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Noble Actual
Posted By: Firerwolf<triss2008@yahoo.com>
Date: 13 August 2011, 2:31 am
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July 24, 2552, 07:28 Hours
Shar sat in the warthog, staring down at her ODST helmet. She felt the eyes of her driver glancing over at her every once in a while. He'd tried to start a conversation a couple times but had never really said anything that led to her replying. After a while, he'd just given up. Still, he kept looking over at her. Was it really that odd to see a Spartan without their helmet on, or was he just not used to being so close to a Spartan? It didn't really matter to her; she was used to being stared at. As long as the driver wasn't so distracted that he hit something, he could look all he liked.
Shar was more focused on the reflection she saw in the brilliant blue visor of her helmet. The color of the reflective surface tinted everything blue, and she had to admit she liked it. She'd always liked the color blue and if it were at all a good idea, which it wasn't for her work, she would wear blue armor. She was meant for stealth though, which meant not being seen. Black just made it easier. She did like the blue tint that seemed to accent the sleek lines of the rounded helmet. She wondered for a moment why she liked blue so much. She just always had. She remembered happy blue eyes smiling at her, and blue sheets on her parent's bed.
Cold eyes stared back at her from the reflection in the helmet, the eyes of a killer. That was all she really was any more. She was a killer, out to kill every last Covenant that got in her way. She didn't mind it—the only other option that she'd had was to be a refuge and leave it to someone else to save humanity. That wasn't the life for her. She had soldier blood flowing through her veins. Since the moment she'd hit that grunt with a rock she knew that fighting the Covenant was all she was going to do. She was going to kill them, make them pay for her dead family, every single last one.
Shar absently reached up and ran her gloved fingers over the scar along her neck. The mark splashed along her neck all the way up onto her right cheek. It was just one scar added to a large collection that only seemed to grow with each battle. Most of them she could hide, and her armor made it easy. The slash mark across her back from an energy sword still hurt at times and the large scar on her left thigh from a needler exploding ached if she ran for too long. The others were only reminders of the battles she'd fought, of the victories and all the planets that she'd tried to save but couldn't.
Shar was nothing like the child she had once been. Her happiness had gone with her planet and she found nothing but determination for victory. She never even found joy in her wins. Even if she killed the Covenant on the ground, she still saw so many humans dying, those she wanted to protect. She was only thankful that she'd never seen a planet glassed. She wasn't sure how she would take seeing a planet destroyed.
Her driver said something about their destination and Shar looked up, seeing the building up ahead. She looked back down, once more taking in the visor that was her face to so many. She flipped the helmet over and slipped it over her head. The suit sealed together with a hiss. She looked up at the falcons as they passed overhead and made their way to the camp. They landed only seconds before the warthog eased to a stop. Shar stood up and moved out of the vehicle. She heard the engine spring to life as the driver moved off.
Shar looked around the camp. It was pretty simple. A couple buildings and the two falcons. She made her way around one of the air transports and moved toward the building to meet up with her team. The familiar voice of Colonel Holland could be heard as she approached.
"Contact with Visegrad Relay was lost last night. All signals flatlined at twenty-six hundred hours." The deep authoritative voice was familiar to Shar. She felt oddly out of place in a team. She had been trained, and deployed in the field, as a single unit, sometimes only attached to marines for short periods of time.
Shar spotted a green-armored soldier sitting to the side. She noticed the odd tattoo on the left side of his face and neck. He was absently inserting rounds into a sniper rifle magazine. He must be the recon of the team. Always good to have a sniper on the team. She felt his eyes track her as she moved toward the building.
"I responded with trooper fire teams, which since have been declared MIA." Shar frowned at the Colonel's words. Missing troopers? Insurrectionists were possible, but she found it odd that they would be able to take out troopers.
"And now you're sending us in." The voice that spoke was strong and deep, but not as deep as the Colonel's. The words still carried an edge of power and leadership to them. There was something in the tone that made Shar feel more at ease, more confident, though she wasn't sure what.
"The Office of Naval Intelligence believes deployment of a Spartan team is a gross misallocation of valuable resources. I disagree." Shar couldn't help but smile behind her visor. The Colonel had never been a big fan of ONI, or all their red tape. He'd never been very careful about hiding his dislike either.
Shar moved into the building, spotting a soldier sitting to the side. The carved skull on the faceplate of his EVA helmet drew her attention first. He sat sharpening a Kukri on his shoulder pauldron—a good use of equipment such as the expensive body armor. Shar stopped as an arm moved in her way. The first thing she noticed is that it was metal. She felt suddenly very aware of her own metal limb. It wasn't often that she met someone that had an arm like her. Shar turned her attention to the Spartan attached to the arm and she recognized the woman right way. The memory of standing over her and threatening her flashed through her mind. Catherine, a fellow Beta Spartan. If Kat remembered Shar, she didn't show it. It was likely that she wouldn't. Shar had never really been close to anyone from Beta Company. She was vaguely aware, and jealous, that Kat wore blue armor. She actually liked the light shade of the color that the Lieutenant Commander had chosen.
Kat turned to a figure also in blue armor, but a darker blue. "Commander."
The man turned around to face Shar. She knew right away that he was the leader of the team. He looked every bit the part. His features were strong, only one scar along his cheek. Even his armor seemed to scream that he was the leader. Another figure sat to the side and stared at her. Shar recognized him right away and was a bit worried that he would recognize her. It was Jorge, a Spartan II that she had worked with in the past. His armor seemed to be twice as large as all the other Spartans and he looked to be more machine than man.
"So that's our new number six." Jorge's voice seemed intrigued, but if he remembered her, his tone didn't give it away. Shar supposed it was better that he didn't remember her.
Shar took a step forward, as though to show that he was correct. She was their new Noble Six. It wasn't a position that she was thrilled about, but any chance to fight was a chance to make a difference, so she'd get used to it.
"Kat, you read her file?" the EVA helmeted Spartan asked.
"Only the parts that weren't covered in black ink." Shar knew that Kat might be lying. The woman's ability to get into any information was legendary among the Beta Company. Shar had no doubt that Kat had read every word of her file. Though from the way that Kat spoke she didn't remember training with Shar. Did no one remember her?
Carter seemed uninterested in the conversation, though an exhale that Shar barely noticed hinted that he too didn't believe Kat. He turned back to the screen. "Anyone claim responsibility, sir?"
"ONI thinks it might be local Insurrectionists." Shar scowled at the idea of Insurrectionists on Reach. It was a military planet—the people owed all they had to the UNSC. It would be illogical for them to fight against it. "Five months ago, they pulled a similar job on Harmony. Hit a relay to take out our eyes and ears, and then stole two freighters from dry-dock. That cannot happen here. Reach is too damn important. I want that relay back online, Noble One."
Shar stiffened at the mention of Harmony. It had once been her home and she knew that the UNSC had been using it as a place to hide away damaged ships after fights with the Covenant. She banished the thoughts of her fallen home to the back of her mind. The Colonel was right. Reach was too important. She needed to keep her head in the game.
"Sir, consider it done," Carter replied.
"Then I'll see you on the other side. Holland out." The connection cut and the Spartans started to move. Jorge and Emile stood up while Carter picked up his helmet.
Carter turned around, setting his full attention on Shar. "Lieutenant."
"Commander, Sir." Shar stood a bit at ease. There was something intimidating yet friendly about the Commander that Shar had to admire.
Jorge and Emile started to move toward the door joining up with Kat at the exit. "I'm Carter, Noble Team's leader." She was already well aware of this but knew better then to comment. "That's Kat, Noble Two." So then Catherine was his second in command. She had to admit it seemed right. Though Shar honestly hoped that Carter paid more attention to her then her team in Beta Company had. "Emile and Jorge, Four and Five." Shar made a note of the EVA-helmeted Spartan's name. She already knew Jorge, knew that he was good in combat. "You're riding with me, Noble Six." For a moment Shar wasn't sure who he was talking to. She remembered that she was now Six. That would take some getting used to.
The Spartans moved out of the building, Emile, Kat, and Jorge making their way to one Falcon while Carter lead Shar. He slipped on his helmet as they moved down the stairs. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Lieutenant. You're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled." Shar felt a bit of dread. She was new to being on a team, and on top of that the team didn't want her there. She wondered for a moment what had happened to make them want to keep the spot vacant. Shar followed Carter to the second falcon where the green-armored Spartan, scout helmet now securely on, was waiting.
Shar climbed into the falcon as Carter continued. "Me, I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength. Just one thing. I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. I'm glad to have your skill set, but we're a team. That lone wolf stuff stays behind, clear?"
Great, first day on the team and she was being lectured. She could work as a team if she needed to; she just worked better on her own. She wasn't going to argue, though. Something Carter made her unwilling to argue. "Got it, sir." She sat down in her seat and waited for them to take off.
The green-armored soldier turned and Shar noticed the identification tag which marked him as Jun. Short and sweet, an easy name to remember. "Welcome to Reach." The sniper's voice had an accent that Shar was unfamiliar with. She simply nodded to him as the falcon took off. This was definitely going to be an adventure.
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