk, the two walked side by side winking at each passing girl they saw before they reached a parking lot just a few meters away down from the bar, the stepped into the lot and noted a huge amount of Warthogs that were parked from Marines in the tavern, Bower spointed to one with the large chain gun attached.

"Let's take that one there" Bowers said to Winters before walking over to it, Jason hauled himself into the the drivers side while Winters hauled himself into the passenger side seat.

"Where we heading?" Winters turned to Bowers as he started the Warthog, the large engine roaring into life.

"Not sure... Want to call it a night?"

"Nah... Let's go for a short drive... Should we wait for Speirs and Clair"

"Nope... I would not want to interrupt what ever they are getting up to" Bowers frowned before reversing the Warthog out of it's reversed state and out of the Lot into a lane in the street, Bowers was driving slow, just abit under the speed limit before he was waved by two Girls walking down the sidewalk.

"Here we go" Winters chuckled before turning to Bowers "Pull over will you"

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

Captain Michelle 'Letty' Rodriguez
Task Force 77: Apocalypse Wing and Scorpion Squadron
Planet Albert: Just above Glasgow

Rodriguez cyrcled the area around Glasgow for a good two minutes with the Marines still straped in the back, she banked right and looked out the glass window at the city below, she watched the the area below, she watched the cars below that looked liked ants navigating their way though a maze, she was interrupted though by the voice of a Marine in the back.

"Oi!... You going to take us down already" The Marine Demanded.

"Shut you face before I come back there and bunch your teeth in Marine!"

Rodriguez leveled the pelican and urged the Pelican down furthur into glasgow, her destination was a Landing pad just on the edge of the city, around the landing pad were a few UNSC makeshift buildings (tents) with UNSC Personnel in them, 'Must be one of the few barracks set up' Rodriguez thought to herself, as she got furthur down she began to level the Pelicans thrusters, looking out the sides of the Windows she then pressed a button on he controles to release the rear landings gears, she then gently set her bird down.

"Thank you for flying with UNSC Air-ways... We hope you enjoyed your flight" Rodriguez spoke into the pelicans COM's before hauling herself out the Pilots seat, Michael her co-pilot doing the same before they both exited into the back of the Pelican, outside the Pelican there were a series of UNSC personnel unloading what Cargo they managed to take onboard the Pelican, the marines inside already bailing out and regrouping off the landing pad, Rodriguez dropped herself down in the seat by the Pelicans rear door, Rodriguez dug her hand into the zip pocket of her flight BDU's and pulled out a carton of cigarettes, she pulled one of the thin white cylnders and put it imbatween her lips, she then took out a zip-lighter, she lit her cigarette and took a small drag before putting the carton and lighter back in her pocket, she gripped the cigarette imbatween her index finger and middle finger, taking it out of her mouth before blowing the smoke at Michael who was now sitting across from her.

"Think we can expect some covies any time soon Bennet?"

"No clue Michelle... Not a clue"

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lieutenant Aspen "Jade" Watts
Task Force 77: Apocalypse Wing and Scorpion Squadron
Descent to Bracknell

Aspens Pelican had stayed in formation with venom squad for a little bit longer untill more pelicans began to break off from the formation and head to their designated waypoints. After about two or four pelicans followed suit, she did aswell, "This is Zulu 24 breaking formation, to drop off troopers in Bracknell." Aspen chimed in while puling her flight stick to a slight left and banking downward toward the city of bracknell.

After breaking through the cloud layer Aspen leaned her head back, gazing upward and backward toward her co-pilot Dan. "Hey you doin' alright?" She asked with a tinge of worry in her voice, he had been silent ever since his fretting about the mysterious message.

"Yeah.. I'm fine..." He mumbled, keeping his gaze on the window, the city of bracknell lie below on the dark heavily jungled landscape.

"Beautiful, huh?" She asked, her eyes slightly mezmorized by the dancing lights. The feeling was soon haulted as she eased back on her flight stick, leveling the pelican just above the skyline of Bracknell.

"Definatly.." He started after finally looking away from the window. "...Yo marines, prepair yourselfs for unloading, we are closing in on the LZ." He warned, speaking into the trooper bay intercom now.

"Mmmmmmm.. and here we are in the not so beautiful UNSC encampment.." Aspen added, but only to Dan. She eased up on her thrusters and flipped a red switch, deploying the landing gear. "Touching down in 3...2...1.." She reported into her coms, as the pelican touched down. "Zulu 24 nice and frosty at her LZ." She finished after flipping a switch, opening the bay doors to the pelican and letting the marines out.

A small sigh rumbled past her lips as she stood from her seat, taking off her helmet and setting it down on her seat. In only a few moments she could be found sitting outside of her pelican waiting for her next orders. "Are you doing alright Aspen?" Dan asked, as he took his seat next to her.

"Yeah, just a bit home sick." She admitted, turning her eyes up to gaze toward the stars.

Captain Lydia Adelle Morgan
Hilton Grand

" I'm going to miss those two, they were a nice couple." Troy commented as the four made their way into the hotel bar. They were already hopelessly awake to get any sort of rest so they just decided to go see what company they could find at the bar.

"I will too.." Lydia added, she had truely enjoyed the two's company and would be deeply saddened if anything happened to them. She would have to arrange a 21 gun salute for the two if anything happaned. God knows how long they all had left, who knoes when ONI, the UNSC, or who the hell else would send them off to the next big battle. She had no idea why they were all positioned here in the first place, there would be no strategic value to defend anywhere near here and why would they be defending this planet from the covenant? There was nothing of value on it besides citizens. So was this only a stationary place before they were moved to somewhere else?

Lydia soon found her thoughts inturuped as another couple passed the four, a young red headed woman and a young blond headed man with a large grin on his face. Both of them were UNSC, sniper team by the look of it, but even if she tried to regain her thoughts they would be inturupted by the drunken shouting of obnoxious marines.

"So can we have anything to drink?" Asked Troy, with a quizical look.

"No... mingle.. but if I catch you drinking there will be hell to pay." Lydia answered, a hung over bridge crewman was as good as a dead crewman. They were expected t be on their toes even though they were on some sort of leave.

[z]

Lucy pulled up at the hotel and turned off the hog, taking off her helmet.
"Damn these things get hot after awhile..." She said leaning back in her seat.

Jackson, Anders, and Alex all stood and stepped out of the back of the hog. "Comeo= on, boss I would like a drink." Alex said.
Lucy stretched and got out of the hog, looking back and saluting Foley before heading in and giving a yawn, looking around for where her team went quietly, noticing them in the back of the bar she jogged over and slid into the booth next to Jackson.

As the waitress came Lucy gave a slight smile and said: "Round on me, for me an my team here."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Captain Lydia Adelle Morgan
Hilton Grand

Lydia had barely been able to sit down an enjoy a chat with a friendly ensign from another ship before she received an urgent call over her small head set. "Captain? Captain?" Came Guine's urgent voice over the ear piece.

"What is it?" Asked Lydia, she couldn't help not being able to hide the tiredness in her voice, she hadn't even gotten to take a nap in a hotel room yet.

"We've received an urgent transmission from Fort Greely.... They are on red alert and preparing themselves for attack.. I have reason to believe it is of covenant origin due to the reports in the area. They've requested our assistance an-" Guine attempted to continue but was cut off by Lydia's now urgent and rushed voice.

"Christ, the Hilton Grand is closer to a makeshift landing pad then the orbital elevators. Send one of our pelican transports to the nearest LZ and then send the coordinates to Troys Data Pad. WE will be up as soon as possible." Ordered the Captain, not caring who heard her as she spoke loud enough to gather the three members of her bridge crew that accompanied her to the hotel.

A single green warthogs engines fired outside of the bar and sped off in a screech of rubber on pavement. Had she just stayed to do paper work she might of been able to respond faster, but this was all she could do for now. After a few moments of tensed driving they reached the tarmac and boarded the pelican that had been sent for them. A few more minutes had passed and they found themselves docking in the hanger of the UNSCS Fire Tear. The four had rushed from the pelican as soon as it landed and boarded a service elevator heading straight toward the bridge. "Guine waist no more time, jump into slip space immediately, do not respond to Fort Greely's distress call, the covenant might catch it and know help is coming." Ordered Lydia a few moments before barging onto the bridge.

"Shall we tell the others were we are going?" Asked Guine, her voice echoing through the bridge.

"If we must." Replied Lydia, the whirring of the ships slip space drive sounded, alerting the crew slip space jump was imminent and to prepare.

"This is the UNSCS Fire Tear breaking formation to aid the fleet stationed at Fort Greely..." Began Guine before her voice was lost over local coms. Within a few moments the UNSCS Fire Tear was gone, jumping into slip space as the last of Guine's words sounded through the comms.

'So much for a nap in the hotel..' Though Lydia as she stumbled over toward her captains chair, sitting down and taking a quick rest.

"ETA to Fort Greely, forty-five minutes and counting. All stations prepare for battle, Dragon Claws prep for flight." Guine spoke out calmly and clearly, her voice resonating along the hull of the entire ship.

[Wax™]

Captain Jonathon 'Ricket' Michaels

Jonathon was still waiting for the SPARTAN-II in his room when he heard a voice coming from his ear peace, it was -his- AI Athena.

"Captain... We have received a transmission from fort Greely, they have entered red alert status and are preparing for an attack... I assume it is the Covenant Captain, judging by Covenant space movements and reports of the last month" Athenas voice was very calm, though you could hear she was panicing she was one of the very smart cloned from humans.

"Jesus Christ... Athena I want a Pelican down on the tarmack as soon as possibe, tell Ensign Hendricks to prepare the ship for slip space and align it towards Fort Greely" Jonathon picked up his data pad and shoved it in one of the large pockets in his pants, he then practically ran out the room and down the hall to the elevator, while inside the elevator he was almost jumping up and down 'Hurry up, Hurry up!' he thought, there it was, his Warthog just outside where he left it, he stormed down the steps from the elevator and rushed out of the glass rotating doors, almost breaking them, once inside he engaged the Warthog's starting mechanism and the beast roared to life, he then stormed towards the tarmack, boarding the Pelican he called down, and flew it right to one of the many of the UNSCS Ares hangers, once inside the ship Jonathon boarded the central elevator and rode it straight up to the top corridors before rushing out and into the bridge.

"Sir!" Executive Officer Tahlee saluted before nodding.

"I heard the news... Are we going?"

"Are we in place for the jump?"

"Yes Sir..."

"Then we are going Lieutenant Commander... Find your seat"

Jonathon sat down in his seat and pressed the button to activate the COM's system for FLEETCOM.

"This is the UNSCS Ares we are breaking formation to aid the fleet stationed at Fort Greely... Over" As soons as he finished that sentance the UNSCS Ares was gone, she had jumped into slipspace, Jonathon then tapped into the Ares' SHIPWIDE COM's.

"This is the Captain... All Longsword pilot's and squadrons prepare for your birds... All hands to battle stations, we are on on priority bravo"

"ETA to Fort Greely, forty-five minutes and counting Sir" Lieutenant Kelly's voice sounded off.

[z]

Lucy chugged down another bottle, while Anders did the same. Before Anders was even done he stopped, swallowed, and fell out of his chair.
Lucy, still sitting in her seat, and still obviously not drunk leaned back on Jackson. Whom would childishly elbow her every now and then.

Alex had already lost a drink off, and was face down on the table, and Jackson was smart enough NOT to drink with Lucy.
"Alright Jack you get the extra lightweight i get the lightweight." Lucy said, standing in the booth and stepping over Jackson. She threw Alex's hand over her shoulder and lifted him up, carrying both him and both his and her helmets while Jackson got Anders and they moved out of the bar to the hotel desk.
The man directed them to where they would be allowed to stay at for the night, Jackson thanked and tipped him(with two credits) before the two sober ODSTs dragged their drunk friends to the Elevator and went up to the second floor.

Lucy moved down the hallway to room 0045 and threw Alex onto the bed inside, startled Alex shot awake only to fall off his bed. Jackson laughed, without saying any real words as normally, and set Anders down in the recliner in the far corner. Lucy looked back and forth.
"There's two beds here, and a third in the other room with the windows..." She said, pointing over her shoulder at the door leading into a third room. "There ain't enough for all of us..."

Anders climbed back up on to the bed and laughed, his arms spread as he said "You can sleep with me in there boss!" Lucy raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head. "Try it, see what you loose first..."
She stretched out, making her back pop the dor was still open, Lucy left it that way before claiming the room with the windows. She walked over to the dresser and removed both of her rifles from her back and set them down, along with her helmet before she clicked on the news channel and laid down, still in her body armor as she waited for something interesting.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

Although the Navy captain and some of her supporting officers followed them into the lobby, once Dylan and Sierra had dismounted from the Warthog, they said their goodbyes to them and went their separate ways. Having had only the one mug of beer, Dylan was ready for another, especially after having witnessed the riot. That could have gotten much worse very quickly.

The ODST captain looked over at his wife once they'd surveyed the lobby area. "What do you think? One more drink?"

Sierra shrugged. "Sure, why not. I didn't get to finish my beer at the pub earlier because of the riot. Wasn't too into it before, but I'm ready for a brew now."

With helmets in hand they weaved their way through tables and groups of buzzed Marines. Sierra spotted quite a few Helljumpers as well, noting that Dylan seemed to zero in on their presence almost instinctively. He knew when his own were around.

"Anyone you know?" Sierra asked him as they were waiting for their drinks at the bar.

The other Lloyd shook his head. "Recognize a couple faces from the riot, but otherwise no one I've been introduced to." He sighed. "Either way, doesn't matter. They're my brothers and sisters through hell. We're the only ones who know what we experience."

Their beers were set out a few moments later, and Dylan and Sierra had to do the dodge-and-weave again to find somewhere to sit. Seemed like most of the task force had decided this was the place to be tonight. That was fine with Sierra, since she knew she'd be getting some time alone with Dylan a little later, but she also knew he didn't particularly appreciate all the noise and hoopla. It just wasn't his thing anymore.

Sensing her husband's discomfort, Sierra nudged his boot with her own under the table as soon as they'd finished their drinks. "Ready to head up?"

Dylan quickly drained the last of his beer and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go see about getting a room."

[Spartan 999]

First Lieutenant Isin Herald

Isin walked aimlessly around the hotel, having left Reinmar's squad back at the bar. His gear clicked almost silently as he stepped around another bend in the corridor. Pretty soon, he was going to finish his...ninth lap? It didn't matter much, as he knew he wouldn't be sleeping tonight. To many ideas and thoughts were beating against the inside of his head.

He sighed, stopping at what looked like a perfectly empty part of the hotel. Not as many lights here, and no people walking around. Isin pulled some furniture aside to give himself some room. He set his gear down, the grey-black helmet being the last to go; it revealed a face that was scarred, but not unhandsome, and seemed to be prematurely aged. His emerald eyes, however, were by far the most expressive part of his face. They had known every single emotion, but sadness and a burning fire were most prevelant.

Isin stretched, loosing up all of his joints. He then flowed into a series of stances, designed to focus and sharpen reflexes. With a silent whirl, he started the excercise. It was a mix of old Earth martial arts, designed to fit what Isin need at the moment. He lost himself in the flow of the moves, trying to let serenity take over.

Many minutes into the excercise, Isin was surprised when a man followed closely by a woman entered Isin's part of the corridor, but wasn't as surprised as the man when a stray fist floored him from behind a bend.

Isin pulled out of his pseudo-trance, and turned to see Captain Dylan Lloyd on the floor, Captain Sierra Lloyd behind her prone husband.

"Sorry about that, didn't realize anyone was walking around here." Isin said, holding out a hand for Dylan to pull himself up with.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

The first thought that went through Sierra's mind when the ODST lieutenant collided with her husband was Damage control. Dylan wasn't a particularly big guy, but he wasn't small either, so she knew he could absorb the hit pretty well physically. Yet it didn't take much to get Dylan's temper to flare, and getting thrown flat on the ground by an unexpected hit - accidental or not - would have him seeing red in an instant. She knew that as she moved to help him up, but he waved her off angrily while still on the floor of the room.

Great, she thought, hooking a thumb under the sling of her shouldered weapon while she backed up. And here I was thinking we'd have an uneventful rest of the evening for once.

Turning her attention back to the scene, she saw the as-of-yet-unnamed first lieutenant reach out to Dylan, too, to help him off the ground. Dylan's initial reaction was to shoot him a glare despite the other man's hastily uttered apology.

"That's sir to you, you little prick - " Dylan began, but then he noticed the patch on the first lieutenant's uniform. He was a fellow Helljumper - and not only that, but Special Ops. Dylan took in a deep breath and found his anger start to subside. He stared at his subordinate's outstretched hand for a moment longer, then took it. Standing a few paces away, Sierra let out a discreet sigh of relief.

"Thanks, man," Dylan said to the lieutenant once he was back on his feet, slapping him hard once on the back. "You've got a mean fist, bro, but don't worry about it." The regular Helljumper captain lightly touched his jaw. "That was good. I can see why you're among the SpecOps types. You been doing martial arts a long time, I take it?"

[Spartan 999]

First Lieutenant Isin Herald

[/center]

"Yeah, I've been doing it for around ten years. Sir." Isin replied, a glint coming into his eyes at the last word. His eyes darkened as he continued. "Unfortunately, martial arts aren't as good when one's enemy is a three meter tall alien with energy shields." He jerked his head back at the Battle Rifle that was set next to his gear. "But that's why we have those."

After a brief pause, Isin held out his hand again. "I'm First Lieutenant Isin Herald, by the way. Reaper platoon."

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

Again, Dylan accepted the man's outstretched hand and shook it this time. "Captain Dylan Lloyd, ODSTs. Although I'm sure you already gathered that." He flipped a quick thumb in Sierra's direction. She was still hanging back a little, arms folded across her chest now as she watched the scene unfold. "And this is my lovely wife, Sierra. Also a captain." Dylan leaned in a little closer then and added in a mock whisper, "We don't like to talk about it, but she's a regular."

He heard Sierra immediately give a snort behind him. "I heard that."

Dylan's face broke into a small grin. "Anyway. Ten years' worth of martial arts training, huh? That's gotta be worth something, even against the split-jaws. If nothing else, it should at least count for agility and conditioning."

Lloyd remembered his own hand-to-hand combat training in both the Corps and the ODST outfit. A different fighting style, but similar in the sense that you went at it with your bare hands. What he'd learned in practice wasn't the same as what he'd learned in the field, however. With a sudden shiver Dylan recalled the night he'd escaped from his Innie captors just a short time ago. He'd been their prisoner for so long - they'd tortured him for so long - that he'd had no remorse when he'd had to use his combat knife on several of his captors to escape. The cheery disposition reflected on his face quickly dissipated then, and he looked back at the lieutenant, hoping he'd say something to make the memory recede. What he saw instead in the expression of the Helljumper standing before him was someone else who was also harboring some sort of tortured past.

Dylan didn't say anything in regards to his observation. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about the prison to anyone; it had been hard enough trying to explain some things to Sierra, and he hadn't even told her the whole story out of a want to protect her from it. She was a tough cookie, but when it came to things like him getting hurt, he knew she wouldn't take it nearly as well. Lloyd had no doubt the man in front of him probably felt the same in regards to his own past troubles, so Dylan refrained from any mention of what he'd noticed.

Out of sight, out of mind, Dylan thought. Just try to forget the whole thing ever happened. Except you can't.

[Spartan 999]

First Lieutenant Isin Herald

Isin's eyes hardened when Captain Dylan introduced his wife. Isin shook hands with Sierra briefly.

"Pleasure to meet ya." Isin said, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice; he didn't succeed in the least. "I'm sure he's a lucky guy to have you." He added, managing to get a touch of sincerity in his words at least.

After Dylan's mentioned martial arts again, he fell into a kind of reverie...the kind Isin had fallen into many times before. A short, but uneasy silence followed, broken when Isin coughed weakly.

"So, uh...you have any other family?" Isin said, sliently cursing himself for that particular change in subject; it was probably a remnant of his days as an actual decent conversationalist.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

Sierra shook hands with the ODST first lieutenant who'd bumped into Dylan. He seemed genuine enough with his words, but he looked uneasy and upset. She wondered if maybe he was unhappy with something about the current deployment, or perhaps the riot. Either way, the tense moment didn't last too long.

"So, uh...you have any other family?" the Special Ops Helljumper asked.

Sierra was ready with a reply when her datapad buzzed. It was Lieutenant James. She had to take this. "Excuse me," she said to the lieutenant. "My XO is calling with a report on my Marines."

With that, she stepped away for a minute to better listen in on the call, leaving Dylan to answer Herald's question.

"We've got two little kids back home. A girl and a boy," he replied. "They're staying with my parents while we're gone. What about you, Lieutenant?"

[z]

Lucy couldn't take sitting in her room anymore she stood, shut off the new feed, and put on her helmet. She didn't want to run about with her shotgun and assault rifle at the moment so she walked into the main room and looked over at Jackson, she didn't even have to say anything, Jackson opened a case he had on his back and opened it.

Inside was four side arm B9s for the four of them.

Jackson threw one across the room to her, she caught it by the handle and walked over, picking out two clips, loading one into it, and the other went into her belt before heading out into the hallway. B9 at her hip she moved slowly down the hallway, seeing nothing on her radio she pulled it off and held it under her arm as she moved through he hallway. However, she did notice that her LT was near-by.

------
Lucy moved through the halls aimlessly until she came to Isin.
"Hello Isin..." Lucy said walking down the hall behind him with her usual emotionless expression.

She stopped about a foot and a half away from him.
"Who might these two be? She didn't feel like being yelled at by another "Higher ranked" officer... Next one who yelled at her would get her usual reaction. Either a yell, or a punch to the nose...
She looked over to her LT and shook her head.

"Name's Lucy, Task Force 77.... Lunar Squad." She said, not bothering to extend a hand, or wave she simply stood there with her arms crossed.
"Isin, if your up to it my Squad wouldn't mind getting to know our new LT..."

[hollowsaber]

Major Salvatore Foely Task Force 77: Reaper Platoon Glasgow

Foely and the rest of Reaper stayed put as Isin and Lucy moved out into the hotel. His tablet had flashed and new orders were sent just a little after they left. Foely had read them over, and ONI meant business. This one came from the top... and he certainly didn't have a choice. There would be no R&R for Reaper once again...

"FURROW!" Foely hollered to the convoy behind him, and out of the back of the first truck, the young Corporal stuck his head out.
"GET UP HERE!"

"SIS YES SIR!" The Trooper hopped out of the back and double-timed it up next to the Major's warthog. He gave a quick salute after fumbling with his sniper rifle for a moment. Foely smiled at the kid and returned the salute.
"Drive me. We've gotta move."

"Yes sir!" Furrow jumped into the driver seat and fired up the already warm vehicle.

"Lieutenant Isin, take care of Sergeant Lucy and her team. We've got some business to take care of with the General. You are all free to do what you need so don't wait for us if shit suddenly hits the fan." Foely chuckled to himself then cut the COM channel, turning it to only static as no one else was on it beside Isin and his group.

"Alright Furrow, punch it. Reaper Platoon is O-M to ONI office in Glasgow's Sector 19."

"W-wait... what? Where's that?" Foely showed the tablet to the Corporal and the directions made the young soldier gulp hard.
"O-oh... Y-y-yes s-sir..." The Corporal's face turned pale, and Foely could see it from the kid's movements.

"Quit it. Drive. Slow and steady. I don't want to go as much as you." Foely sat back in his chair and sighed.

The warthog and trucks revved to life once more, then slowly turned off into the street. Moments passed before they disappeared... leaving Glasgow and heading out into the forests down an old dirt and mud path.

[Spartan 999]

First Lieutenant Isin Herald

Isin mentally smacked himself on the back of the head (Think Gibbs on NCIS), because he knew what had to be coming.

"What about you, Lieutenant?" Dylan asked, head cocked to the side slightly.

"No. Not anymore. Not for a long time." Isin said, his voice going a little weak. "I--"

Then Lucy came in. "...if you're up to it, my squad wouldn't mind getting to know our new LT..."

Isin snapped. He was having enough trouble reliving what happened on Rensel, but Lucy's barging in didn't do anything for his anger.

"What the hell am I supposed to say?!" Isin bellowed, seeming to view himself from the third person "That when Rensel was glassed, I got the privelage to see my wife and daughter ripped apart by Elites and Jackals?! That I was a pacifist before those Covenant bastards came?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, GUNNY?!"

Isin had his face an inch away from Lucy, her eyes wide as early 21st century dinner plates. Isin slowly walked to the side, clenched fists white and shaking. He hadn't been like this since the months after Rensel, and was ashamed for letting Lucy and the Captains Lloyd to see him like this. Just then, a beeping came from his comm. Isin walked over to his gear and popped his helmet on.

"Lieutenant Isin, take care of Sergeant Lucy and her team. We've got some business to take care of with the General. You are all free to do what you need so don't wait for us if doo-doo suddenly hits the fan." Major Foely said.

"Yes sir. Will do." Isin said, managing to sound crisp and buisness like before Foely cut the channel. He pulled off the helmet, setting it next to his gear again. He turned back to face the three other people staring at him.

"I'm...sorry, Gunny." Isin finally said, eyelids blinking rapidly. "I shouldn't have gone off like that, especially since you didn't know any better." He looked over to the Captains, swallowing hard. Isin opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He sighed instead, letting his hands unclench slowly.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

Sierra had just finished up her call to Lieutenant James, relieved that he'd reported all was well with her troops. The Marines were enjoying themselves at the bars and locales of the downtown strip here in Glasgow, he'd said, but otherwise were sticking pretty closely to her order of two drinks only, and not causing too much trouble. Of course, as soon as she got the good news, she'd walked back up to Dylan and the other ODST to find the situation had soured. Fast.

There was a newcomer standing with them now as well, a gunnery sergeant that looked to be from the same Special Ops ODST unit as the first lieutenant. She gruffly introduced herself, but didn't seem interested in starting up any sort of conversation. Still, Dylan and Sierra were courteous and introduced themselves in return.

But what surprised Sierra the most was when she heard Dylan ask the lieutenant if he had any family - and that seemed to set him off.

I knew he was upset about something, she thought.

His outburst wasn't much different than the ones Dylan had had since his escape from the Innies. Sierra knew then for sure that the lieutenant had gone through something just as terrible, if not worse. He was currently taking it out on the gunnery sergeant who'd just showed up.

"What the hell am I supposed to say?!" Lieutenant Herald suddenly roared. "That when Rensel was glassed, I got the privelage to see my wife and daughter ripped apart by Elites and Jackals?! That I was a pacifist before those Covenant bastards came?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, GUNNY?!"

Sierra and Dylan were both taken aback, and the Marine captain let out a small, involuntary gasp. The man had lost his whole family to the Covenant. Worse, he'd watched it happen. Sierra's grip on her weapon strap tightened as she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to imagine what that would be like - what that would do to a person. She knew if anything ever happened to Dylan, or to their kids...she swallowed. It was too horrendous to think about. She'd been through a taste of that already when she'd gone through nearly the entire year of Dylan's captivity thinking he was dead. She'd been to his memorial service and had visited his empty grave countless times, wishing that somehow he'd come back, but knowing deep down that he wouldn't.

Except a few months ago, he had. She'd found out he'd been alive the whole time, but that he'd been a POW and that that had changed him in a lot of ways. Still, she'd gotten lucky. The ODST lieutenant's family was never going to return like Dylan had.

Lost in her thoughts and with her expression set to a hard neutral to keep the pain from resurfacing, Sierra didn't notice much of anything going on around her until she felt Dylan gently squeeze her shoulder.

"Hey. You okay?"

Slowly, she nodded. "I'm fine. That was just...a lot to take in. I feel so sorry for him. If anything like that ever happened to you, or to Caleb or Grace - "

"Don't worry about it. We're all still here." He let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "I just wish I hadn't put my foot in my mouth just now. I had no idea."

"What did you say?"

"He asked if we had any other family, so I told him about the kids. Then I asked him the same."

Sierra ran a hand over her face. "Christ."

"Yeah. If I'd known, I wouldn't've - "

The ODST lieutenant suddenly turned back again to Dylan, Sierra, and the other Helljumper from his unit. He seemed visibly shaken and apologetic as he said he was sorry to the gunny. When he looked at the rest of them, he seemed to regret what he'd done.

Sierra could see him struggling with what he wanted to say, so she spoke instead. "You're very brave to keep doing what you're doing after something like that, Lieutenant. And your reaction is understandable." She let out a sigh. "I honestly don't know if I'd be nearly as put together as you if I'd had to go through that."

[Spartan 999]

First Lieutenant Isin Herald

[/center]

Isin's teeth unclenched as he looked at Sierra, his expression going softer as she spoke.

"Thank you." He said, his breathing slowing down considerably. "That...means a lot. I might actually be teary-eyed if I hadn't lost that ability several years ago. Thank you again, Sierra. I do appreciate your concern."

Isin wanted to say more, but his mind had gone oddly blank. Hw swallowed again, then sat on a chair slowly, cupping his chin in his hands.

[z]

Lucy's fists tightened at Isin yelling and her teeth clenched... She wanted to break his jaw at this point but she did not feel like being reported so she loosened her grip and took a few deep breaths.

Speaking calmly, "Before you go frack yellin' some more Isin i would LOVE to tel you: "Ya' AIN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO'S LOST SOMEONE IN THIS WAR... So screw you fucking too..." Lucy's hand went over the picture of her family in her belt as she turned and left down the hall, lifting her hand a middle finger shot up in Isin's direction as she opened the holographic picture in her hands.

She flipped through the small collection she had until she came to one of her father and younger brother in marine armor, Battle Rifles aimed at the sky with a smile.
Lucy closed it again and put her helmet on, switching to TEAMCOM.

"We got another Asshole as our LT boys... Get ready for a long year..."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lieutenant Aspen "Jade" Watts
LT outside of Bracknell
Waiting for orders

A small sigh escaped her lips as she watched the night lights flicker against blackness. The humidity of the jungle planet was enough to get her skin crawling, but the night brought in a certain coolness that matched her personality. It relaxed her. "Quite a night." Dan mentioned as the two sat on the pavement beside their Pelican.

"That it has been." Agreed the female pilot, after seeing the unsettling sight of panicy Naval officers rushing into a pelican that blasted into orbit, she knew somthing was weird. "Something is defenantly up.." She added, remebering the transmission that blazed through her pelicans comms channel.

"Well not much to do around here.. wanna play war?" Dan asked, pulling out an old deck of cards and setting them on the ground between them.

"Sure." She answerd as several UNSC engineers began to survey her pelican for any atmospheric damage and refuel it.

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster
Hilton Grand 5th Floor

Victoria watched the street below, dressed in her combat fatigues, from the balcony of the room she and Chase had rented. The traffic seemed to dissapear as the street became clutered with UNSC warthogs and other army vehicals parking and going. A certain warthog barreling down the road shocked her slightly, but she brushed it off. It must have been a medical emergency involving a drunk getting injured in a bar fight. For a long time she had known that drunken marines equals broken and bloodied noses.

Why must humanity fight one another with the ever looming presence of an alien superpower breathing down their neck? She thought before stepping from the balcony and back into the hotel room as Chase called her, gently shutting the door behind her.

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

Dylan and Sierra left the small wing of the lobby area where the two Special Ops ODSTs seemed to be continuing to hammer out their issues. Sierra wondered why there was any "discussion" going on at all; if one of her own Marines had spoken to her like that, they'd be getting a harsh reprimand and a one-way ticket to a court martial hearing, no questions asked. She knew Dylan wouldn't tolerate it from any of his Helljumpers, either.

In the end, though, both captains had seemed to come to the mutual decision that it wasn't their fight to take up. The ODSTs in question were technically within a separate chain of command anyway - they could handle their own affairs.

For the Lloyds, the supposed evening off had already gotten eventful enough. It was finally time to head up to their room where they could relax and have some quiet time alone, hopefully without interruptions from any external sources, although both would be keeping an ear out for any incoming messages from their respective XOs. Sierra walked with Dylan over to the check-in desk, where they were issued a room key. A quick elevator ride a few floors up came next.

The first thing Sierra did when Dylan finally opened the door to their hotel room was dump her gear into a corner and flop into the single overstuffed chair by the desk. She pulled her BR55 off her shoulder and placed it by the wall on her side of the bed, then pulled off her boots and battledress jacket and took a moment to soak in the calm and quiet. She closed her eyes and heard Dylan putting some of his own stuff down on the other side. A moment later the Marine captain let out a contented sigh as Dylan came up behind her and started massaging her shoulders.

"You know, this was more what I had in mind when I was told we'd be getting some R&R," Sierra said with a slight smile as she leaned back against him. "Not the riot, not personal horror stories, not so much damn stuff to worry about. Just this."

[Dutch]

A lifetime of training. Hours and hours of learning, practicing, refining, and utilizing life-embedded skills. And now, now all of it was toppled by free time.

A rec room to be exact, a rec room in Bracknell, where ONI'd set up shop. And, being such a valuable asset, Victor was dragged along with. So there he sat, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, military issue of course. Nothing to do in the whole bloody world.

Silas was still stationed on the Ares, and it sounded like they'd sped off somewhere to do something important. So now Victor 126, SPARTAN II of the UNSC, was all alone. And damn bored too.

He'd tried watching some movies, but action flicks were drab and dull after boarding a Covenant carrier and gunning down scores of troops in brutally close CQC. He'd tried comedies, but he didn't get most of the humor. Naturally, soaps and romance's were off the table all together.

So Victor reading, but the same problems with films had also applied to him. Really the best option would be to get drunk, but apparently ONI wasn't too keen on letting an augmented one-of-a-kind super soldier anywhere near the booze.

So Victor had exercised. He ran laps and did pull-ups and sit-ups until he was tired, no easy feat, and then had a meal. He took apart an MA5 and resembled it, all the while cursing ONI for so utterly fucking his life up, and repeated this five times.

Now he didn't know what to do. He stared at the ceiling, clutching the wooden arms of his chair. Here he was on his time-off, and he could barely wait to get back into the fight. Standing up, he began to pace around the room again, hands clasped behind his back. He let out a pissed-off sigh and made up his mind, heading down to the firing range once again. Shooting targets was no fun, but he could mentally tape faces of various ONI spooks to it, and Dr. Halsey's as well. Might not be much, but better than nothing.

[Wax™]

Special Ops ODST Dean 'Coxy' Cox

Albert's Surface: Reaper Squad

Private Dean Cox a Special Ops ODST Fresh off the board and without any covenant battle experience walked the streets of Glasgow with a letter in one hand while the other hand clutched the strap of his ruck sack, he stopped for directions and advice within the city about five times, both asking citizens of the planet and fellow ODST and Marines, he was looking for a 'Gunnery Sergeant Lucy Grey' from this moment on he was assigned to her squad and to be apart of her team for the duration of the Human-Covenant war unless transferred, though now he was apart of the Elite Task Force 77 he heard a small rave and rant coming from a group of marines and ODST, he stopped and inspected as one yelled at another, he squinted his eyes and noted the writing on the ODST's chest peice.

"Gunnery Sergeant Lucy Gray?" He said towards the woman as he read the writing on her chest peice.

"Ma'am" He dropped his sack and tucked the note under his chest armor before giving a crisp and formal salute, he was wearing standard ODST Sniper variant armor, much like Jackson her teams seasoned sniper.

"I am Private Cox. D... I have been transferred to your squad for the duration of the war" he lowered his hand and stood their at attention, he was fresh, and he was green, green as the grass infact, most would say he is too young to be in this division but he is, he stood there at attention and waited for a responce from his new leader.

[kuran]

Corporal James Beaufort, ODST
Task Force 77, Fireteam Raptor
Highway, Sheffield-Glasgow

"Sir, you do realise that this is a serious miss-allocation of UNSC property?" Piped up Megan Jones from her placed, wedged in the back of the Warthog.

James chuckled, that was Megan, always the joker. "Relax private, it's not like we're going to crash the thing..."

"Sir yes sir." Came the amused response. They had managed to wedge the four of them into a warthog rated to hold three, with Megan and Michael Mcallister, the new guy, seated in the flatbed behind the drivers seat, their backs to the seats and feet planted against the walls. Joseph Lenov, their CQB man, was driving, leaving James to sit in the passenger's seat.

They had been dropped off that afternoon via shuttle, just like the rest of the troops. Lenov had spotted a row of parked warthogs near their LZ, and they had...appropriated one of them. The yells of the marine private behind them still bought a smile to James' face. Doubtless they'd get in trouble over it at some point though.

But tonight, they were determined to get a drink, and the bars of Sheffield had seemed a tad bit overcrowded. So, Glasgow was the next stop. After the past few months, they all needed a drink or five.

-----

Glasgow City Center

An hour later, the warthog pulled up to a decent looking bar. Lenov turned off the engine, and they all dismounted. Stepping over a passed out marine, they paused for a moment before stepping through the door. Smiling to each other, they all polarised their helmets, causing a silver sheen to cover their features, making them look even more intimidating than they already did.

Helljumpers had a reputation, after all.

Opening the door and stepping through one after the other, they scanned the room. Command had told everyone to be on the look out, so everyone was on edge. They spotted several other Marines, and even a few other ODST's, scattered around the room, and ignored the civilians who craned their heads to look. Talking on their private channel, James chuckled,"Let's pull out some theatrics for the nice people, eh?"

They formed a line abreast, and strode for the bar. Taking four empty stools in a row, they sat as one, making more noise than they really needed to. James called the barkeep over, "Four of whatever's strong." He slid a UNSC card across the counter, and the amount for the drinks was deducted from his account.

They pulled off their helmets and placed them in a line in front of them on the bar, all of them trying hard not to grin. When their drinks arrived, they downed the shots as one, and ordered another round.

Helljumpers had a reputation, after all.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

Jethro cracked his neck very audibly, before adjusting his stance. The punching bag before him swung back-and-forth slightly, still having some momentum after his boxing excercise a few moments before. With a slow intake of breath, he jabbed out at the bag, hitting it far more rapidly than any human could...unless they were a SPARTAN, of course. He whirled around the cylindrical bag, whacking it with quick, precise strikes that made it swing to-and-fro.

With a final open palm strike, Jethro halted the bag's momentum completely. The Spartan stepped back from the bag, his heart beating slightly faster than the norm. The bag creaked forlornly as the Spartan stretched, making sure to get all the major muscle groups with each cooling-down excersise.

After several minutes, Jethro rose to his feet as he glanced around the deserted room. His left eye was a piercing sea-foam blue, while right eye was crimson, and obviously mechanical in origin. They clashed oddly, especially with his dark skin as a background.

Thinking, he decided that the best place to go was the shooting range. He had nothing else to do, anyway. Maybe practice with the shotgun and AR, or try the sniper rifle for a change. Shrugging non-committedly to himself, he set out towards the nearest shooting range.