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Prologue

The lush jungle environment was any person's weakness. When trying to sneak up on someone, the loose twigs and clustered bushes did not help the individual or individuals trying to move stealthy through the area. During the night, visibility was poor and it often rained. On planet Aries, it usually always rained. Today however, Master Sergeant Colin Thompson felt lucky and was also hoping their luck would hold. He was crouched low behind a fallen tree trunk on an elevated area of the jungle. His S2 AM sniper rifle was up at his shoulder and he squinted is right eye, allowing his vision to be more focused in his left eye. He looked through the scope of his sniper rifle and sighted it on the large entrance of an old Forerunner facility. He raised his left hand and made a fist. The five other humans behind him fanned out around the fallen tree, their weapons up and shouldered. Colin put his hand back on the firing trigger and waited.

It was believed that the Andromeda galaxy had been the birth place of the Forerunner species and their deadly creation; The Flood. Because the UNSC wished to colonize this galaxy, they had sent out large dispatch groups of their military forces in order to secure every planet in the system. It just so happened that Colin and the Shadow Ops II squad were ordered to investigate Aries, a planet that had very little land and a lot of water. Because of this, it rained a lot. Colin had already gone through two pairs of socks. His third pair was soaked completely, thanks to the swamp First Lieutenant Fredrick "Shadow" Owens had made them go through earlier.

The jungle that surrounded Colin reminded him a lot about Nigeria, the jungle that the original Shadow Ops squad had been ordered to explore. Memories flooded his mind suddenly, and he saw his old commanding officer, Lieutenant Pearson and three other humans disappear in an enormous explosion caused by a Jackhammer rocket launcher. Colin shook his head quickly, pushing the vision out of his head.

"Shade, you okay?" asked Fredrick. Colin looked up and nodded, then returned to looking through his scope. It was still sighted onto the entrance of the facility, which hadn't changed much. Colin was about to order the all clear, when three individuals crossed his line of vision. The sniper increased the zoom and aimed at the deformed head of an Flood combat form. The infested Elite looked at the two infested humans following it. The three grotesques stood in a tight triangle for a moment, before walking back inside. Colin dropped low from the tree and crouched near Fredrick.

"Flood contacts, three on patrol" he said. Owens nodded, and then whistled, ordering the other members of the Shadow Ops II squad over to him. Four men materialized out of the jungle, wearing complete jungle camouflage uniforms and make up. Colin supported himself with his sniper rifle and stared at the young faces looking at him and Owens.

Lance Corporal Jamie Fisher was there team medic. He usually used the MA5B assault rifle and the MA7B Battle rifle, with his M6D pistol as backup. The man had the largest combat pack strapped to his back among the squad, since it carried all of his medical supplies and extra gear for himself. His codename was Spirit, just like Fredrick's had been.

Corporal Johnny Colbourne chewed on a wad of tobacco, a pair of SMG 500s in his hands. He wore a bandanna and a combat cap on his head. He was also an asshole. The man was obedient, but he had a bad attitude. He was also there heavy weapons/support expert. The SMG 500s and the MA5B assault rifle were his choice of weapons. His codename was Death.

Johnny's trusted friend and tag along was Corporal Andrew Kreutz Kamp. The man was German and had the accent to prove it. He didn't have that bad of an attitude and was very friendly, but he laughed at every single stupid joke Johnny Colbourne said. He was demolitions, carrying there teams Jackhammer rocket launcher on his back. Inside his pack, were four extra rocket packages. If Corporal Fisher's bag was big, Andrew's bag was heavy. However, he was an extremely big man, and never complained. His codename was Wraith.

The quiet one of the team reminded Colin of himself, during Shadow Ops I. He however talked, but did it rarely. Corporal Todd Maddox was the youngest, and was there tech specialist. Most marine's hated technicians, but Todd had an air about him, that gave the impression that he was an all around cool guy, which he was. He didn't talk much around his friends and usually talked with his commanding officers. He pretty much copied Jamie Fisher in choice of weapons, but his pack was smaller. His codename: Specter.

Finally, there leader and Colin's close friend, First Lieutenant Fredrick Owens. The man had been the Shadow Ops I medic, but had proven to be a capable leader during the training of Shadow Ops II, so was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. This didn't bother Colin at all. Although he had starting talking again, he didn't like being in charge. He was quite happy with his rank and overall team position. Owens used the MA7B Battle rifle as his primary weapon, but had the assault rifle for a backup. His codename was Shadow.

Colin had kept his old status as team sniper. His aim only got better every day. He had never missed since the death of his Shadow Ops I teammates. He had the MA7B Battle rifle for his main weapon, but used the S2 AM sniper rifle. His codename was still Shade. The team all sat silent, looking at Fredrick, who made sure no one heard them.

"All right, we got Flood forms all over this bloody place from the looks of it. A patrol of three out front, so that shouldn't be hard. Schematics show that this place isn't so big. We kill the patrol, and then move inside, clearing out whatever lies within. Shade will take point, Wraith picks up the rear. Clear?" he said. The team nodded. Colin stood up and shouldered an M90 shotgun. For this particular mission, the Shadow Ops II squad all used M90 shotguns as their primary weapon; because the Flood combat forms couldn't be taken out easily by their assault and battle rifles. Colin leapt high over the tree trunk and rushed forward, keeping himself low. The trio of Flood forms had their back to him. Colin motioned to his right with his hand, then to his left. Corporals Fisher and Kreutz Kamp and Lieutenant Owens crouched near the main entrance, while Colin, Maddox and Colbourne rushed to the patrol team. Colin stuck the end of his shotgun into the back of the infested Elite and fired. The top half of the combat form exploded, showering him with green bile and blood. The other two forms turned, but Maddox and Colbourne fired their own shotguns before the Flood had a chance to react. The three humans stood over the corpses for a moment, then rushed to the entrance.

"Shit, they heard us" Owens said over the radio. Colin rushed over to his leader, to find them firing their shotguns furiously into the long tunnel that lead inside the entrance. Small groups of Flood combat forms were rushing up to the three humans. Colin quickly crouched on the other side of the opening and fired his own shotgun. Two Flood combat forms fell from the single rounds. Colbourne and Maddox stood around him, firing their own shotguns, while Owens and his group reloaded. Colin stood and began walking down the tunnel, firing at the other Flood forms that were just arriving. Corporal Colbourne and Maddox fired as well, following him down the opening. After reloading, Owens, Fisher and Kreutz Kamp ran to catch up.

"Cover fire" Colin yelled, as he took a knee to reload. Corporal Colbourne also knelt, but Maddox fired what was left in his shotgun, allowing Colin and Johnny to reload. Owens and the others caught up and fired as well. The squad was positioned inside the large holding cell of the facility, since that was what it was designed for. Majority of the Flood forms were gone, but what was left were now dead. Colin scanned the room with his shotgun. The gross smell of rotting flesh reached his nose and he quickly covered it with a bandanna he had around his neck. However, the smell meant dead Flood forms, which was a good sign. Piles of the corpses lay in the room, which was almost completely pitch black, but thanks to the bright sun that shone onto Aries's surface, light illuminated most of the room. The team's flashlights explored the darker corners. Owens cleared his throat.

"That was good, now, let's get moving. Death, Wraith, cover one entrance. Spirit, Shade, the other one. I and Specter will plant the charges" he explained. Colin looked over at Todd Maddox, who was reaching into his pack and grabbed a non-nuclear HADES BOMB. The lone mine had the power to bring this entire structure to the ground.

While Colin and Corporal Fisher waited at one of the entrances, Owens and Maddox planted the weapon. Fisher held a cigarette in his hand and inhaled the toxic fumes. He coughed slightly and offered Colin one, who shook his head.

"I don't smoke, why should you?" he asked the medic. Fisher shrugged.

"Helps keep me warm sir, I find it quite cold" he said. Colin nodded. The dampness in the air made the interior of the jungle extremely cold. He noticed, but because he had come prepared, he wore three layers of clothing. He was actually sweating. He looked around the jungle, taking in the last of its air. Soon after the mine was planted and detonated, they would be off this planet, since this was the last Forerunner facility on it. No sooner did this thought exit his mind, and then Lieutenant Owens yelled into the team radio "Fire in the hole!" Colin quickly snapped to attention and dashed forward with incredible speed. Corporal Fisher tossed his cigarette, and rushed after the sniper. Colin leapt high and hide behind an extremely large boulder. He had used the same boulder a lot earlier to spy on the facility for a few hours. It was very tall and wide, and would provide good protection from the explosion. Fisher came to a stop and hide behind the boulder as well, panting heavily. A countdown began in the team's radio.

"3...2...1..." An enormous bang entered their ears, followed by the whole ground shaking as the mine detonated. The Forerunner facility began to crack and crumble, before finally bursting into a thousand pieces, letting the fires within outside. A small shockwave expanded out from the destroyed facility. Colin felt it hit the boulder, and then move over them. His ears were ringing and his vision clouded by the dust and ash that was slowly covering them. Colin shook his head, relieving himself of the clouded vision and walked into the open. There was a huge crater in the ground where the facility once was. Large chunks of the metal used to create it sizzled all over the jungle, and some even burned. Colin looked over at the other members of the squad, walked out of a dried up creek bed. Owens gave him a thumbs up sign. Colin grinned and returned it. The squad assembled inside the crater. They waited there for a few minutes, making sure no unexpected visitors came to see what happened. A few animals that looked a lot like monkey's screamed at them, but other than that, no one showed up.

"All right, mission complete, let's head back to the LZ" Owens said as they climbed out of the crater. The squad fanned out in an organized line and began jogging through the jungle. They had arrived here on a Pelican dropship, which they had landed in a valley several kilometers away. However, the Shadow Ops II squad made the journey in less than ten minutes. They arrived into the valley, panting and sweating heavily. Colin put his hands onto the back of his head and stood straight. He glanced over at Fisher, who had collapsed onto the ground.

"Still cold?" he asked. Fisher laughed and gave Colin the middle finger. The sniper shook his head and slowly walked onboard the Pelican, the rest of the team slowly following him. Owens already sat in the pilot's chair. Slowly, the low rumble of the ship's engines entered their ears. Colin strapped himself to one of the seats in the troop bay and held onto the straps as the Pelican troop bay ramp closed and the ship slowly hovered above the ground. Owens accelerated the engines and they roared into the air, leaving the jungle behind them. The deep recesses of space greeted them. Colin climbed into the co-pilot's seat and watched as they approached the large UNSC cruiser Scythe. The large portside docking bay was open, and Owens steered the Pelican towards it.

"This is Shadow Ops II, request permission to dock" Colin said into the radio.

"Roger that Shadow Ops, welcome aboard" the communications officer of the Scythe answered. The docking bay became larger as Owens pushed the engines so that they sped up. Eventually, the docking bay's anti-grav generators took control of the ship and guided her in. The bay doors slowly closed behind the ship, as it was positioned and secured into a small parking port. The ramp opened and they all clambered out. A group of marines and a few medics greeted them, and assisted them with their gear. Colin noticed Captain Warren approach them, smiling his boyish smile. The squad saluted and the Captain returned it.

"Well done down there" he began. Owens nodded.

"Thank you sir, are there any other facilities on Aries?" he asked.

"No" Warren answered.

"Will we exploring a nearby planet for more facilities?" Owens asked again.

"No" Warren said again. Owens raised an eyebrow.

"What's our course sir?" he inquired.

"Earth, Lieutenant, we're going to Earth" he said. Colin raised an eyebrow and looked at Owens, who looked at him as well.

"Why Earth sir, there's dozens of planets still unchecked...is Earth under attack?" Owens said.

"Sorry gentlemen, I can't tell you why, but I can tell you that Earth isn't under attack. Vice Admiral Casar wishes to speak with you. That's basically all I can say. We're underway right now and we'll get there in two days. Relax; you've had a long, hard month. Your quarters are free, you can rest for now" he said. Owens nodded and the Shadow Ops II squad saluted. Captain Warren returned it and walked off down the hall. Owens turned around to look at his squad.

"This is very unexpected. I'll try and find out more information, although I doubt that will go well. You lot go to your rooms and remain there, I'll brief you individually. Get some rest, like the Captain said, you all deserve it" Owens said. The team nodded and dispersed into the ship, heading for their individual rooms. Colin walked up to Owens.

"Something's not right sir, if some Admiral wanted to congratulate us, he wouldn't have us go to him, he would come to us" Colin said. Owens nodded and lowered his head.

"I feel the same way, but Warren won't tell us anything. We're just going to have to wait" he said, and began walking down the hall to his room. "Game of poker tonight?" he asked, turning around. Colin nodded.

"I let everyone else now" he said. Owens grinned and saluted. Colin returned it and the two men parted. Whatever was in store for them at Earth, Shade wasn't looking forward to it and he feared it.

TO BE CONTINUED
By: Nemesis (aka Agent Shade)

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