Mission 3: A Long Road Ahead

[Dutch]

The range was empty when Victor got there, no big surprise. Checking out an MA5 from the armory, he loaded up and set up by the range. Training took over almost immediately of course, and soon he was putting nice one-inch cluster three hundred yards down range, then at four and five hundred yards. Moving targets were a bit trickier, but a bit of adjustment later found him putting three inch cluster into targets at tree and four hundred yards, well within the kill zone.

As he blew away mentally projected faces of various ONI officials, Victor noticed another entering the range. Namely his fellow SPARTAN Jethro-097. Jethro had transfered into GOLD recently, and Victor hadn't said much more than 'Hello' to his new fellow. Not that they were strangers of course, CPO Mendez had made them all brothers and sisters. But he hadn't seen Jethro for a helluva long time. So, may as well reintroduce himself properly.

"Hey Jethro, how's everything been?" He called in a friendly tone.

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/b]

"Good. Just got an improved eye." Jethro replied to Victor, motioning to his mechanical eye. "Gives me limited thermal vision, a more advanced HUD, and a really nice image magnifier." He grinned and winked, the crimson covered for a split-second. "On the right side, anyway."

He picked up an M90 and examined it quickly, before pumping it loudly. "How've you been in the past, oh...five years, give or take?"

[Dutch]

Victor raised an impressed eyebrow at the new apparatus. He smiled thinly when Jethro listed off the upgrades.

"Damn, maybe I should take a blade to my own eye." He said and Jethro grabbed an M90 from a rack before asking how he'd been the last couple years. Victor shrugged at this. "Oh you know, a little bit of this, little bit of that. Not dead yet anyway, and I'm not sure whether to be relieved or glad. I don't have a death wish, not yet at least, but my future don't look good. Hell, no spartans future looks good. Presuming we live to see the end of the war in our favor, what happens? I figure we'll either just keep serving until we can't shoot an M6 without breaking our wrists, or eventually end up in some little lab somewhere for ONI to dissect." He shrugged again as he let another round down range, wincing as it missed the target.

"Other than that, I've just been bored to bloody hell. Can't do anything outside of course, though there's not much I could do anyway, and there's not much to do in here." He fired his last round and paused to reload, before turning to Jethro. "What about you, and how'd you lose the eye?"

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

[/b]

Jethro nodded soberly when Victor spoke of the future, sighing deeply. "Yeah. I could see that. But for now, we fight, huh? Till we actually win. Can't say I'm not waiting for that, either." He smirked. "But I'm not tired of the fight, yet."

Jethro snorted when Victor inquired about his lost eye, grimacing slightly at the memory. "Altair IX happened. I was supposed to plant a bomb in the capital and get out, preferably with what the Covenant were looking for. It went wrong when a Covie outpost figured out that a SPARTAN was piloting one of their Banshees. Shot me down, and I left the bomb in the Banshee as I bailed out. Couple minutes later, as I was trying to get through the city and escape, BAM!" Jethro slapped his hands together loudly. "A four-man Zealot team ambushes me. I took them all out, one at a time, until it's just the leader left. Along the way, I lose my helmet. When I'm taking cover behind a low stone wall, the mother effer pulls out a Fuel Rod. The wall saved my life, but the slate shrapnel wasn't very kind on my unhelmeted head...especially my eye." Jethro flicked the mechanical eye for effect.

Jethro whipped the shotgun up, firing rapidly, emptying the M90 as quickly as possible, which was pretty darn fast. All the targets were hit, and Jethro started reloading before the last shell even hit the ground. He turned to Victor again, eyebrow raised.

"Astalavista indeed."

[hollowsaber]

MIL-AI-0665: Bifrons Location: Planet Albert; CLASSIFIED Time: UNRECORDED

“Got a package…”

“So he’s here finally?”

“Yea… Hook him up to the system ASAP…”

“Damn, this one’s a little heafty isn’t he?”

“Supposed to be one of the newer versions or whatever.”

Two ONI operatives stood in the doorway with a thick black case between them. It was deep, but not lengthy, much like the size of a regular cardboard box… except filled with components for a super computer. The case was jet black, and a single symbol on the top had labeled it a classified item; the ONI Triangle.

Two men stood guard with exposed rifles just outside while the other two made the trade off. The hallway the room was located in extended deep down into the basement of the area’s command center. It was filled with computers and equipment. The place could easily be a base of operations for the entire 111 Tauri system. Though, it’s inhabitants would be using the space and computer power for something else. Something that would need every ounce of the power they had stuffed inside the tiny little cubicle of space.

“You know where to sign…” The Operative in the doorway handed the other a tablet, on which he made a swift flick of his wrist to sign off.
“Thank you, and enjoy it. Command will be contacting you shortly.”

“Figures they make us wait…” A woman across the room retorted as she walked up towards a screen on one of the walls, looking over the video recordings from another planet. The recordings were of the Task Force and their training just a few weeks earlier. She could only chuckle as she watched them go over the obstacle course.

“I know right? The least they could do was tell us why we’re getting so much stuff all of a sudden...” Another woman sighed, taking a light sip out of a cup of lukewarm coffee as she read a message from one of the outposts close-by.

“I’d rather get something than nothing. And I would much rather be in a room then carrying heavy boxes around all day and night…” The Operative in the hall that brought the box muttered while swatting his hand at the black box.
“Just get this bad boy set up so I don't get yelled at for being late…”

“Will do, we’ll have it set in a few minutes. Thanks Josh.” The man on the inside lifted the box, after using some lower leg strength, and carried it slowly across the room to a sort of docking station where another man opened the lid.

“Mind if I take a look at what it is?” The Operative in the hall peaked inside, but one of the guards butted him lightly in the side, pushing him out of the room.

“Quit it, Errand boy…”

“Come on man! I lugged this thing from the damn carrier!” Josh groaned as he stood back up in the hall.

“You know the rules…” The other guard nodded towards the door. The one operative sighed and nodded. He waved goodbye to the others inside and left.

Moments later, the door was shut and all outside light vanished, leaving only the blue hue coming from the inside of the room; giving the entire area an eerie feel to it. The crate was popped open completely, exposing several jacks all around that the Operatives plugged into the core of their systems. They waited only seconds before the screen on the wall morphed around a hologram of a small hooded figure.

“Hello Operatives… I am the Military Grade Smart AI, 0665, but you may call me Bifrons… I have been sent to assist you in anyway I can. I already have accessed all databases, files, and archives the system in this sector has allowed me access to. I have also opened others which ONI has given me access to. I have updated the servers in this room to allow you all to access the data I have collected as well, and have created many copies in the time of corruption or accidental mishaps. The main server was also very cluttered with unnecessary files, which have been moved to a more organized location.” Bifrons talked in a cold and deep tone, but his voice showed only aid, and echoed through the speakers in the room with a gentle feel to it. To the Operatives surprise, he had worked much faster than they expected, and simply stared at the hologram before them.

“Shall I notify… erm… Task Force 77... Of my presence?” Bifrons asked, pointing his robe-covered hand towards the still playing video on the opposite side of the room. The Officers turned to look for a second, then the leader stepped forward.

“That will not be necessary, there is only one person you need to notify at this time, Bifrons. Just give him a simple notification that you are on stand-by. We have to wait for headquarters to send us our orders.” The Operative pulled a small PDA-sized object from his pocket and held it in front of himself as he read the list.

“Notify… SPARTAN-009 for now. He’s the leader of GOLD team. Try and see if you can find out where he is and what the team is doing…” The Operative looked up at the hologram which only bowed his head slightly, then flicked off.

“That… is going to freak me out every time…” The other male operative from the back muttered, leaning back in his chair for a better view of the front of the room, and the other agent's backside that was oh so plesantly standing with her back to him. She twisted slightly and kicked him in the stomach with her heel, pushing it deep into him so he would feel it for a while.

"Pervert..." She muttered, leaving the man to cringe in pain as she walked back to her station on the other side of the room.



Bifrons stood in the matrix of data, ‘surfing’ as some of the human’s that came decades before called it, as he searched for who this SPARTAN was. He had been told he would have to work with a team of them, but didn’t get a chance to really look into them before being put into that box and shut down. This was a whole new world to him compared to the headquarters he was at. It seemed a little more cramped, and very congested. What had those fools been doing to the place he was going to be living in?

Useless LOGs and notes on each other, countless messages sent just across the room. They didn’t even follow the protocol to delete messages sent out of the room… Those Agents could surely be removed of their duties and left out to dry if Bifrons decided to say something about it… but if he had learned one thing about his creators, was that sometimes you got to bend the rules… They were out on this planet for a long time with no one but each other. Bifrons had no choice but to simply compress and zip the data before storing it in the corner of his memory.

Now, back on his task… Before him, a whole file of notes and papers were tucked together in a single folder. When he opened it, his brain was flooded with the massive profile; all on one SPARTAN-009...

Rank; Chief Petty Officer.
Height: Almost seven foot,
Weight: Half-ton in his MJOLNIR
Age: 20
Skills: Explosives, Tactics, CQC, Vehicles, Small arms, Covert-OPs, and Recon.
Recent Ops: Eridanus II (OPERATION BLACKBIRD) and two others which were black-lined…

Bifrons did catch a glimpse of what the second one was… It had to do something with Planet Lethe… He glanced at another file he found curiously titled ‘Heroes of Lethe; Passed Training’. What had this Task Force done at that planet…? He’d have to look later. For now, Bifrons simply sent a pulse through the COM, connecting with the SPARTAN’s tablet that had been slipped into his leisurely clothing just before he had been given it. The only thing the pulse carried was a symbol, along with an ability to open the connection with the AI…

[z]

Lucy turned her helmeted head to the Private, shutting off the TEAMCOM and removing her helmet. "Was wondering when you'd show Private."Lucy had been expecting a new addition to her squad for a few days now, make the team of four into a team of five.

"Follow me Private..." Lucy said, B9 on her hip and helmet under her arm as she lead him back into the teams hotel room.

Alex and Anders had recovered from their drunkness it seemed and were playing cards on the bed while Jackson was cleaning his sniper, which he named "Grimmy"
The twins noticed the new addition first, both of them looking up in sync... Creeped Lucy out when they did that...

Then Jackson reacted a moment later, looking up. The quiet Russian was still wearing his helmet with the darkened visor, two sets of dog tags around his neck.

Anders was the first to talk. "Who's the new meet, Ma?"

"This is Private Cox." Lucy said, turning as the twins stood and inspected Cox, while Jackson just went back to cleaning his sniper.
Anders thunked his chestplate, while Alex checked over his load-out and his armor.

"Seems Jackson will have some competition, eh?" Anders asked, patting Cox on the back.
"Welcome to the family, Kid"

After the twins went back the their card game Lucy proceeded to introductions, that her team so rudly ignored.
"The one with the short hair and the scar on his forhead. She said pointing to Anders. "That's Anders, he's one the quickest men i've met on the battleground, he's team rifleman." She shifted over to Alex.
"He is our Support Gunner, he will either have a Launcher, or a AR and a DMR."

She looked over at Jackson. "That badass motherfucker with the sniper is Jackson. One of the finest damn Snipers i know... And one of the quietest men alive. You'll be his spotter, and work sniping with him."
Then Lucy turned to the kid. "But i'm guessing you read all our files?" She shook her head slightly.

"I have a few rules though Cox. Forget the formalities... Don't call me "Ma'am" and don't call me by my Rank. You can call me "Lucy" or "Z". We all have a nickname as well. Jackson is called "Sev", We call Alex "Ace", and Anders is "Spade" but we only use them in combat mostly."
She sighed and set her helmet down on the table before walking over to Jackson and tapping his helmet, making him look up.

"Go talk to the kid Jack... Youand him will be working together a lot, so get used to him." She said in a hushed tone before Jackson gave a nod and stood, removing his helmet and showing his standard cut black hair, thin stubble and hazel eyes.

"How good of a Sniper are you.... Cox?" He asked, his deep Russian accent sounding much deeper than it did over the COMM.

[Wax™]

When Lucy went to show Coxy the rest of the team he began to follow her quickly though forgot about his rucksack he took a few moments to run back and get it before catching up, Lucy the teams leader and Cox walked through a series of corridors before the reached the hotel room that him and her team would be staying in once he entered he almost imidiatley noticed the three other members of the team, judging by colours one was a CQC Specialist and another was a Marksman, the third one was just wearing the usual ODST Armor.

Coxy simply watched everyone as he was introcuced to the team, non of them bothered to introduce themselves so Gunnery Sergeant Lucy did that for them.

"Seems Jackson will have some competition, eh?" One of the men said before Patting Coxy on the back.
"Welcome to the family, Kid"

After the two went back to their card game Lucy began to start off with introductions.
"The one with the short hair and the scar on his forhead" Lucy said pointing to Anders. "That's Anders, he's one the quickest men i've met on the battleground, he's team rifleman." Lucy then shifted over to Alex.
"That's Alex he is our Support Gunner, he will either have a Launcher, or a AR and a DMR."

Lucy looked over at Jackson before speaking once more. "That badass motherfucker with the sniper is Jackson. One of the finest damn Snipers i know... And one of the quietest men alive. You'll be his spotter, and work sniping with him."
Then Lucy turned to the kid. "But i'm guessing you read all our files?" She shook her head slightly.

After that small speech Gunnery Sergeant Lucy then began to go on about some rules, not any major rules like, brush your teeth before you go to bed or wear new socks every day, just some small oral notifications.

"I have a few rules though Cox. Forget the formalities... Don't call me "Ma'am" and don't call me by my Rank. You can call me "Lucy" or "Z". We all have a nickname as well. Jackson is called "Sev", We call Alex "Ace", and Anders is "Spade" but we only use them in combat mostly."

Coxy simply nodded before walking to an area of the room where no one was sitting, it was also a reasonable distance away from everyone else, Coxy dropped his rucksack on the cough, it had a spare set of ODST Battle Gear inside, it had his dress blues, plenty of pares of socks, and enough ammo to last him forever, he kept his helmet on with the visor darkened and slung his Sniper Rifle System 99 Anti-Matériel from around his shoulder and placed it on the couch, he then dug into his rucksack and pulled out five ammo clips and five bullet packets, he was then engaged in conversation with the russian member of the team, Jackson also the teams 'other' sniper.

"How good of a Sniper are you.... Cox?" The russian man spoke, his voice was very deep, like -very- deep, Cox just stared at him for a moment before nodding and looking toward his own weapon.

"I got the highest long range score during Downtime... In my training course I aced the riflemans test and then moved on to do the advanced marksman test which I aced aswell... I have... Plenty experience in shooting targets, both idle and moving... Though I have not engaged the covenant before" Coxy said before looking back to the man.

[jack]

Lieutenant Jack O'Reilly
Bracknell

Jack had received the disturbing message just like the rest of Scorpion. He was unsure as to why they had been redirected, but orders were orders. He had been sent to a place in Bracknell. Now he was flitting along rooftops in Bracknell, heading for the other side of the city, where the UNSC encampment was. He turned the controls over to RJ and opened a COM channel to the Marine squad in the troop bay.

"We're coming in to the LZ. If you feel the need to vomit, please do so in the face of the trooper next to you, not on the floor of my Pelican, or else poor ole Ski back there is gonna have to clean it up."

He clicked off the COM channel and returned to the controls. The craft had now left the city limits and was over the tent camp. He spotted the LZ and put the Pelican directly over the LZ, then dropped straight down. He shut down the engines and unbuckled, then went aft to the troop bay. A ground crew came up, and the team leader informed Jack that they had orders to refuel all aircraft that landed. Jack simply nodded.

"Hey, Jack, you think we're gonna get to leave?"

"I dunno, R.J. We might and we might not. Right now, do a check of the bird."

"Aye, sir."

Jack headed back into the Pelican and went up to the cockpit. He picked up his pistol belt from where it laid on the ground and put it on, checking the M6 to ensure that it was still functional. Satisfied, he began checking over the MA5B and DMR that were locked into weapons racks behind the seats.

[Dutch]

Victor whistled in interest.

"Damn, that musta hurt like a bitch." Grabbing the M6 from his side, he squinted and fired the big gun one-handed, emptying the clip into a two-inch cluster seventy yards down range. "Eh, but helluva trade-off huh? Four zealots for one eye? Doesn't sound too bad." He reloaded and put two more rounds downrange, then lobbed a grenade, reducing ten targets to splinters in a fiery explosion.

He was bored now, the range just didn't have much appeal after the firefights he'd been in. So with a disappointed sigh, he safed the weapons and returned them to their places along with the ammunition. Buckling the M6D back to his waste, he started to wander around. "Damn I'm bored." He kicked the air as he paced around the nearly-empty range. Looking at the ceiling wistfully, he began talking. "I kinda wish we could get back into the fight though, there's damn well nothing to do here."

[Spartan 999]

Petty Officer Jethro-097

"Four Zealots at one time, traded off for an improved eye." Jethro said, firing the M90 rapidly once more, before he safed it as well.

"Damn I'm bored. I kinda wish we could get back into the fight though, there's damn well nothing to do here."

Jethro grunted an affirmitive, setting the shotgun back down.

"Just have to make sure I have my suit when the fight starts." Jethro replied, before grinning as he elbowed Victor. "Bored, you say? Then we can try out our CQC skills against each other, just like old times. I've gotten better than when we last 'fought', which is actually saying something. Come on," He said, snorting at the look on Victor's face. "It'll be fun...for me, anyway."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lieutenant Jessica Mae Collins
Downtown Bracknell
ONI RecRoom

"Mehuemmmmm..." Mumbled Jessica a bit incoherently as she was jarred awake by the sounds of Marines having a bit too much to drink walking past the building outside, shouting at evryone and everything.. "Idiots..." She added before sitting on the small couch she had made her bed out of. Well it had been a pretty slow day after she had made her way down the orbital elevator from the UNSCS Ares. She simply found an ONI comandeered RecRoom in the downtown of some city named Bracknell, deciding to rest there., but not getting much rest.

"Well damn, I guess I will just go for a walk... or maybe find a better place to get some rest." Said Jessica thinking about that hotel she had been hearing about before moving to the coffe table she had set her deep blue visored recon helmet, weapons, and equipment belt. It took her only a few minutes to strap her equipment belt on, holster her P5 series pistol, put her helmet on, and cradle her BR55 Series Battle Rifle in her arms before she left the building. The rush of lights that entered her visor stunned her, it had been a while since she had been in a large city such as this and it was still as breath taking as ever. Large buildings rose up into the night, surrounded by a black wall of thick jungle. It took her a little while to register the vibrating of her Tac Pad against her armored arm, her visored head quickly turned down to it.

A small report that scrolled across the screen told of two ships leaving the system to travel to a nearby Nebula.... they were leaving to aid a fort or something? How wierd... looks like the covies might be up to something.. or hell.. ONI might be up to something.. She thought, knowing that both of them had their mysterious ways before bluntly dumping something on you. Never the less, she would only be worried about such things if the covenant actualy jummped in system and began to attack the planet. She took a few more steps down the sidewalk before stopping a clearly drunk marine Private mid stride... "Do you know were that one 'Hilton.. Grande?... or Grand?' is..?" Came the question, smashing into the marine impared senses like a brick wall... he stood there.. stunned for a while before responding.

"Oh... that place with the bar? Just a few blocks away actualy." He said.. or mumbled in a slur, eaither way what he had said came out clear enough to cause Jessica to look up. Right there in plain city lights, a large building stood with the flashy red letters 'Hilton Grand' on it's side. If soldiers there weeren't too drunk.. or just quiet enough.. she might actualy be able to spend her semi R&R time with a nap. Hell she would be happy enough to strike up a conversation with someone in the bar who wasn't too drunk.

[z]

Lucy shook her head and held her hands up as she walked into the other room. Meanwhile Jackson simply crossed his arms and peered at Cox. His jaw went slightly sideways in thought.
"Interesting...." The Russian man said before finally dropping his sniper on the bed. "So you have no combat experience a all?"

"The Covenant are much harder to ill than flying plastic, or a standing target, Private... Have you even been in a drop yet?"
Jackson asked before turning and heading out onto the balcony for only a moment before turning back around and looking at the new addition.

"You and I, will b working together... A lot.... I'm willing to show you the DOs and DONTs, but you have to pay attention, got it Trooper?" The Russian said before walking over and holding his hand out to Cox for a handshake.

[hollowsaber]

PHASE 2
A change of events....

[Time: 0059
Planet Albert, just outside Outpost: Greenland
Team Zeta-One]

"Damn it!" Private Alison pulled her boot slowly out of a massive mud puddle that she had stepped into. It had sunk almost completely into the puddle before she had pulled it out, giving the shoe a thick coat of heavy mud.. Zack chuckled a little next to her, grinning at the site of the woman’s cringing. She returned his laugh with an ebowed to the gut, making him bend over and fall back against at tree/
"Sarge, why are we out here again?" Alison shook her foot a little to get some of the mud off, then looked forward to her NCO.

"Missing person report..." The Sergeant leaned against a brown, fork-trunked tree while Corporal Tanner scanned for enemies ahead of them.

The jungle was thick, and the water dripping down from the canopy above wasn't helping, making the Corporal almost impossible to see. It had rained just a few days ago over the forest and their outpost; this place was still recovering from it. The trees were covered in wet moss as life thrived, and the ground had a thick coat of mush nearly 3 feet deep in some places. The entire jungle was an ambush waiting to happen. The only question was when would it happen?

"Clear..." Tanner muttered over the COM, moving forward deeper into the brush, taking point for the 6 person squad.

"Alright, let's move." The Sergeant waved everyone on as they moved forward, raising his MA5B in front of him with one hand and pushed some bushes out of his face with the other.

"The lady should be around here somewhere..." Private Fredrickson looked at his wrist-mounted TACMAP and matched their location with where the LKL of the target was.
"The river should be right over..." As he looked at his pad, he raised a finger and turned slowly in place as to match the direction of his arrow with the direction towards the target. He pointed in the direction of what seemed to be a drop off,and a little clearing showed that a small creek was overflowing from the rain.
“There…” Fredrickson looked up to check if the pad was correct and nodded at his Sergeant.

"Great...more mud..." Alison muttered under her breath as she heard the raging water.

"At least we get an excuse to shower! And by the looks of you, you might need to shower with us!" Zack laughed and a couple of the others nodded in approval. Alison brought up the end of her rifle like a bat and swung, but Zack ducked, slipping off balance and fell onto his stomach, splattering mud all over himself and a few guys around him. A bunch of them groaned and muttered at Alison and Zack, but ahead of them, Corporal Tanner was still as a statue.

"Quiet..." Tanner was several paces ahead with Private Kinsley right on his six. Tanner stood, holding his hand to his hear as to amplify the sounds ahead of him. Kinsley was knelt down with his rifle forward. They both were listening for something...

A minute passed of pure silence before Tanner waved them forward through the green swamp to the creek. Kinsley stayed still where he was, and turned the other way to cover their back.

"There she is..." Tanner sighed, pointing down towards a female body that was laying on its stomach on the opposite side of the water-way.

"Zack, go get her." The Sergeant's order was swiftly carried out and Zack gladly jumped down to the water’s edge. He held his rifle up a tad to make sure it didn’t get wet and allowed the water to clean some of the mud while he walked. Once Zack reached the body, he froze just like Tanner had earlier and just stared…

"Zack?" The Sergeant called, but didn't get an answer.
"Zack, what's the problem?" The Sergeant hopped down to the small creek and walked up next to Zack. When he looked at the body and looked at the spinal-area, his face turned pale with fear... Two burned puncture wounds. He immediately put his hand to his helmet and connected with the base.

"Greenland this is Zeta-One. We have found the woman. KIA, repeat KIA. Two puncture wounds. Potential Cove-" A sudden burst of plasma shot across the creek from the other side, dashing into the mud and rocks. The Sarge's shoulder was singed from the heat of a passing plasma bolt, making him step into the water. The water tugged, and the man stumbled.

"AMBUSH!!" Tanner hollered, and the creek turned into a massive fire-fight zone in nearly seconds.

"GREENLAND! WE HAVE ENEMY CONTACTS! REPEAT! EVENY CONTACTS! CONFIRMED TO BE COVENANT!" The Sarge and Zack jumped back, diving up into the forest over the small wall that the creek had carved out and crawled behind some trees and bushes as hot matter screamed over their heads.

"Sonuva!" Tanner reeled; falling backwards after his shoulder became splattered with a ball of green plasma.

"MEDI-" Alison began to yell before she was his in the torso, leg, and head. Her body leaned to the side and lumped on top of Tanner Though, Tanner was to busy staring upwards to notice. The massive silhouette above him…

"O-oh my god!" Tanner yelled, trying to push Alison’s body off as his eyes finally registered what the shadow was; a phantom.

"Greenland! We've got a whole god damn Covenant force down here!" The Sarge yelled again before his helmet was clipped by a beam of plasma... cutting the connection...

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

[Time: 0103
Planet Albert, inside UNSC Command in Bracknell]

"General, we need to protect the city. Sending a force to-" The advisor was silenced with the simple raise of a hand. General Tullings looked down at the paper that had been handed to him just minutes ago, glancing over it’s contents slowly as he reread it all for the sixth time. Team Zeta-One, sent out for a simple rescue mission, had come in contact with Covenant Forces, then lost connection with Greenland... He would have only minutes to respond before the Covenant would surely be on top of Greenland, but he was still only thinking… With a sigh, he leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands on top of his desk.

"As a marine at heart, I cannot leave anyone behind. No matter the circumstances. We will get Zeta-One. We will secure Greenland, Alaska, and Pearl, but you are correct; protection of the cities is priority. So we will handle that priority by keeping the Covenant from even getting close. Make sure all units at the gates are on high alert. Send the message to close the gates... I called for Reaper earlier, where are they?” The General got to his feet and adjusted his jacket to keep the professional look about himself. In time of crisis, he was taught that if the leader is calm; everyone else will calm down. So his composure would have to be key in this. His aged paw snagged the briefing paper sent in from Greenland angrily as he crumpled it some, angry at how they were stupid enough to send only 6 men out into the forest where Rebel activity was known.

“They got side-tracked but are on their way out, just as ONI asked.” The advisor stepped to the side as the General stormed out of his office and into the hallway. The two walked quickly through the halls where soldiers were rushing about, some guards moving to their positions to defend the building, others bringing information to the other offices.

“Good. ONI has something for them so they are out of the question. Who else do we have at hand?” the General turned right and two guards waiting at the hallway entrance turned and walked just ahead of him as they lead him down.

“We have the Llyods, Lieutenant Isin Herald, Captain Maddox, along with SPARTAN team Gold.” The advisor scrolled down on his tablet, looking over the names of the higher ranked soldiers available from task Force 77 that had arrived only hours ago.

“We don’t have a lot to work with now do we?” The General sighed to himself as he busted the door open to the briefing room, singing the doors to their limits with a single shove. The entire group of Officers silenced and rose to attention as he moved to the center of the room.

“No, we do not sir. The numbers of forces that came in is high, but we can’t send to many out. Only a fraction of them are actually prepared to face the force we estimate. We barely even have enough to protect all three cities if this is a full invasion.” The advisor began to whisper to the General as he stood in the middle of the front of the room.

“AT EASE!” The General’s voice boomed over the massive room and at once, all of the Officers sat in their chairs but continued to listen. The General looked to his advisor with a stressed glare.
“I understand your concerns Lieutenant, but we need to act now and muster whatever we can against the coming force.” The General moved his gaze from his advisor to the Officer in the chair closest to him.
“Connect me with the units on the field and in the cities. We don’t have time to rally them into one place. They will have to use the transport they used in the city to get to the gates. If they don’t have any, supply them with it.”

“Yes sir, you’ll be broadcasted over the main COM channel.” The officer said as he connected the computer to the tablet. The system pulled the data from the hard drive, and opened a Task-Force Wide connection with everyone on the list. He waited a few seconds as the system loaded, and then nodded to the General to acknowledge the connection.

“Everyone! LISTEN UP! This is General Tullings, Head of all One-Eleven Tauri System Forces. At this moment, you are all under my command.” The General called, his voice echoing through the briefing room and into the microphone that was sitting at the table in front of him beside the tablet.

“At 0059 hours, Zeta-Team One was sent out on a search-and-rescue mission after a report. Zeta-Team One had made contact with an enemy just a few moments after finding the body of the target. Outpost Greenland lost connection with them only seconds after the firefight had broken out, and have sense then been receiving reinforcement from surrounded forces. Outposts Greenland, Pearl, Greece, and Alaska have been put under lock down protocol BLOCK; no one is allowed to leave or enter unless given clearance by their respective City’s Command Center. All of their units have been directed to be on the immediate defensive and are assuming the worst. We have to as well.” The General took a few deep breathes, letting his words sink in as he wet his lips and mouth to continue.

“All units at the gates are to assume the worst as well. We do not know if this is Covenant or Rebel, so be on guard at all times. The gates will be shut soon and will not be reopened until this situation is handled, but first off, we need to get a secure line around the cities and out to Greenland where first-contact occurred. This is where you new soldiers from TF77 come in.” The General pointed for the tablet. His advisor moved quickly and handed it to him. Upon grabbing it, his fingers surged across the screen and sent a map to all of the leading soldiers.

“Reaper is now under ONI command, so they will not be participating until further notice. Captain Dylan Llyod, Captain Sierra Llyod, Captain James Maddox, Lieutenant Jakob Zaborowski, and Lieutenant Isin Herald. You are to move as one out of the gates of the cities and being to secure Phase-line November immediately. Fan out and stay within visual range. All units are to remain in radio contact with Greenland and the Command Base at Glasgow, along with the one in Sheffield, at all times. Glasgow is to be codenamed “Charline” for the time being. Greenland is to be called “Marsh”. The General handed the tablet back to his advisor as he took another breath.

“All units are to secure November with the assistance of the 163rd Artillery Brigade, the 8492nd Peregrines, and 55th Transport/Combat Wing, AKA Scorpion Squadron. Once November is secure, relief units from the 79th, 57th, and 44th Marine Divisions will be sent in. Once relief arrives, Task Force 77 is to proceed to Phase-line October as quickly as possible.”

“Secure Greenland and get them reinforced. 8492nd, perform a fly-over of the outpost and give me an update as soon as possible. 163rd, I need you all in position to give support yesterday. TF77, form up at the gates and get to November immediately.” The General made a swift hand motion and the COM was cut. The room suddenly exploded into mayhem as the officers began to open up radio channels with each squad they were assigned to.

“Sir, what about the SPARTANs?” The advisor walked over with the tablet showing the list of SPARTAN names.

“We will handle them with ONI... Send each SPARTAN a message to return to the ship they were based on. We’ll meet them there.” The General turned and left the room, followed by his advisor.

“Yes sir.” The advisor began to type hastily, sending the message to the pads each SPARTAN had been assigned to carry.

(SPARTANs will be handled once the Staff figures out what we are going to do with them)


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

[Time: 0103 (Human Conversion)
Planet Albert, Main Covenant Base. 50km from Greenland]

“For the covenant!” Field General Rundimee roared, raising his clenched fist up into the air. The roar from the gathered warriors sent a slight chill down his spine. They were all ready, and so was he.

“My brethren! We have been blessed with the opportunity to strike the Humans head-on! With our blades and rifles in hands!” the roar of his Legion echoed again across the massive base they had built secretly for the past few months. The Humans were stupid beings, and had not noticed them at all. Even their star ships had missed them...

“We have been trusted by the great prophets to take this planet for our own! And in our way, the human heretics!” A missive hiss and growl virberated through the ground.

“By that will not stop us! We will face the humans! And crush them with ease beneath our feet! A group of brave warriors have already begun the fight! And are clearing a path for us to follow in! We will move behind them as they lead us to the human fortress! We will bathe this land in the blood of our enemies! And we will kill every human that stands between us and our goal!!” A final roar echoed from the crowd as the General pointed in the direction of where the humans were.

“Form up on your Leading warriors! And let us begin our march to the humans!” The crowd hollared in approval and began to move almost as one, grouping in their respective lances and moved into the forest. The Field General moved into the building he was standing outside of and looked amongst his Operational Specialists.

“Where is our Strike Team...?” The Warrior moved up into his seat, much like a throne, and looked around to the others who operated the consoles.

“They have engaged with a human force. It is small, but they are having some trouble because of the environment...” Ultra San’Salumee called from his console and peered over at his Zealot for a response.

“Send in reinforcements by Phantom. The Warriors on the ground won’t be able to make it in time.” Rundimee sighed and pounded his fist on the arm of his chair.
“These damned humans are persistent!”

“Sir, phantom with reinforcements is away.” San’Salumee said calmly.

“Good... Everyone open up a connection with the leaders on the ground. Keep everyone together so we may send updates easily.”

“Yes General.” all of the Majors and Ultras called out in unison as they began to move their hands across their consoles... This was going to be an interesting battle...


(Yes... that does mean Covenant can post now... But remember.. you guys are about 50km from Greenland, and any signs of human activity. All players are also very distant from Covenant Forces.)

[z]

Hearing the beeping in their helmets, each of Lucy's team slammed their helmets on quickly and listened to the transmission. Jackson looked over at Lucy, Lucy nodded and they all grabbed up their weaponry.

Lucy linked up to Isin via COM.

"Isin, our new meat is here, Private Cox. Where do you need us top go, and what do you need us to do?" She asked. Each of her team were prepping their weaponry and reloading before each of them filed out the door.

"ODST ALPHA Squad MOVE OUT!" She said picking up the pace towards their LTs position.

Rakath

He was farther in the back of the crowd, leaning on the far wall as he watched the roaring and cheers of the crowd. Under his Ultra mask his face showed hatred towards everything, not only the battle, but the Covenant.

He gave a sigh and snapped his jaw, lifting up his arm so to blend into the crowd.

He would have to wait for Nera to move into the battle... And the Glorious Retribution.

[hollowsaber]

Airspace over Planet Albert 8492nd Apocalypse Squadron 'Eyes In The Sky'

”--8492nd, perform a fly-over of the outpost and give me an update as soon as possible.--” That was all they needed to hear…

In the skies above the three cities, the Peregrines of the 8492nd moved immediately into a battle formation. Covenant forces? Near the UNSC Outpost? Yea, they wouldn’t get far before having to deal with Apocalypse. No one walked to their doorstep and got away unscathed. The 12 craft; 4 Peregrines, 4 Wombat Drones, and 4 Badgers, slammed their throttles to the floor as they screeched low over the cities. The noise of their engines riveted thought the walls of the skyscrapers, echoing down the alleyways, and boomed towards the stars. On the radar, tiny yellow blips showed the squadron that they weren’t the only ones moving towards the fight. These dots slowly fades as the scenery flashed from Metropolitan to Wild.

“Apocalypse Squadron, entering Airspace over The Marsh in 5...” Lieutenant Colonel Dillinger and his fighters wasted no time, blazing just above the treetops before breaking up into the dark sky. They spiraled upwards as a team, and then split apart like a blooming flower as they began to search for Covenant. At the moment, Dillinger saw nothing Alien at Greenland, but could hear the sirens even at 5000 feet above.

“Charline, this is Apoc-1, call-sign Conquest linking video feed of The Marsh.” He called over the channel.

With a twist, Dillinger turned his craft to a 75 degree angle and pulled back on the throttle lever. He turned his head downwards, using his flight-helmets internal camera as the video source. In the bottom right of his HUD, the video of what he saw was playing live to the base as he slowed for a good view. While he slowed to watch and show, he could see the Marines below scrambling as they began to lock-down the base in an effort to prepare themselves for the coming fight. It amazed him at how well trained some of these guys were, and how effectively they could move even in tough terrain. The ground was obviously wet and muddy/ Even from thousands of feet up, the ground glistened with moisture in the still bright moonlight.

“We’ve got eyes, Apoc-1. Good to see they got the order and aren’t having trouble yet. Move on and let’s see if we can’t find Zeta-One…” Dillinger stared at the ground as the Command Center spoke to him; he almost missed the man because of his thoughts. Part of him was happy he was up in the sky and not down there, but he still hated the idea that most of them below wouldn’t see that base again…

“Copy that Charline. Apocalypse Squadron, moving to che-”

“Charline, this is Apoc-2, call-sign Death. We‘ve got enemy bogeys in bound. Requesting permission to engage?” Major Lawrence Smith, or ‘Death’ as he preferred, pulled out of the shadows and flashed over Greenland as their radars caught sight of Covenant craft in the opposite direction of the cities. They were coming fast, and in force. Easily 15-20 Banshees.

“You are cleared to engage, Apocalypse. Secure the airspace over The Marsh and the surrounding area. We need you guys over our boys and girls on the ground at all times. All air bases are open and ready for quick touches if you need fuel or ammo. All Drones are ready to fly as well.”

“Apocalypse copies all, Charline. Apocalypse 1, engaging enemy tangos over The Marsh.”

“Apoc-2, enaging enemy forces.”

“Apoc-3, engaging the enemy.”

“Apoc-4! BRINGING THE PAIN BABY!”


The quiet sky suddenly began to illuminate with orange, blue, and green flashes as the Covenant and UNSC aircraft clashed. Guns blazing, hearts racing, thoughts flashing… This was the Squadrons first time fighting the Covenant… but only seconds after they started; 3 banshees exploded overhead. One nose dived into the trees, the others turned to debris as missiles cracked into their cores… And the night had only just begun..

[Martial Virtue]

Captains Dylan and Sierra Lloyd

Sierra wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but it hadn't been for very long. It felt like she'd just closed her eyes when she felt Dylan shaking her awake.

"Sierra?"

"Mmmgrmph."

"Sierra, get up. We've got an incoming call from command. Urgent."

The Marine captain's eyes flew open. She sat up quickly in bed and turned to face Dylan as she tried to clear that fuzzy-headed sleep feeling from her brain. "Where's my datapad?"

"Over on the desk, where you left it before we went to sleep."

Sierra scrambled to pull on her T-shirt and uniform pants from the floor, then reached her electronic device just as the transmission came through. She strained to listen and turned to find Dylan doing the same on his own datapad.

The hail from the general was short and to the point. There was an attack underway; whether from rebel or Covenant forces was unknown at the moment. All they did know was that they had to get out to the city gates. Fast.

"Shit," Sierra said forcefully, putting on her jacket and armor plates as Dylan rushed to get dressed behind her. "I knew this R&R wouldn't last."

"It never does," Dylan replied. Glancing up, he saw Sierra reach for her BR55. "Be careful out there."

"Same goes for you." She kissed him quickly on the lips before heading for the door. "I'll see you when this is over, huh?"

The ODST captain nodded. "Once the enemy's all dead."

Sierra left the room then, weapon in hand. She jammed her helmet on with the other as she rushed down the stairwell to the lobby of the hotel - there was no time to wait for the elevator.

"Marines, let's move, now!" she shouted into her company's COM channel. "Drop whatever you're doing and be ready to form up at the 'Hogs in three! We're under attack, so we're headed to the city gates. Move!"

[Dufflepud]

Nyla Katolai, Special Operations assassin

Nyla Katolai was extatic at the prospect of engaging the humans in battle once again! He checked his blade, and strapped a plasma rifle to his belt, and was already out the door by the time the words, "Form Up" were uttered by the leading field master, leaving unnoticed, with camouflage activated. Nyla took in the fresh, alpine air with relish, instantly eliminating his fealings of claustraphobia that he'd had since he'd first entered his tiny, sterile living quarters back at the covenant base. He had been trapped, but now he was free, and on the verge of combat. A light breeze wafted by, giving a voice to the trees as their golden leaves began to whisper. Some airborn creature chortled musicly, the sound soft and sweet upon Nyla's ears.

Yes, He thought, It is good to finally be away from that ugly blemish upon this world's landscape! Nyla was almost sad that this beautiful world would soon be reduced to naught but ash and dust. Pushing the though aside, Nyla came to a stop. He was now many kilometers ahead of the advancing covenant army. Spying a tree taller than those around it, he sprinted forwards, coiling his powerful leg muscles, before springing upwards. As if borne by some massive invisible force, he landed on a high branch, steadying himself with wiry arms, before defly clambering up the last few tree limbs to the top. There, he surveyed the extensive landscape. Only thirty kilometers away, he could see the human base. As with its covenant counterpart, it did not fit in with its wild surroundings. Nyla leapt from his position, absorbing the impact of his fall with a roll, before breaking into a run. He ran through thick foliage, hacking aside branches and vines with his curveblade.

Suddenly, the air changed. slowing to a walk, Nyla continiued to advance, now aware of the smell of burning flesh. Almost tripping upon it, Nyla found a human corpse, barely recognizable as such due to extensive plasma dammage. It lay in the center of a small clearing, pressed against a rock as if hiding from something. Suddenly, Nyla heard the faint sound of a gunshot, followed by plasma fire.

It must be the strike team! he thought, dashing off to join in the fray...


Nhar Vektsai, Field Master, Scarab Commander

Noticing his XO's discontent, Nhar sympathised with him. He shred those same feelings, but he would not let them show. He walked over to the lower ranking soldier, clasping his hand upon his shoulder, before speaking,

"Do not worry, brother, our time will come. Untill then, we must do our duty as warriors of the covenant and wait."

[Deleted]

ODST Sergeant Jack Redsont

Redsont sighed as he heard the order. Unfortunately he was going to be on the front lines. He simply checked his rifle and had his team gather in order to check off.

"Seems like we know why we're here now huh?", Pat joked.

"Business as usual, go out, secure some ground, blow up some ugly arse bastards.", Ed explained.

"You think it's covenant?", John asked nervously.

"Fits the MO, quick movement, massive forces, perfect for storming an entire base in one go real quick. And let's face it, if it were rebels, they would have done it louder and slower. ", Fred told him.

"Doesn't matter, we still do our jobs and shoot them down.", Redsont assured them, "I want everyone ready to go in ten. We'll be going out with the first group."

Everyone nodded to Redsont before going in groups to gather the supplies they needed for the battle.

Covenant Field Master Ragnuk Dabaldee

Ragnuk looked out at the gathered force of Covenant forces. The jackals growled in excitement of killing infidels. Elites roaored in delight of gaining honor in battle. Hunters grunted and banged their shields in a form of ritual. Grunts also had reactions of either fear or anxiety. No matter, they would all fight to kill the heretics just as equally. Ragnuk over saw all these forces from his personal dropship. Inside laid a hologram of the city they had just liberated from the heretics. There was also four elites in the dropship acting as Ragnuk's personal guard. Each sat in a corner of the dropship and hardly seemed to move.

"Relax my brothers, we have already begun to fulfill the prophet's desires.", Ragnuk spoke to them before shifting his attention to the hologram.

Ragnuk waved his hand over the holographic city and the structure changed to a large terrain beyond the city. This would be the covenant's next challange. The humans would have a plan, possibly a counter attack for the covenant. Ragnuk anticipated the attack and planned accordingly. He hoped the heretics had brought a worthy opponent, because Ragnuk wanted to have a challanging opponent to match wits with.

[kuran]

James set his glass down, as did the others, and they all stood up. James led the way, striding for the door. He held it open for the others, setting his armor systems for a combat check as he did. All green. He keyed for the command channel as they headed for their vehicle, "Fireteam Raptor, copy all, proceeding to main gate, over."

They all piled into the Warthog that they had 'borrowed' several hours ago, Lenov once more taking the drivers seat, with James riding shotgun and Mcalister and Jones in the backseat, Mcalister taking the gunners position. "After all,"James remarked conversationally, "If we don't get to drop into battle, we're sure as hell not going to walk."

After consulting their maps, Lenov spun the Warthog around and gunned the engine, sending them speeding for the gates. They all took the time to check their weapons, systems, and the Warthog, which was one of the fun models armed with a Light anti-air-machine gun.

They were all silent on the ride. Normally they would be cracking jokes, but then again, this wasn't a normal situation. They were on the defensive, something that they weren't used to. Not a lot of call for defensive actions when you drop behind enemy lines, James thought. He braced himself against the frame of the 'hog and readied his rifle. Knowing the Covenant, they could attack at any time. Hell, they could see the flashes of aircraft dogfighting off in the distance.

They streamed for the gate.

[z]

Rakath looked over at his Commander and gave a nod. "I understand, Field Master...." Rakath gave a sight and reach up to adjust his helmet.
"Nhar... I... Remember a time... when there was no war...."

Rakath looked away a\from the Zealot for a moment. "When we, and the humans were at peace... As friends... And they joined us in the... "Great Journey" " Rakath was almost sickened to say it after what had been done in the past to reach the said Journey.
"What happened to that... Peace, Nhar...? That... Friendship? I have often asked myself this... every night before I sleep...."

The Ultra reached to his hip and clasped the hilt of his sword without lighting it.
Under his helmet, Rakath was recalling when a Zealot, much like Nhar in rank had forced him to do something so... Vial to the Covenant code with the blade.

Shaking his head quickly he looked back at Nhar. "Where is the Scarab?"

[Spartan 999]

First Lieutenant Isin Herald

[/b]

Isin was relaxing in a surprisingly comfortable chair, almost falling asleep as he leaned back--The beeping from his comm woke him abruptly, and the Lieutenant jerked awake. Not quite groggily, he reached over to pop on his helmet and listened to the transmission. Brow furrowed in thought, he pulled his boots and gloves on, and took a moment to holster his M6/SOCOM and M7S. He then proceeded to ready his MA5C, and contact Reinmar and Lucy.

"Segeant Gray, Sergeant Freis, meet me at the entrance of the hotel. We've got a gate to to reach."

Special Operations Officer Sorsa Xirsasai

[/b]

Sorsa did not join in with the cheers and roars for battle, instead just listening to all Rudimee said. Kill the heretics with ease, indeed. Sorsa knew the humans were tenacious and fierce at times, and Sorsa had learned to not underestimate them; which is why he was still alive, after all.

Unsatisfied by the General's speech, Sorsa merely shrugged and grunted noncommittally afterwords. He motioned a hand, and his lance silently moved with him as he strode outside. He checked his plasma repeater, needle rifle, and plasma pistol, then primed each of them in turn. When he looked back at his lance, Sorsa groaned in his head.

"Lirm, this is rediculous!" Sorsa said incredulously, staring at the other Sangheili struggling with a Plasma Launcher and a Fuel Rod gun at the same time. "Take only one of those; it's not as if we're taking on the entire human armada by ourselves!"

"Never can be to sure." Lirm grunted, managing to balance each on a shoulder. "See? I'm good."

"Like we need a Special Operator who can only shoot massive exploding weapons. That's not very stealthy."

Lirm looked at each weapon rapidly, his head going back and forth.

"Fine, I'll take just one." Lirm sighed, setting the Plasma Launcher down. He put the Fuel Rod on his back, patting the launcher briefly. He made sure all the specialty charges and other various explosives were tightly secure, then nodded at Sorsa.

Sorsa snorted, knowing that while Lirm might be odd at times, he was still the best explosives expert Sorsa knew. Turning to Marum, the sniper nodded, Beam Rifle held loosly but securely in his arms. Sorsa looked at Kora, who grunted an affirmitive, Plasma Rifles gripped in his hands almost like an afterthought.

Satisfied with his lance's readiness, Sorsa jerked a head in the general direction of the human cities. The others growled, tailing their leader closely as Intervention Lance vanished into the dark.

Major Khaz Qalurai

Khaz stood at perfect attention, the CO and XO of the Glorious Retribution standing about a meter to the front and left of the Major and his lance.

"Do not worry, brother, our time will come. Until then, we must do our duty as warriors of the Covenant and wait."

"I dearly hope the wait shall be worth it." Khaz said, raising a hand to adjust his helmet slightly. "My lance may be patient, but not when it comes to killing the humans."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lieutenant Aspen "Jade" Watts
55th Transport/Combat Wing
(Scorpion Squadron)
Take-off Preparations

A humid puff of air traveled from the mouth of a certain board pelican pilot. Nothing, absolutely nothing seemed to pass through the comms or along the other pilots who sat at the LZs in Bracknell for the past few hours. God dammit, how does the UNSC manage to find the most humid and uncomfortable hell holes in all of the galaxy to station us in... when are we going to get some acti- , Aspen had thought.... Though her thoughts were interrupted when a sudden crackle of comms chatter sounded all across the LZ. Dan, her co-pilot who had previously left her to go back inside to check for other possible transport orders came rushing out of the pelicans bay doors.

"Shit! Looks like things happened why we were grounded Aspen!" Dan shouted as he came out. "Hostile activity has been confirmed in the jungle area waaay far off from Bracknell, close to Glassglow. I bet it's those covie bastards.. I knew something was up with that message! The 55th has been ordered to get to November ASAP." Dan reported as Aspen jumped up and jogged into the cockpit, snapping on her helmet, taking her seat, securing her flight restraints, and shutting the bay doors. Dan soon followed suit after rattling off the rest of his orders, sitting in the raised seat directly behind Aspen.

"This is Zulu 24 dusting off. Decided to pay our buddies a visit at November." Aspen rattled off into her local comms to no one in particular, switching several switches and pressing buttons. The pelican soon rose into the air, its thrusters burning bright orange and blue flames.

"So the covies decided to show up here....." Dan muttered, the reality of the situation finally hitting him.

"Yep... and they will be begging us to spare their bastard alien asses when we kick them right out of the system." Aspen muttered in reply, the Pelican being the first in Bracknell to leave their local LZ and head toward November.

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster
Task Force 77
Hilton Grand

"So your telling me hostile activity has been reported near Greenland and we can't even tell if its Covenant or Insurrectionist!?" Shouted Victoria, now dressed in full combat gear sniper in everything as she pounded down the concrete stairwell.

"Yeah that's what the Comms said!" Chase shouted back, pounding down after her.

((Only assuming I'm under Sierra Lloyd's command.))
"Drop whatever you're doing and be ready to form up at the 'Hogs in three! We're under attack, so we're headed to the city gates. Move!" Shouted their captains voice through the comms channel, what ever was going on it was urgent enough to get everyone rilled up.

"Well damn, at least we chose the best place to stay. Half of the UNSC is in the bar downstairs!!" Shouted Chase as the coupled neared the lobby, for they had only gotten a room a few floors above.

Shit that's right.. all those drunk marines will do nothing to help us! Seethed Victoria, angry thoughts bouncing around in her mind. "Well at least we wont have to run around for troop transport, most of it will be right outside." Victoria muttered as the sniper pair barged their way from the stairwell and into the lobby, shocked faces of unaware citizens stared them down as the two rushed outside. The night was still peace full and well lit as the two made it out into the night. They moved to the nearest wort hog and climbed in, waiting for the rest of the company to get moving. Being a sniper team, they were under the direct orders of their captain so they sat, waiting for more commands and a ride to the gates.

Lieutenant Jessica Mae Collins
ONI Section 1
Hilton Grand Entrance

Jessica had enjoyed her walk from the ONI commandeered Rec Room to the 'Hilton Grand'. She had no intentions of getting drunk, but a drink couldn't hurt. As she waded through the humid air of the night toward the hotel she hardly registered the incessant buzzing on her TacPad. Was it another FleetCOM update for more ships leaving to assist Fort Greely... No... no it wasn't.. As the blue visored helmet that guarded her face turned to the TacPad secured firmly on her armored wrist her eyes widened a considerable amount. Reports of hostile activity had been documented and sent through all UNSC friendly comms channels... everyone was getting orders to mass at the cities gates for what was reported to be either covenant or rebel activity...

She had not fought any Innies in a long time and suspected the later opponent... her fleetCOM reports told her off the leaving of the UNSCS Ares had already sent her mind to the later. She did not know what she was going up against.. but if it was covenant.. would this planet be ready to defend itself? "Well damn.." She mumbled as she passed the last turn to the 'Hilton Grand'. The peace full hotel was now becoming the spot of urgent UNSC activity as Marines began to become aware of their orders, rushing out of the bar and the hotel to grab a warthog for troop transport.

"Ughhh.." She muttered, turning her comms channels to an ONI secured communications channel... "This is Lieutenant Jessica Mae Collins, ONI Section 1. Are my orders the same as the rest or am I forming up on any specific location?" She asked, always unready for the random things ONI had set out for her aside of other troop movements, maybe it would be different this time.

[jack]

Jack had finished with the weapons check and had been stretched out in the back of the Pelican, snoozing. He awoke with a start and immediately lost his precarious perch, slamming to the hard, metal floor of the Pelican, a string of expletives flying from his mouth. He listened to the transmission, still muttering under his breath. He swore as the transmission cut off, making his way to his seat in the cockpit of the craft. R.J. joined him a split-second later, reporting that the craft was green for liftoff.

Jack started up the bird and then lifted off, screaming for November.

"This is Mike 7-2, lifting off from Bracknell. We are lean, green, and extremely mean, over."

Jack opened the throttle wide open, heading for November like a demon from hell.

[nex]

"Hey Crash, the SPARTAN's already left," called a voice. It was one of his fellow ONI officers, who came jogging down the hall towards him. He seemed slightly out of breath, as he came to a halt.
"The SPARTAN left already, don't wait around for him."
"Thanks." He'd already wasted five minutes waiting for someone who hadn't shown, just to be told that he hadn't waited in the first place. His contempt for the Spartans was growing.
He hurried to the lift, heading towards the hangers at speed.
He arrived just in time to see a pilot crew suit up, and tap repeatedly at their comms gear, their faces betraying some degree of confusion.

"You guys heading down? Need to get Bracknell sooner rather than later."

"Just on our way."

With a nod, Crash clambered into the back, and buckled into one of the seats. He waited for the crew to finish their checks. He'd begun to grow impatient. He'd done more than enough waiting around for today. The engines hummed to life, interrupting him from his thoughts. He watched as the crew climbed in and the rear ramp lifted and sealed.

He felt his weight shift as the ship lifted, then plunge as they passed into space. He settled down, resting his helmet on his lap. He'd avoided putting it on till he was groundside. And even then if it was entirely necessary.

The ship vessel slowly circled downward into the planet's gravitational pull. He felt his weight slowly return to him.

He overhead the pilot speaking into the radio.

"Copy, Two-Zero-Air, will divert. Priority one acknowledged."

The pilot turned around to make eye contact with him."Sorry LT, We're being redirected to Hilton Grand, on a sharper approach. Orders from command. I'm to extract naval crew, so fleet can leave system." He paused. "Something’s up at Greely."

"You best hang on," he said, turning back to his controls.

He felt the gravity shift sharply beneath his feet, as the small craft fired its main thrusters fully, and rocketed to the planet. Its descent steepened until Crash was glad of the straps holding him in place. A loose can rolled across the floor of the pelican, first one way and then the other, as the ship tried to shake off its speed as it rapidly approached the city.

"You best be ready to jump off, we're not going to have time to stop."

He nodded appreciatively, before undoing the straps that held him in his seat and carefully made his way across to the rear door. One hand clutched the rail that ran alongside the overhead storage compartment, and the other held his helmet.

He pulled on his recon helmet securely and checked the displays. The last thing he wanted to do was drop it getting off. He checked that his TAC-PAD was still firmly strapped to his forearm. It was.

The ramp began to lower, as the ship slowed. Crash was able to see fleeting glimpses of a wide metropolis, before the ship overtly dropped into a walled courtyard next to a high hotel.

He waited till the ramp was lowered fully, before jumping out, and clearing the LZ. He looked back in time to see a figure in a naval uniform jump inside, before the pelican rocketed back into the sky.

Now what he wondered to himself. Eyeing up the hotel, he headed inside, hopefully looking for either the SPARTAN or some suitable refreshments.

The latter was easier to find. A small sushi bar parked itself in the lobby, and Crash hoped that if he waited around long enough, the SPARTAN would come to him. He again removed the cumbersome recon helmet, becoming more annoyed by its presence, and settled into a small booth. He placed an order for something light, and tried to waste as much time as possible.

An hour or so later, he as he was raising some Saki to his lips, his comms device rudely interrupted.

"...eta-Team One was sent out on a search-and-rescue mission after a report. Zeta-Team One had made contact with an enemy just a few moments after finding the body of the target. Outpost Greenland lost connection with them only seconds after the firefight had broken out, and have sense then been receiving reinforcement from surrounded forces. Outposts Greenland, Pearl, Greece, and Alaska have been put under lock down protocol BLOCK; no one is allowed to leave or enter unless given clearance by their respective City’s Command Center. All of their units have been directed to be on the immediate defensive and are assuming the worst. We have to as well."

"Shit."

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Lieutenant Jessica Mae Collins
ONI Section 1
Hilton Grand

"Ughhh!" Came the highly agitated voice of Jessica as her transmission went unanswered, she suspected ONI had enough trouble to deal with so she was on the lower half of their priorities, this still bothered her. She couldn't complain though, ONI had been one of the best things to happen to her in her entire military career. She had never gained such good armor, equipment, or recieved such affective training during her time as a Marine in the UNSC. Fleeing herer last Marine mission on that poor doomed planet is what gave her the opertunity to become a 'Spook'. She at first accepted reluctantly, but grew to like the job and it's perks.

Of course when she heard that they might be dealing with insurectionist forces she painged slightly, never had she much mercy towards her enemies besides insurectionists.. of course they were people too.. only with guns.. aimed at you. She never had a problem downing alien bastards of course, to her they were souless little beady eyed monsters that would beg to be put down if they could say such things in her language.

The ONI spook decided that if she hadn't recieved confirmation orders from the higher ups about going toward the gates.. she simply wasn't needed there.. So she strode her way into the lobby of the 'Hilton Grand', hoping to catch anyone who wasn't rushing away in a frenzy of green. Thats when she noticed the armored man sitting at a stool in what looked to be a sushi bar in the lobby? A recon helmet was placed close by so she only assumed he was a spook too. So with this she made her way over, "Why arn't you rushing off with the rest of em'?" she asked. It was a legitimate question, for she had no idea what ONI wanted her to do.

Sergeant David Williams ODST
Task Force 77
November Way Point

"So what.. were the first to show up to the party?" Grumbled David's favorite corporal, Susie Bircholt, in her usual thick mexican accent. She had been enjoying a friendly game of darts with several other ODST in the bar they had recently visited when they recieved orders to show up here. They were stationed in Glassglow so they were closest to the supossed hostile activity at the time of the orders.

"Guess so.... Stay alert though, expect anything." David ordered, staring at the picture he held in his gloved hands. The picture was of him and his wife, on an african beach located on Earth. A beautiful jewel in the over crowded planet. He was still upset about only being able to spend a couple days with her, being momentarily stationed aboard the same ship before being seperated as he took the orbital elevator down and she stayed aboard. I'm gonna miss you, see you when this is all over. He thought gently, caressing the picture with his thumb. He had a strange forboading feeling creeping into his mind like the blackest of black... and he did not like it one bit.

[kuran]

Through the gate checkpoint and out into the field beyond, Lenov drove them at speeds that were dangerous for most drivers.

the warthog skidded to a halt, and all four of them jumped out of the vehicle, weapons cocked, helmet visors polarised and shining silver, and looking every bit the combat ready team they were.

The three other members took up positions behind him, watching all around them. Supposedly Covenant forces shouldn't be here yet, but they had said that on Harvest too, and James remembered all too well what had come of believing that.

James surveyed their surroundings. Nothing but teeming forest, dense with trees and marines. "Well then, seeing as we're here, let's dig in. Jones, keep watch. The rest of you, let's dig ourselves a rat hole."

They got to work, Jones watching around them through the scope of her DMR, particularly in the area from which the Covenant were supposed to be coming. The rest of them found entrenching tools-the Warthog had a few- and digging a few feet into the earth, forming a shallow trench, just deep enough for them to crouch in.

Today was going to be interesting for sure.

[nex]

"Why arn't you rushing off with the rest of em'?"

"That's classified." The last thing he wanted to do was start a conversation up with some dumb marine. Or worse; a local. That excuse normally shrugged them off. He sighed, and turned around anyway; quite contrary to his expectations, the woman opposite him was a junior ONI officer.

"Oh. What I mean is. We're not quite needed. Not just yet." He hastily stumbled over his words.

"Pull up a chair." He gestured to one of the many vacant seats.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

"Oh. What I mean is. We're not quite needed. Not just yet." The suprised spook said, being caght off gaurd by the ONI behind him.

"Hmmm not classified anymore is it?" Jessica offered with a small smile as the ONI officer infront of him stumbled over his words.

"Pull up a chair." He offered in return, so she did so, choosing to sit across from him at a small booth. She removed her recon helmet revealing her dark skined face, cat like green eyes, and curly black hair.

"Jessica, Lieutenant Jessica Mae Collins." She offered, druming her fingers on the table lightly. She was happy the marines were clearing out, no more drunk shouts inturupting her thoughts.

[maxii1]

Name: Richard Reilly
Rank: Sgt.
Command: Feral Platoon (9 in number excluding Reilly)
Location: Prince Albert, Glasgow

It had been a joke of McMillan to make sure that Feral Platoon was dropped off at Glasgow. The Scotsman had laughed as he waved Reilly and his squad goodbye.
Reilly had found the area comfortable and had enjoyed the downtime.

Officially attached to Task Force 77, Feral Platoon had been told to stay alert and on call in case there was need of their skills.

And now there was need of their skills, radio reports had been coming in of an ambush with confirmed Covenant foes outside one of the many outposts.

Official orders had come to get to Phase Line November pronto.

The Sergeant had acquired two warthogs; one Gauss, one troop transporter. “Alright, Loveridge and Glover with me in the Gauss, everyone else mount the troop transporter” He had ordered as the freshly prepared soldiers under his command amassed in front of him.

“I call shotgun” shouted Corporal Glover, leaving Loveridge to mount the gun.

Private Shaw clambered into the second Warthog into the driving seat, Quindlen sitting next to him.
Leaving Rafferty, Watson, Brigner, Mann and Fairfax to try and fit into the back.
“It’s not going to work, I can hear the suspension creak” warned Watson, quickly adding “No offence Cliff”

Clifford Fairfax shook his head and dismounted the Warthog “Reilly, we need another vehicle”

Lee Mann offered a suggestion to the problem, he disappeared for two minutes into a nearby office and came back with the keys to a car. “Flick the switch, find out which one it is and we’ll convoy to the objective”

“You old crook you” smiled Fairfax as he found the car that the key belonged to. It was an expensive, luxurious model, Mann cracked open a wide grin “Oh yeah”

Reilly gunned the engine and accelerated harshly, they would reach Phase Line November and in good time...

[Bippwatt]

"Balls! Knew it was too good to be true. Someone, somewhere, had to ruin it for everyone, eh!?", Nikolai spat as he listened to the Captain's orders.

He snagged his rifle and looked over at Idina. "Shotgun and DMR, right?", he said.

"You know it.", she replied, pulling the two weapons from their lockers. Nikolai smiled as she did so and slapped a magazine into the receiver of his own rifle.

Time to earn their pay, he thought. He stood up and prepared to move out in full battle rattle, grabbing everything from field repair kits to rations to blankets to extra ammo.

Between the two of them, they would have enough to last them for at least a few days of detached duty. Which would likely be right where Captain Lloyd would put them, they being her best sniper team, after all.

"Well, Idina. Pack your bags. We're leaving Kansas."

Finishing up, the two of them moved swiftly to the garage. They found a Warthog with people already in. He recognized them quite easily. "Oh, hey! It's Landcaster and Chase!"

He ran up and hopped in the back. "Hope you don't mind us tagging along with you fine examples of marine quality, eh, Landcaster?", Nikolai said, expanding his Russian accent to be almost unintelligible, while Idina loaded their own extra gear up and hopped on herself.