Futuristic Rapture: a Halo fan roleplay (18+)

[GhastlySquash]

"Fireteam Mercury"

Perspective, she found was always an alluring factor in determining strength. She'd only grown taller as time went on, and after extensive training, she'd never truly gotten out of the habit of just silently...watching everything. Although nowadays, she found it more amusing. When she'd arrived, she noticed Paige checking her tacpad. Probably still peeved that she never got the chance of leadership. Or rather, that Dean was the one in charge.

For the giantess, Cade was still just as happy to find her corner and listen to the briefing. Reb was already on point with backing Dean up, and Sascha was there of course to provide any further motherly advice to the team. Sascha. Still the shortest among the group, but one to try to carry the team on her shoulders.

Shattered Sky showing up to greet the team was unusual. But then again, the A.I. was always a bit peculiar. She wanted to see them off, but Cade didn't forget the sideways glance to her sniper rifle.

The SRS99-S5 Anti-Material Rifle, the latest in the series 5 of sniper rifles. Each magazine contained four 14.5x114mm M232 APFSDS rounds that were more expensive perhaps than all the meals she'd ever consumed in her lifetime. And it was also effective enough to take out someone's entire stomach considering the cost.

Cade never thought of herself as a sniper. Being the big one of the group, she assumed they would train her to specialize in course quarters combat. But as it turns out, being a sniper and being big had its own advantages. She didn't have to worry about making use of little cover, and if in the event someone tried to get the drop on her, well...CQB still had its merits.

As the team loaded into the drop pods, Cade thought about her title. Overwatch. Ironically she was still keeping tabs on them even during their breaks.

"Ten seconds till launch."

Ten seconds. In ten seconds they'd be considered falling stars as old astronomers use to call them. Ironic that humanity looked to the heavens for guidance, reverence even. The militia they were disposing of perhaps didn't see any reverence for the stars. Nor were they privy to the idea of justice that came from the sky.

But in the end, what would they really know? Would they have stopped if the UNSC told them too?

It was too late to tell.

Cade braced herself as the pods dropped from orbit.

 

[Mineczka]

"Ace. That's what you should aspire to be. You're Z-001, the first." Bold words spoken from Shattered Sky all those years ago, back when the young spartan thought life was simple, when it didn't feel like the entire world threw itself onto not only her, but that of her fellows, her family. Her mind remained within those days, as she kept herself at ease, her breathing easily heard in her helmet, her face hidden behind the golden visor of the crimson helmet, with a single pure white stripe reaching from the brow to the back of the helmet. 'Focus. We'll be fine. They'll be fine, you're here after all, Ace...' Those were the words that Z-001, Sasha could think at the time, she could feel the jitters in her chest, a nervous tick that was commonplace when going into danger.

Taking a breath, Sasha turned her left arm towards her chest, watching a small screen flick to life, and project a small hologram past where her ulna would be, giving a better view for what she was doing. Pressing a few buttons in sequence, Sasha began to hear the system in her helmet, "All systems operational, Syncing to Spartans Z-022, Z-044, Z-013, and Z-004.... Sync nominal, Armour and vitals green." Watching her small screen, the left side of her visor began to light up with the states of her fellow spartans, best not to let anything happen to them, less Shattered Sky kill her for letting one of her many children die.

Then, a voice cut through the silence, as Dean stepped through the doors into the drop pod bay, " Look alive Spartans, we’re planet-side in five and we can’t be late for our first date with the Militia.” He spoke, sounding like an actual squad leader, rather than the easygoing attitude that Sasha and her sisters had grown accustomed to. Followed by Reb nudging him, and asking if he was ready to fight, as Dean sat, Sasha rose and walked towards the weapons on the other side of the room, being trained as a medic, these instruments of war were not her best friend, her job was to save lives, not take them. Yet, despite how much she hated it, she was still born and bred for one ting, war. Sasha, much like her fellow teammates, was a weapon, to be used for it's purpose, killing enemies of the UNSC and ONI. The first weapon she took up, was the M7S SMG, a weapon she could fire with one hand, giving her that freed hand to keep an idea of vitals in a fight.

Next, her trusted sidearm, the M6H handgun. A staple in the UNSC forces. As she gathered her ammunition, Sasha simply listened to Shattered Sky and Dean's exchange, turning her head towards Shattered Sky, speaking in her calmed tones, a staple of Sasha's, and one she picked up from Sky, "Don't fret, Sky. I'll be there keeping everyone alive." Her words were confident, hiding the nerves within her, as she reached to the back of her armour, patting the Red case that was connected to her armour, with the caduceus and "Primum non Nocere" written overtop the wings.

Then, the signal, it was time to leave, walking to her drop pod, Sasha watched the doors close, followed by a robotic voice, "Ten seconds until Launch" rang out, followed by Sasha on the radio, in a vain hope to quell the nerves of her fellows, "Is now a bad time to mention I'm afraid of heights, falling from orbit, and tight spaces?" Her words seemed less caring and more deadpan, if her brother and sisters were to go into a fight, it was best not to enter in with nerves playing their part.

Then, came the moment Sasha dreaded, as much as she joked of her irrational fear, she hated to admit it, she was horrified as her pod plummeted from orbit...

 

[Foster]

The cluster of flaming pods plummeted towards Drahlbor’s surface at an incredible rate, the smattering of stars on a sea of black vanishing as they broke through the planet’s thick cloud cover. During the day he was sure Drahlbor was a lot more impressive from this altitude but right now they were pinpricks of light descending in the dark, death from above burning through the shroud of night. Hopefully the Blindness’ little trick had paid off and the militia were just enjoying another light show, courtesy of some harmless space junk.

Sasha’s voice crackled over the pod’s communication system, her dry tone making it difficult to tell if she was joking or not. Dean decided he preferred the former and didn’t make comment, instead focusing on the overwhelming amount of information his readouts were displaying. Truth be told there was little anybody could do if their drop pod malfunctioned, but it never hurt to be on top of a situation. Of course, the readout his gaze kept straying back to was the altimeter. Maybe some people would prefer to close their eyes and let the impact take them by surprise but not Dean, he’d be wide awake when this scrap heap hit solid ground.

“Impact imminent.”

The pods deployed everything they had at their disposal to slow Mercury’s descent, flares roaring in anguish as they battled against the combined forces of momentum and gravity. Eventually nature won out, but not before the thrusters had slowed them to an acceptable speed to survive their controlled crash. One after another they impacted into Drahlbor’s dirt with almighty thuds, clods of the ground thrown up in the air where they landed. It was a relatively tight cluster, the kind that only came from A.I calculations and a windless night. From the inside of the pods things were a different story. The reactive gel layer in Dean’s Mjolnir had worked overtime to absorb most of the shock from the landing but it still shook him to his core and rattled his skull around within his helmet. Once again, he found himself with a strong sense of respect for the ODSTs that did this all the time with nothing but Kevlar and a dream.

Now that he was planet side Dean’s first instinct was to check on his team and a quick browse of their concealed faces on his pod’s monitor was enough to tell him they had all made it relatively unscathed. A few rattled teeth, nothing more. With that out of the way Dean unclipped his crash harness and reached up above his head for the door release, giving it a firm pull until it gave way. A series of four loud hisses could be heard as the pressurized system prepared to do it’s job before the entire front of the pod was blown clear off, revealing Dean in a wary combat stance, his sidearm up and ready to go as he stepped out into the crisp night air. His Mjolnir’s night vision kicked in, casting an eerie green glow over everything as the scent of burnt metal managed to reach him through his helmet filters. There was a reason these pods weren’t reusable; half of his pod’s protective layers had been burned away and dispersed into the atmosphere on the way down to Dralbor.

“No welcome committee. Shame.”

Although his dry comment was full of bravado Dean was very glad the militia hadn’t sent anybody out to track their descent, Mercury would wipe any recon party they could have thrown at them but when the base didn’t hear back from the patrol they’d certainly be on high alert. That was a complication Dean didn’t need, he preferred his enemies relaxed and content. Much easier to dispatch that way.

The sound of the other pod’s opening echoed across the clearing they had landed in and Dean had to take a sharp step to his left to avoid Reb’s door flying directly into him. Not her fault of course, sometimes the pressure that was used to open the pods made them shoot off at odd angles. Instead the door sailed harmlessly across the clearing and bounced off the gnarled trunk of a large tree. The tree had striking red leaves that rustled ever so slightly as the slightest breeze squeezed between gaps in the forest. In fact, all the flora here was a far cry from home. Instead of grass they were treading on a thick layer of something that looked a lot like moss, albeit the same red as the leaves. Fascinating, but not the reason they were here.

As the rest of his team emerged in a similar fashion Dean retrieved his DMR from his pod and quickly swapped his magnum for it as his active weapon. The pistol’s maneuverability was nice but if they got caught off guard he would take the DMR’s versatility over a magnum any day. He pitied the poor soul that tried to get in their way, five killing machines dappled in moonlight, monsters in this scarlet forest. But these monsters were his family. Even Paige, as much as she got on his last nerve sometimes. Not that he’d give her the satisfaction of knowing that.

“Alright Mercury let’s get moving, the base isn’t far, and I know you’re all itching to get to work.” Said Dean over team com before addressing Cade personally. “Best of luck Cade, we’ll see you on the flipside.”

Cade had her own path to follow now, choosing the perfect place to set up where she’d have eyes on the compound and be able to cover them if shit hit the fan. She was a capable Spartan just like any of them but Dean hated having to let her go off by herself. Especially on their first real mission. If something went wrong… but it wouldn’t. He tried to shrug off the motion as he led the rest of the team deeper into the forest, worrying like that was just an insult to Cade’s skills. She wasn’t some lost little girl in the woods, hell, she was taller than he was.

Their little parade stalked through the forest at a steady rate, eyes sharp and weapons ready. For some reason Dean couldn’t help but remember the day Graves had taken them for their first real training all those years ago, a journey through a different forest, on another world. That all seemed so far away now as he led them into the lion’s den…

 

[Viper Actual]

As soon as the pod door was tossed away like nothing more than a piece of sheet metal Reb hopped out with her silenced magnum in hand, raised and trained to chest-height on any nearby potential enemies. Luckily- for the innies- there were no lone militia members stalking the bush and upon realizing just that the spartan visibly relaxed and holstered her weapon to her right thigh.
She turned around and grabbed her suppressed MA5K from its socket inside the pod, checked the ammo counter and turned towards Dean.

"Zed zero zero four, ready," said Reb as she approached him in a casual manner with her rifle in her hands. Aside from the red highlights Reb's earth-colored Mjolnir armor remained relatively camouflaged in this woodland area, especially now as darkness descended upon the lands. A faint moonlight reflection could be seen on her visor as she turned her head slowly to check on the other Spartans gathering around Dean.

Once the order came to move Reb made sure to give Cade both a tap on the shoulder and a curt nod before moving on, following Dean's lead. She raised and shouldered her rifle as the shadows of the trees engulfed them entirely. While still maintaining a sense of tactical readiness Reb glanced to her side and spoke softly;

"First mission in enemy territory and here I was expecting something else than pine trees." Reb paused. "At least the moss isn't glowing or trying to eat us."

 

[Mineczka]

Dropping from orbit was something Sasha hated, feeling the G-forces through her body, watching the skies pass by the blast windows at terminal velocity, the knowledge of the impending impact with the ground, all of it, she hated every moment of it. Fear was something that a Spartan like her was supposed to be void of, yet, as the world came closer, it welled within Sasha, even if there was so many fail-safes to the SOEIV, even should those fail, Sasha's armour could always lock to keep her alive, as is common for MJOLNIR armour. Feeling the chute open, Sasha couldn't help but look down towards the ground, which appeared to still be moving at the same speed as it just was but a moment ago, 'Why in GOD'S NAME did I look down!?' She thought, as her eyes went back to the screens, then, came the impact.

At least that meant the worst of it was over, as the gas released, the door began to launch off, before colliding with another door, and bouncing back over the pod, stepping out onto the ground below, Sasha kept her SMG raised for a moment, just in case there was a welcoming party, yet, silence was all that was present, outside of the sound of scattering animals... Odd. As Dean pointed out the lack of a welcome party, then Rebeckah spoke, mentioning how she was ready. Glancing at Dean, all Sasha could muster was a nod of acknowledgement, thank whatever God wanted to listen that her team couldn't see her face, nor keep tabs on her mental state like she could. They likely would see the fear in her mind, how rattled her nerves were, being how it was over, Sasha could feel everything calm just a bit.

Following Dean into the woods, Sasha watched Cadence break off, providing cover from afar, she was the fireteam's security blanket, the Eight-foot-one fully armoured security blanket with a .57 caliber anti-material rifle that could likely shoot the wings off a gnat should the user want. However, her mind drifted back to those nearby, bringing up the rear, Sasha kept her eyes downrange, remembering clearly the training Graves gave her and the rest of Mercury, and the punishment she had taken for the team. Then, Rebeckah's voice came through again, mentioning the nature, and how silent it was, "I wouldn't go so far to say no enemies are about, but we seem to have caught them with their pants down." A pause came over her, as Sasha's eyes gazed towards the back, "However, we likely have an hour or so before the Insurrectionists are aware of our presence from the pods alone. And knowing our luck, they'll send someone to investigate the debris." With those words, Sasha looked back to Dean, "Just remember, no heroics, Shattered Sky will end me if I don't bring all of you back alive..."

 

[GhastlySquash]

Cade didn't mind the fall. For her, it was a moment of meditation. Where she was by herself and had the ability to therefore act herself. She hummed a little tune as they descended, the giant pods accelerating towards who knows what.

The jolt of the rough landing was less than desirable. But by now, Cade wasn't one to complain nor comment. Silently checking her vitals and weapon, she crawled out of the pod as the team assembled.

Dean was addressing the team but took a moment to wish Cade good luck as she went off on her own. Without saying a word, Cade nodded and took her weapon with her. For now, her job would be finding a scouting point. But that didn't mean her comms kept her out of the loop.

She'd be able to hear Dean's plan for the rest of the team, and as a result, plan her approach carefully. Most UNSC snipers needed a spotter to assist them. For Cade, however, her helmet was her spotter. The ground felt squishy beneath her boots. Some sort of red moss. Poor choice of terrain and the red fauna reminded her of a dessert canyon.

Why the militia thought they were safe was beyond her. In a sense, Cade knew about the militia's cause but not their reasoning. Cause was enough to give a fight, but flight was a better solution when considering what they were up against. If not UNSC marines, than they'd deal with special forces like ODSTs. If they managed to survive that, than it would be Spartans. People like Cade.

Cade continued up the clearing, checking for scouting parties and sticking close to the trees for cover. Being the large titan that she was, cover was something that was grounded into her brain. How easy it was to be exposed, and how to hide yourself or make one smaller than they appeared to be.

In a dark sense of the word, Cade enjoyed the idea of cover though when it came to her sniper rifle. She doubted the milita had anything that could stop a bullet like hers.

In fact, it was better if the enemy took cover from her shots.

They'd be sitting still for her to aim.

 

[Fluffy-Kat]

Paige: Z-044​

Upon automatic activation, the pod's landing thrusters agitated the nature of gravity's pull with a harsh jolt. 'We're landing,' thought Paige, relieved and charged with adrenaline. The pods met the ground with a roaring thud and a screeching shudder, followed by the sound of dirt raining on metal. Paige wasted no time, unbuckling her safety belt she reached for the door release and yanked. There was a shrill fizzle sound...then silence. The hatch remained sealed, it released some pressure but failed to pop open. The spartan pouted under her helm, what were the chances of this? "Shit..." In any case such a minor inconvenience wasn't going to stop her, "We don't have time for this," she hissed through her teeth,"I'm coming out. Watch yourselves out there, Mercury," she warned over coms, not knowing how close or in what direction her team was scattered in...or the fact that doors were shooting all over the place. The inquisitive tech wizard in her would want to dig into why the doors were acting so stupidly, and on their first mission too, but this was neither the time nor place for that. Paige grabbed onto the arm rests of her crash seat, and while using her upper body to hold her self, raised her knees to her chest (as much as her armor and space within the pod would allow) and with full force kicked the loosened door out of her way. The hunk of metal dragged a few feet straight across the ground before falling over. There was a short pause before Paige half-heartedly threw out a, "Sorry," with a stale voice and a lack of sincerity.

Stepping out of the empty shell, she stretched her arms and rolled her neck, getting rid of the all the shaking and vibrations that left her body tingly. The black of her visor in combination with the darkness of night made her shielded face look like a cold, heartless void. The rest of her armor was clad in the same pitch black, with accents of a toxic, neon green that was most visible in it's stripe form that ran from her shoulders to the top of her wrists and from the inside of her armpit, down along the sides of her torso and hips, all the way to her heels. On the back of her left shoulder was a small "044" stenciled in the same color. On the opposite side, a small "Fours" was stenciled in on the right side of her chest. Paige raised her left hand and tapped a button on the side of her helmet. A brief flash of green signaled that the night-vision function of her armor had been turned on and everything in her field of view had a green outline around it, shadows blended together, and the spartan was ready for her task in the stealth of night.

“Alright Mercury let’s get moving, the base isn’t far, and I know you’re all itching to get to work.” Dean spoke up.

Paige nodded and grabbed the DMR that was neatly (and safely) stored in the pod. She didn't really have a favorite weapon, or rather, just hasn't found one that can be brought along as "ol' faithful" on any mission. Like all Spartans, Paige was trained to know her way around every gun in the UNSC arsenal, but she truly shined in reconnaissance and anything digital/technological. She could vividly recollect every time she was caught with a box of wires, circuit boards and other bits of hardware under her bed or hidden among her belongings that she would "find" around the compound in her younger years....and the consequences that followed that helped shape her into the tough, unbreakable (albeit stubborn) soldier Graves and the UNSC made her out to be. "I'm ready," she huffed impatiently, holding up the DMR in hand.

"First mission in enemy territory and here I was expecting something else than pine trees...At least the moss isn't glowing or trying to eat us." Reb observed.

Blue eyes scanned the area rapidly, while her head remained faced forward toward the back of Dean's head in their formation, "We won't know until it tries... Just stay sharp," Paige added to Reb's comment. Still, her fellow Spartan was right. They were behind enemy lines and everything was so still. Paige did always feel the insurrectionists weren't as keen as the UNSC. Sure they were an organized militia, but they lacked the resources a major military branch had easy access to, and therefore easily over looked things.....such as the difference between an actual meteor shower or a staged one used to disguise the coming of their doom. But this was their first mission, their first real taste of experience, every action will have a consequence and no matter how incapable Paige felt the innies were, its still no excuse for letting their guard down.

"We likely have an hour or so before the Insurrectionists are aware of our presence from the pods alone. And knowing our luck, they'll send someone to investigate the debris," said Sasha, and she was right. Assume the worst, and you'll stay prepared.

'Always stay a step ahead.'

 

[Foster]

Dean enjoyed the harmless chatter between his squad-mates as they followed him through the alien woodland, their familiar voices grounding him in this unknown territory. He didn’t interject, preferring to instead to let each one say their piece. Being in charge didn’t make his opinion any more valuable than theirs after all. Dean did crack a smile at Sasha’s “No heroics” though, he could practically feel her gaze boring a hole through the back of his helmet.

The journey to the outer perimeter of the militia compound would have left your average human exhausted but for the four Spartans it was nothing, their augmented bodies making short work of the distance. Considering their size and weight the group moved through the undergrowth like ghosts, nearly silent despite their speed and bulky armour. At one point a winged creature had erupted from the undergrowth and fled into the hazy night sky, provoking an instinctual reaction from Dean who had immediately brought his weapon to bear on the animal. His finger had rested eagerly on the DMRs trigger but he’d resisted the urge to fire and had returned to his steady pace, heart thundering in his chest.

The wall of the compound was tall, easily 4 meters or so, and was topped with vicious looking barbed wire to deter anybody from climbing over. Mjolnir laughed at barbed wire. The only real threat here were the watchtowers and cameras placed strategically around the perimeter of the base but thanks to the intel that the Blindness had provided them they were currently crouched in a theoretical blind spot. Dean trusted the calculations of the prowlers A.I, Alfred, with his life. If he said this area wasn’t covered by surveillance then it wasn’t, simple as that.

“Okay this is as far as we go together, watch each other’s backs out there.”

Dean took a moment to glance at each of his sister’s visors before rising from his crouch, taking a few steps back from the wall before launching himself into a sprint that ended in him jumping up and vaulting the wall. He went into a roll on the other side and came up with his back pressed firmly against the wall of one of the four square buildings that lined this corner of the compound. There was no sign of alarm from the watchtower to his left. Once Reb was over they’d move up and take that tower, freeing Sasha and Paige to move into and take out the more heavily defended anti-air defenses. He didn’t have to wait long for Reb. She cleared the wall with all the grace and agility he’d come to expect from her. This was no time or place for compliments though, team com was now strictly for emergencies only. Even single beam communications were to be avoided unless necessary.

Merging into the shadows the two of them crept around the side of the building until the door they were looking for was directly across from them. It would be a relatively simple matter to cross the small patch of open ground from here to it provided they didn’t make enough noise to attract attention. But before they could try it a single blip on Dean’s motion tracker caused him to seize up, one hand clenched into the universal sign for ‘stop’. Reb wasn’t an idiot but the signal was necessary just in case her own motion tracker hadn’t managed to pick up whoever was nearby. The blip in question emerged from the very door they needed, a steaming mug in one hand and a wad of papers tucked neatly under one arm. His attire led Dean to believe he was no bigshot around here, just some grunt, but there was one thing about him that caught the Spartan’s eye. Strapped to his hip was a Covenant plasma pistol, its alien design unmistakable. It seemed the militia had borrowed more than just the anti-air batteries from the Covenant. After what seemed like an eternity the young man vanished out of sight and the duo were able to move up to the door he’d just come through.

Just as Dean had suspected the door was unlocked, and it swung open with only a small amount of pressure applied to it. Z-013 slinked inside with his weapon raised and ready to fire. The inside of the building was an ugly mix of concrete grey walls and simple polished floors, bright fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling every few meters. The corridor they were standing in was lined with doors that lead off into equally spaced rooms but Dean paid them little attention. Their first target wasn’t in here, this was simply the safest way to enter the watchtower undetected. A winking red light gave away a single camera halfway down the hall, its gaze unable to reach them for now. Shooting it was risky, even with a suppressor. Instead the Spartan opted to hug the wall it was mounted on, remaining in its blind spot until he was directly beneath it. He knew that having Reb positioned at the entrance meant that he’d be safe if any unwanted visitors made an appearance. From where Dean stood it was a simple matter of reaching up and gently tipping the camera upwards until it looked directly at the ceiling, rendering it useless.

Now able to move freely Dean approached the exit down the hall, and gripped the doors handle. Reb was right behind him, his motion tracker told him that much. So good so far. This door offered no more resistance than the first and revealed an extension of the corridor as well as a spiral staircase that must lead to the watchtower. He climbed the steps with his rifle raised, each placement of his foot carefully calculated to prevent unnecessary noise. Luckily the steps were wide enough for two fully armoured Spartans to climb them side-by-side so he and Reb were practically rubbing shoulders when they reached the nest atop the tower. Only two guards occupied the tower, one sitting at a small fold out table fiddling with an ancient looking radio and another standing facing away from the entrance, a SRS99-S5 anti-material rifle propped up beside him. That was fancy tech for an outfit like this, even if the rifle was in far worse condition than the one Cade was currently using. Dean designated a guard for himself and the other for Reb, opting to take the one sitting down himself as he was slightly closer to the oblivious man.

Well, not entirely oblivious.

As Dean reached across to draw the knife concealed in his left pauldron the man glanced up from his radio and locked eyes on the two armoured monsters lurking in the stairwell. He opened his mouth to say something but the words never got the chance to escape. Without even thinking the Spartan had lunged forward and wrapped an iron grip around the man’s ankle before pulling him from the chair with a single powerful tug. The guards head cracked against the ground with an audible clank before Dean’s knife wound up embedded in his neck, preventing the poor man from making any noise louder than a pitiful gurgling sound as his life drained from the wound. Z-013 had no time to process the first human life he’d ever taken but he already knew that the image of that man dying wasn’t something he’d be able to forget any time soon. If ever. Right now his training had taken over and he was on auto-pilot, swiveling around to the second target only to find Reb was already handling it. With bated breath he waited as the longest five seconds of his life crawled by. Nothing. No sirens, no panicked shouting, just the tranquil silence of Drahlbor’s night air. They’d gotten away with their attack unnoticed, leaving Sasha and Paige free to move up to their objective.

 

[GhastlySquash]

As Cade scaled the scenery, her mind went back to the tap and nod that Reb had given her for good luck. She wondered if perhaps she should have returned the gesture. After all, Cade was nowhere near the compound itself. She wasn't going into a firefight. If anything, she'd be shooting from a safe distance. That was assuming everything else went her way.

The night sky was peaceful save for a curious drake-like creature that flew across the area. Cade watched it dissolve into the weird, alien landscape that comprised the land. So far, she had been moving in silence across the vegetation, careful to avoid any incoming patrols, although the obvious signs from their flashlights were enough of an indicator of any presence despite her own motion tracker keeping her alerted to nearby movements. How a militia had managed to get this far with such subpar tactics was a question Cade wanted the answer to.

Furthermore, if these enemies were as unprepared as they were, why send Spartans at all? There had to be another answer. Or rather, there had to be a catch that they weren't seeing. Perhaps there was doubt into their abilities?

She'd done a quick topography scan before the mission to find possible overwatch points. There was an excellent clearing that provided a good primary position to set up. She could establish a wide sector of fire and use her built-in rangefinder in her helmet to take out targets that provided any opposition to her sisters and brother.

As she continued, she stopped in her tracks as she heard a cry. It wasn't a loud cry, and evidently as it continued she realized it was more akin to a whimper. Pulling out her sidearm she began to scan for signatures in the area. The cry sounded human, possibly male.

Her motion tracker suggested the human was alone.

Carefully, Cade crept through the woods, weapon in hand if she needed to execute the distraction. What was a single target doing here? She'd studied the map. No patrols had run through here. His flashlight was off, but he was sitting against the tree, holding a foreign object in his hand.

As she observed the target, she could tell by his attire he was militia. But to her surprise he had a Type-51 Covenant Carbine resting on the ground. Now it made more sense as to why these militia felt so comfortable. Covenant weapon systems being distributed to insurrection forces like this suggested a far bigger investment than UNSC had anticipated.

Resting her sidearm against a tree, Cade took aim.

That was when she overheard Dean mention they were splitting. That must mean they were near the compound.

Looking back, Cade saw the man get up, looking down on a mound of dirt and helmet.

That was when she realized what he was doing here. It must have been a burial. Why or how didn't make any sense. She couldn't recall them being involved in a previous engagement, but then again, resources were probably limited. Or accidents could happen. Still, the man was chugging down a bottle and whimpering again. For a moment, Cade simply watched him speak to the tree.

"I know it's been a while. Been a few years. You fight the fight and yet no one remembers you in the end. But I've been carrying you with me this whole time. And I guess...guess everything has an end buddy. You were the best moa a man could ask for."

Moa? Like the bird moa? Perhaps this funeral was less about a casualty of war than a simple tribute to a...pet of sorts? Cade found the whole situation quite confusing as she crept closer. Whatever the reason, the man was in the way of her position. By her observations, he wasn't a patrol officer and had no partners nearby. Her best guess was that he had snuck out at night to partake in this tribute but had made no mention to the base back home. Taking him out would ensure she could keep her sector of fire.

Despite her armor, Cade was silent as a panther, creeping closer to the soldier until she was within arms reach. Her arm reached over and grabbed the man by his mouth, muffling his cries as she twisted his neck with a quick crack. Subdued, she carefully laid him down against the mound, securing any weapons on him and checking his vitals to ensure he was dead.

Confirmed with her work, she stowed the body into the brush before positioning herself near the clearing.

Dean and Reb had made it to the first watchtower. On her rangefinder, she noticed them make quick work of a pair of guards. Checking below, she spotted Paige and Sasha.

With her rifle in position, Cade was ready to provide overwatch for her siblings.

 

[Viper Actual]

Clutching to her rifle Reb observed her surroundings and HUD as she and Dean made their way through the base. The encountered insurrectionist equipped with surplus Covenant gear was a interesting observation, one Reb recorded with her helmet. Being focused on observations and intelligence-gathering such as this Reb's armor had all the necessary tools to make a detailed scan of the man based on just a few seconds of feed.

Perks of being a superhuman spook I suppose.

While her armor compiled the data her onboard E-War suite was already making short work of whatever firewalls the Innies had. Surprisingly once past the initial firewall there was a second layer of defense of a more alien nature. Reb eyed the feed on her HUD with a neutral expression as she continued to tail Dean with the suppressed muzzle of her rifle swaying to and fro different angles and flanks as her brother took the lead.

Taking out the watchtower seemed like an easy task though Dean was nearly spotted by one of the two militiamen standing inside. As he leapt forth to engage the first tango Reb followed like a shadow. The second man had barely any time to react but when he did he hesitated- glancing between the two Spartans and his rifle- before being jumped by Reb. She tackled him to the ground and placed her suppressor against his chest.

"No, pl-" said the man before two silenced shots punctured his chest followed by a headshot, causing him to go limp. Reb collected the three brass casings from the ground while still kneeling over the dead hostile. Her eyes looked at his and studied his expression. Then her trigger-finger moved upwards, securing itself on the trigger guard. Tango down.

She gave Dean a nod before stepping off from the man and hunkering down into cover. Peeking just high enough over the watchtowers railing Reb flashed a helmet-mounted infrared laser in Cade's direction twice to signal that the tower was cleared. As she hunkered down Reb's E-War suite gave her a rather interesting alert: The second firewall had been cracked and in the process its alien signature had been identified to be something very similar to the Covenant's own Battlenet, though heavily dumbed down and less encrypted for militia use.

Reb relayed the information to Dean's HUD alongside a message of her own; Possible Covenant terminal on-site. Suggest we investigate.

 

[Fluffy-Kat]

Paige: Z-044

​

Paige stood in line as the small team quietly slinked their way through a dense forest to approach the compound. It was hard to miss, the only sign of civilization since they landed, in all its concrete glory, and it towered above the group barring its barbed teeth all around the top of it's walls. An eerie fog emerged from the thick brush surrounding them and loomed just below the forest canopy providing a temporary, albeit patchy, advantageous cover from the watch towers above. Paige recollected that where the group currently convened they were free from the many eyes of the facility's cameras. 'Cameras,' Paige remembered, 'I can fix that,' she plotted. She already began running the idea of shutting off the cameras but realized it would most likely spark more suspicion than help....perhaps in an emergency exit event she could turn them off, just so their footprints can't be virtually monitored, but we'll cross that bridge if we get there.

“Okay this is as far as we go together, watch each other’s backs out there.” Dean's voice was so hushed you could hear the crackle of static behind it on their comms.

Paige nodded to Dean, then turned and looked at Sasha with another curt nod as a signal to move forward. Paige retreated to the cover of the tree line and followed it to the opposite side of the compound from where they previously stood. The spartan pinned her armored back against a neighboring tree with a silenced pistol in hand; lowered, but ready for any surprises. She looked back for Sasha, and when she caught up Paige held the pistol in her left hand while she accessed her data pad using her right. UNSC intel was good, always reliable, the tech savvy spartan retrieved a file that had the layout and schematics of the entire compound, down to the sewers and air vent tunnels that lie underneath the surface. "Bingo," she whispered, "Our point of interest isn't that difficult to reach...distance wise," she continued to tap away as she explained to Sasha, "The problem is getting there, we'll have to be quick and be sure not to draw any attention. Meaning we can't drop too many bodies along the way, or they'll know something's up." Paige peered around the trunk of the tree, from where she stood she could see a single, metal door, guarded by two Innies across a dirt path opening just past the barrier of foliage they hid in. However, just above the door, in the upper-right corner was a surveillance camera, its red-lit indicator blinking. Blue eyes underneath a black helm zeroed in on the plasma rifles that were holstered on the guards' person. 'Interesting.'

Paige didn't know if someone was (or wasn't) monitoring the cameras, so, she would have to get rid of them out of view. With out wasting another moment, she dashed across to another neighboring tree, a forest shadow with black armor. She bent down and picked up a handful of this planet's earth and assorted rocks...

A rock came flying out of the darkness and onto the dirt clearing and rolled just a few feet away from the guards' boots. The guard on the left elbowed his younger comrade, "Hey. What the hell was that?"

The second guard, now alert, stared at the object and shrugged, "How the hell should I know?"

Another two rocks rocketed out from the darkness and tumbled onto the dirt following the first. The guard on the left spoke up with his hand over his holster, "Go check it out, rookie."

"What?" the newbie grew tense , "Why me?!" he squeaked.

"Because I said so, get movin'."

"You don't know what kind of weird animals are out here! What if something kills me?!"

"You have a Covenant weapon right there, you can blast the face off of anything that'll come at you!"

The left-most guard, who was apparently more experienced, removed his weapon from it's holster and shook his head, muttering something along the lines of the rookie being useless and how he wouldn't last another week. He reluctantly took aim and disappeared into shrubs with out another word. After a few painfully long seconds of dead silence, there was a rustling noise followed by a loud thud...then silence again... The rookie called out, "Is everything okay over there?" When there was no response he took a few steps forward, his heart quickening its pace, "Hello?" Quivering, he grabbed for his flash light and clicked it on, the cold light blaring into the dark of the forest, casting moving shadows as he scanned slowly from left to right, "If this is some sick prank, this shit isn't funny!" Bravely (reluctantly), he dragged his feet toward the trees, the flash light shaking in his hands, "C'mon man, cut it out, I'm serious."

A twig snapped behind him...and when he jumped to turn around he was met with the cold gaze of a black visor glinting in the hand-held light, face to face. Z-044 towered over him, she raised a hand and put her index finger over where her lips would be under the helmet, "Shhh.." The frightened rookie gasped and dropped the light in a panic to reach for his gun. Paige covered his mouth and knocked him on the ground effortlessly. Lowering herself onto one knee, she faced him as he laid out on the ground, "Not a single sound, you understand?" The defenseless rookie nodded vigorously, wide eyed, and....pants, probably wet. From the corner of her eye she could see the previous insurrectionist, disarmed and on his back, slowly reaching for his rifle that tumbled a few inches away from him as he laid sprawled out too. Paige instantaneously aimed her suppressed pistol at him, "Don't. Move." she commanded threateningly. She stood up and placed a heavily armored boot on the chest of the rookie directly below her, pinning him down.

Suddenly, here was a crackle and a voice that spoke up from a walkie talkie that was unknowingly clipped onto the belt of the rookie. Paige's gaze immediately snapped downward at the sound, "Sasha, keep an eye on that one," she referred to the more experienced rebel that was their first hostage. She didn't think Sasha's first instinct would be to hurt the guy, but she played his bluff and assumed he wouldn't be stupid enough to attempt any heroics under the watch of a heavily fortified Spartan. Crouching down once again, she yanked the walkie off the younger boy's belt forcefully and listened closely:

"*static* Patrol team 3, this is Control, uhhhhh...you've seemed to have left your post? ....Whats your status? Over."

"Is that you?" With one foot still holding him down, the spartan brought the device close to the boy's face,"Tell them everything is fine," she demanded with a monotonous tone. Paige squeezed a button on the side of the walkie and waited for his response.

"E-everythings fine, Control. There was a disturbance b-but ... I-I think it was just an animal. Over."

"Alright, well... hurry up and get back asap *static*.... stupid rooki--" The connection clicked off and Paige tossed the device aside into the dirt, disappearing in the dark. She returned her attention to the trembling innie below her boot, "A-Are you going to let us go now? I-I wont tell any one, I swear," he pleaded.

Paige released her foot and straddled over him, a foot on either side of his puny, scrawny, un-altered body. She crouched once more, one hand covering his mouth and pistol in the other. She pushed the barrel directly to his chest, "No." she answered dryly before pulling the trigger. The spartan stood up and moved over to the next Insurrectionist, black visor glaring down at him, "So this is what big brother does, huh? Run around killing innocent people, this is exactly why we don't want anything to do with you people," he spoke up, eyeing the 'UNSC' branding under the '044' on her armor.

"No," she straddled him as well, one hand over the mouth, the other positioning her weapon, "This is what I do." The staccato of the bullet leaving its vessel was muffled twice over when it's that close to its mark, in addition to the suppressor. No room to echo or ring like it usually does. Paige arose and turned to Sasha, "It had to be done," she said plainly, "We should go now, we need to turn off those anti-air weapons asap," she gave a single nod. With out batting another eye at the two lives she had just taken, she turned on her heels and made her way for the door. Now that she knew the cameras were indeed being watched they'd have to try something else, and quick, before the failed return of the guards goes noticed. Paige stared at the camera, trying to figure out its angle. It was on the upper right corner of the door, positioned about 45 degrees to the left (her left) at and angle, and pointed slightly downward but not too much. It was clear this camera was just to catch the coming and goings of personel, with luck (and an educated/estimated guess) the camera was watching the outside rather than the actual door below. Paige quietly slinked along the tree line till she was off to the side and out of the camera's possible peripheral vision. She approached carefully and hugged the wall on her back till she finally reached the location of the camera. Ever so slightly, and slowly, she repositioned the camera's view upwards. Unknowingly, just as Dean did where ever he was, same tactics resulting from the same upbringing. Paige opened the door waiting for Sasha to catch up, and once she followed she allowed the door to silently close. Near by was a crate, still enclosed and on a pallet, to which Paige beckoned for Sasha to hide behind with her hand. The spartan sat on her heels and went directly to her TACPAD pulling up the same maps and schematics she used earlier, "We need to get to the control room, its not far from this position. I can turn off their remote defenses from there, and all their eyes," she started and fell silent as she studied the map and pin-pointed their position, which was labeled as 'Cargo Room' .'Cargo huh? What sort of supplies do they have,' the blue light shined through her visor and onto her face, but switched off as she lowered her arm. Paige stood up and peered around the corner of the crate, the room was dark even with the automatic night-mode of her HUD. There was no way anyone else was in the room with them, not lurking in this darkness. Not even cameras...unless they were infared. She flipped on the flash light thats attached to her helmet, and to her surprise the room was densely decorated with large crates scattered throughout the area, almost forming a maze. Many of said crates were pried open, weapons stacked, organized, or pretty much spilling out. As she closely inspected some of the boxes, she realized they were filled with all sorts of foreign, alien weapons, "Ho-ly-shit......"




Mineczka

 

[Mineczka]

Following her team, Sasha's ebony eyes kept their gaze to everything, ranging from the forest, to each of her squamates, Motion tracker, and the status of all squad members to the left of her vision, even her shields were checked periodically. It was a fair walk through the forests of the planet, slowly approaching the fortifications of the insurrectionists. Under normal circumstances, most people would be exhausted by the trek, especially after plummeting from what she guessed was somewhere between Thirty-three Thousand and fifty-four thousand kilometers in the sky, the adrenaline from the fear of that drop paired with the walk would leave most humans completely drained by now, as fear is a draining thing. Yet, this felt easy to the Spartan. Falling from orbit, and then walking quite a hike, at this point, they had been through worse from Graves in training.

Reaching the wall, Dean's voice cut her thoughts off, as always, Sasha was deep within her own mind again. It wasn't a lot said from Dean, yet, the mere presence of his command seemed to bring her back out? Perhaps it was his natural charisma, or perhaps it was just a simple notion of superiority. Yet, Dean spoke, and Sasha, much like her fellow sisters, listened, “Okay this is as far as we go together, watch each other’s backs out there.”

After which, Paige and Sasha broke off. While Paige kept a distance at point, Sasha was no more than six feet behind, keeping relative pace with Paige. Even as Paige stopped to check to see if Sasha had kept up, a chuckle came over the smaller spartan, 'Does she still think me the weak child I was in boot camp?' The medic thought, as the hell that Graves had brought upon her, often being the last one in, Sasha's mind and body felt made to be harder than any substance the UNSC and ONI could ever even dream of creating. Keeping her weapon close, though, Z-001 knew all too well how fatal such thoughts could be.

Kneeling close to Paige, Sasha kept her weapon raised, never know when a patrol could just stumble upon the duo, not like they'd be any major threat to the two spartans, even if they out-numbered the two four-to-one, they would stand little chance in comparison. Taking the medic from her thoughts, Paige began to speak, as she looked over her screen, which was something like Sasha's, though, for technology rather than biology, "Our point of interest isn't that difficult to reach...distance wise," she continued to tap away as she explained to Sasha, "The problem is getting there, we'll have to be quick and be sure not to draw any attention. Meaning we can't drop too many bodies along the way, or they'll know something's up." A light laugh came over Sasha, whom responded in kind,

"Have you ever heard of the Hippocratic Oath? Do no Harm?" A light response from the Ace, "Dropping bodies isn't my forte anyway." Quickly after, Sasha would meet where Paige's gaze was set, past a few trees was a metallic door with two guards, just a rough scan told Sasha all she needed of the two, the elder one on the left was in his early thirties, and from the scan of his vitals he had seen a few fights in his days, likely had been injured once or twice. The second one, however, was much younger, early twenties, and still new to the life of a soldier, judging by his stature, it reminded Sasha of her teammates before their augmentations. Steadying her M7s on a tree she was using as cover, she waited for a trap to be sprung, as Paige threw a rock, prompting the rookie to be sent to investigate. As the rookie came closer, he heard the snapping of a stick of sorts and turned, dropping the light in a vain attempt to battle Paige of all people...

It wasn't a fight, as the boy was sent to the ground hard on his back, with Paige towering over him. At her request, Sasha adjusted her sights to the other guard, whom was talking over a radio of sorts. A response was given out, though under some strenuous circumstances, before soon enough, Paige ended the poor boy. Then, pushing up, Sasha followed Paige as the other insurrectionist was to meet the same fate. Closing the gap quickly, Paige had met him first, with Sasha only but a few meters behind her, as the sound of another round was picked up through her helmet, Paige turned to the Medic, speaking once more, "It had to be done," What did she mean by that? Just because Sasha was a medic did not mean she hated killing, she found it more as a means to an end quite honestly, and had long since become desensitized to violence, while she detested the idea of war, that was what she was bred for.

Following Paige, Sasha waited for the camera to be adjusted before moving towards the door, entering the room, Sasha immediately took cover in the shadows, seeing the hand motions of her partner. While she was to hide, Sasha kept an overwatch from her position, she couldn't see the entire room, but, at least her sister was covered. Looking at the TACPAD with Paige, Sasha noted the same things Paige mentioned, though her curiosity begged to look into the cargo that was here, then, Paige opened the box near the two, lights of her helmet on,

"By God...." Sasha remarked, sharing the same surprise as her Sister, "I heard they had covenant weapons, but not to what quantity..." As those words lingered, Sasha put two fingers to her helmet's side, as a small red dot appeared in the top right of her visor. If this base had this much, what could the other bases have? It was definitely something that at least Graves, and ONI should know. Though her gaze soon turned back to Paige, "Let's move, we likely have at most ten minutes to get to that control room before the building goes on alert that a patrol went missing." Her words were calm, though were so to ensure her message was getting across, "You take point, as you know where the room is, I'll keep your back covered. we get to the control room, blind them, and clear the road for the extraction team. And if we create a little chaos in between blinding them and getting out.... Well, whose to know?"