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Chapter One

"Deal them out."

"Okay, here we go." The Shadow Ops II squad sat around a table in the bunk room of Lieutenant Owens. They all looked like Owens, who shuffled a full deck of playing cards and dealt out two cards to each of the squad members. Because poke was too complicated for them at this time of night, they had switched with Black Jack. Colin took his two cards and looked at them. Showing his team was a ten of hearts, and the one card facing down was a nine of spades. He nodded and watched Johnny Colbourne bust immediately after calling for another card.

"Damnit" he said, throwing his cards onto the table. The rest of the team laughed. Kreutz Kamp stayed, while Todd Maddox called for another one. Grinning, he stayed. Colin looked at Maddox. The grin on his face gave away the fact that he had a winner. The sniper shrugged and called for another card. Owens gave him an ace of spades. Colin nodded, and then stayed. The team medic, Jamie Fisher busted as well, shaking hands with Colbourne.

"Welcome to the club" Johnny said. This brought more laughs from the table. Owens flipped his cards over, revealing twenty. He nodded and looked at the other players. Kreutz Kamp swore in German and flipped his cards over. He had twenty. Maddox looked at Colin who grinned and flipped over his cards. Todd nodded, and then showed the group his cards. He had twenty-one.

"Son of a bitch" Owens said, laughing. Colin leaned back and threw a card at the tech specialist. Maddox laughed, and then nodded.

"Deal them again" he said. Owens shuffled the cards. Colbourne looked up from the table.

"What's going on Lieutenant? Where we going?" he asked. Owens looked at him for a moment, and then continued shuffling.

"Well, we know we're going to Earth and we know some Admiral wants to speak with us. The confusion here is, why wouldn't the admiral come out here to congratulate us on a job well done, since there are dozens of Flood facilities still in that galaxy. So, that narrows it down to a two things that I've come up with. We're being transferred somewhere else, or we're being shut down" he explained. The Lieutenant's last sentence made everyone go quiet. Colbourne shook his head and sat back.

"Why the hell would they shut us down? Who would replace us?" he demanded.

"Apparently, the new Spartan series is due to be ready soon" Owens said. That didn't make Colbourne happy.

"Douche bags" he whispered. Fisher and Maddox simply kept their heads down. Andrew also shook his head.

"Vat vill become of us?" he inquired. Owens shook his head.

"Well, if the Spartan series comes out, we won't be needed, and basically, we'll have two choices. Fight with the Marine Corps, or go do some desk job at ONI" he said. Colbourne chuckled sinisterly and looked up at the ceiling.

"Gay man, just gay" he said. Fisher looked up.

"Change of subject here boys...what does gay mean to you?" he asked. This brought laughs from the table. Owens looked at him.

"What are you saying their Jamie?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. More laughs erupted from them. Colin wiped his eyes, and smiled.

"In my mind, the true meaning of gay is happy, at least that's what the dictionary says" he said. Colbourne lighted a cigarette.

"Liking the same sex I thought" he said through the nicotine stick in his mouth.

"That's a homosexual, which means liking the same sex" Fisher said, also lighting a cigarette. Owens nodded.

"I feel quite odd talking about this, but what the hell, there's nothing else. I shorten homosexual too homo" he said.

"Yeah, most people do that" Colbourne said.

"Basically what I'm saying is; if someone calls you gay, all you gotta say is, yeah, I am happy thanks" Fisher said with a shrug. A puff of smoke exited his mouth. Colin coughed and waved it away.

"But if there are a dumbfuck, and don't know what the hell you're talking about, you simply say something like, if you mean someone liking the same sex, that's a homosexual" he said. The group agreed.

"Talking about liking the same sex" Maddox whispered. They broke out laughing again. Colin grabbed for his cup of beer, but it was empty.

"Okay, who's getting more drinks?" he said. No one spoke. Owens chuckled and put in his fist. The rest of the group complied.

"Rock, paper, scissors" they chanted. Fisher, Maddox and Colbourne choose scissors, while the other three squad members choose rock. The three losers laughed and turned to each other. They pumped their fists three times, and then extended them into the three choices. Fisher held out his hand like a paper, while both Maddox and Colbourne had scissors. He swore and stood.

"All right, what does everyone want?" he asked, as he reached for another cigarette. Colin shook his head and snatched the pack away. "What the fuck man, give them back" he demanded. Colin shook his head.

"You smoke like a fucking chimney. If you ain't careful, we aren't gonna have a fucking medic. You off all people should know smoking this shit is bad" he said. Fisher lunged for the pack, but missed.

"Fuck off man, give them back" he said. Colin shook his head.

"You're quitting, now" he said. Fisher shook his head.

"Fuck you" he said. The group laughed, as did Colin.

"Okay okay, get the bears, I'll give this back" he said.

"Hell no, give them back and I'll get the beers" Fisher said. Colin shook his head. Fisher finally sighed and walked off. The squad laughed again. The medic came back with six beers in his hands. He put them onto the table and sat down. Everyone looked at him. He looked up from the cards he was looking at.

"What? Oh fuck" he said, remembering his cigarettes. Colin laughed and tossed them back. Fisher nodded.

"Thank God" he sighed, taking one out and lighting it. Colbourne put his away and breathed in the toxic fumes.

"We gonna keep playing?" he asked.

"Vone more game" Andrew suggested. They nodded and Owens dealt out the cards. Colin ended up winning with twenty-one, while Colbourne, Maddox and Owens busted out. Owens stood up.

"Well, I'm going to call it a night gentlemen" he said.

"Chickening out there Shadow?" asked Johnny. Owens laughed.

"Nah, getting disgusted by your breath" he said as Johnny blew smoke from his mouth. The squad laughed and Colbourne's face turned red. They cleaned up the table, quickly finishing their drinks in the process. The four Corporals said their goodbyes to Colin and Fredrick, then walked out into the hall of the UNSC Scythe, heading for their own rooms. The sniper and Lieutenant cleaned up slightly, and then sat around, drinking another bottle of beer each.

"Think we're really being shut down?" Colin asked, putting his beer on the table. Owens looked up from his own bottle.

"Been bugging me for awhile Colin. I don't see the logic in doing such a thing. We were the ones that started this campaign against the Flood, back during the first Shadow Ops. Why can't they transfer the Spartans to fight off the last of the Covenant factions, and have us kill off the Flood, or vice versa. Splitting up the Spartans wouldn't be the wisest thing to do" he said, his eyes glazing over for a moment. A vision of a huge tidal wave of Flood running towards Colin and the first Shadow Ops squad entered his mind, but the sniper pushed it away.

"What happens if they do shut us down?" he wondered. Owens shrugged.

"We've been together now for two years, we are all good friends and enjoy each other's company. If we get shut down, I'm leaving the UNSC military forces. Get a job somewhere" he said. Colin nodded and finished his beer.

"The six of us could stick together. I doubt any of us want to fight with the Marine Corps. We could get a house somewhere and live there, look for jobs, wouldn't be so bad" he said, standing. Owens finished his beer.

"No, it wouldn't, but we still want to continue fighting, so let's hope that's what happens" he said, finishing the conversation. Colin nodded and dumped their two beer bottles into the garbage. He went to the bathroom and undressed into a pair of UNSC issued pajamas. They were grey, and because it was usually cold on board most UNSC ships, they were very thick. Owens also got changed. However, he stayed up a bit late, reading a book. Colin turned in however, the dreams of the Shadow Ops I squad quickly returning to haunt him...

Two days later...

Colin stood with the other Shadow Ops II squad in their dress uniforms. They each wore black suits and ties, medals covering the left side of their jackets. Owens had a single insignia bar above his medals, indicating he was a field officer. A single Pelican dropship had been prepared for them. Slowly, the troop bay ramp opened and they climbed in. As Colin strapped himself in, Captain Warren stood near the entrance.

"Pleasure meeting you boys, thanks for all your help, goodbye" he said, as the ramp began to close. The squad all eyed each other, but saluted the Captain anyway. The Pelican was detached from its parking lot and it zoomed out of the docking bay. It soared out of the large UNSC spaceport outside of New Washington. A large group of dropships had descended to this spaceport from Scythe. The UNSC ship had entered Earth's orbit yesterday, and had awaited clearance to send down its passengers. The Shadow Ops II squad had their own Pelican, unlike the other marines who were forced to share their Pelicans.

The large dropship soared in the sunny skies. It was summer time, making the land below scorching hot. A few sky cars flew beneath them in the straight lines outlined by the air markers. However, UNSC military ships didn't have to travel along the airway.

Washington DC had been expanded so much that it was renamed New Washington. It was a huge circle city, with large buildings and separate divisions, like residential, industrial, etc. The Pelican soared through these buildings, weaving in and out from them. The streets below were crowded with people and the regular road cars. The dropship slowly moved in towards a marked landing pad, on top of a very thick, yet not so tall building. A welcoming committee of decorated officers and a few marine officers were waiting, as the dropship landed successfully onto the pad and the troop bay ramp opened. Colin climbed out first and straightened his jacket. The rest of the squad followed, squinting into the sunlight and looking at the men and women waiting for them. Owens was the last to get out. He cracked his neck and massaged it slightly, then walked towards the officers waiting for them. The squad followed him in a single file line. The officers waiting for them also formed a line. Owens stopped in front of the first officer. The man smiled and offered his hand.

"Lieutenant Colonel Alan Brown, Helljumper Commanding Officer" he said. Owens took his hand and shook it. They did this with the eleven other officers waiting in line. The last man smiled and shook Fredrick's hand.

"Vice Admiral Daniel Casar, Head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Please, follow me, we have much to discuss" he said, walking to the elevator that was waiting for them. Owens glanced back at Colin briefly, who rolled his eyes. They then followed the Admiral into the elevator ramp, the other officers behind them. Slowly, the extremely large elevator began descending into the building. Admiral Casar attempted to talk with Owens, but the Shadow Ops II Lieutenant didn't say much and pretended to listen. He didn't have to pretend long however, since the elevator stopped after a few minutes. Casar walked to another door and opened it. The large group walked down the white tiled and wallpapered hall. The Admiral eventually reached a large boardroom, which he entered. Everyone else followed them inside, the doors closing behind them.

There was a row of seats that were elevated slightly, so that they looked down on two more rows of seats. The Admiral and his officers walked up this elevated part of the room, and sat down, taking out file folders and putting them on the table that was around them. Owens took a seat, facing up at the Admiral, who smiled down at him and the other squad members.

"Well, welcome to Earth. I'm sure you're all happy to be back" he started off, his voice booming through the microphone. No one answered, but the Admiral seemed to have expected that. "We're here today to discuss the outcome of the Shadow Ops II squad. Starting from left to right, would you please state your name, rank and job" he said. Owens stood up.

"First Lieutenant Fredrick Owens, team leader" he stated. Colin stood.

"Master Sergeant Colin Thompson, team sniper"

"Corporal Jamie Fisher, team medic"

"Corporal Andrew Kreutz Kamp, demolitions"

"Corporal Johnny Colbourne, support"

"Corporal Todd Maddox, tech specialist." Casar and the others wrote down some notes onto papers, and then the Admiral nodded.

"Thank you, please sit" he said. They complied. "Gentlemen, your battle records and statistics are here now in front of me and I'm sure you've read them yourselves. Let me start off by congratulating you all on a superb performance in the field of battle. Your statistics almost match up with those of the Spartans. Now, here is why I've called you all here" he said. Colin sat forward, waiting to see what was going to happen.

"As you all know, the Master Chief of the Spartan-IIs has retired, which was why we created the Shadow Ops. However, the idea behind the Shadow Ops team was that it would simply be a replacement, until the Spartan-IIIs were trained. Well gentlemen, the Spartan-IIIs have been trained and are ready for combat, which means that we no longer need the Shadow Ops" he said. Colin closed his eyes and leaned back. He could hear Johnny Colbourne cracking his fingers. Owens stood.

"Why sir, why aren't we needed?" he asked.

"Lieutenant, the Covenant threat is over, the Marine Corps can finish off what's left of them, what remains is the Flood. Because of this, we will send the Spartan-IIIs to finish off the Flood termination. That basically leaves no room for the Shadow Ops" he said. Colin stood.

"How come we can't help out the Marine Corps in taking out the Covenant?" he asked.

"Because the Office of Naval Intelligence cannot pay for the Shadow Ops and Spartans, Master Sergeant. The costs of credits required to make the two of you and continue making you is too much, which is why we must shut one down" he said. Colin sat down and could see Jamie Fisher's hands clenched into fists. Owens stood as Colin sat down.

"What happens to us?" he asked.

"Well, you have three choices gentlemen. Quit the UNSC; continue working for the Office of Naval Intelligence, and by that, I mean working in the science division. Or, you could join the Marine Corps. Your skills would definitely help them out" he said. Owens looked at his men, who were all doing their best to keep their anger under control. The Admiral continued. "This comes to another point of us gathering here. What do you and your men wish to do?" he asked. Owens continued looking at everyone. Colin looked at his Lieutenant and held up one finger behind his seat. The other four squad members did the same. Owens nodded.

"We quit" he said. The Admiral raised an eyebrow.

"Quit? But Lieutenant, you realize that by quitting, you will no longer be a part of the UNSC" he said.

"No shit" Owens growled. Casar's eyes went wide.

"What did you say?" he demanded. Owens shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing, I have nothing to say to you. We're done" he said, glaring at the man. Owens stood up and walked towards the exit. Colin quickly followed him, the rest of the squad doing the same. Johnny Colbourne extended his middle finger to the officers watching them go, then he slammed the door as he left, cracking the thick glass that protected the people inside. The squad went to the elevator and headed down to the lobby. Owens looked at them all.

"Did you all have bank accounts before joining the UNSC?" he asked. Colin thought back and remembered the account his parents had made him. He nodded at Owens. Colbourne, Fisher and Maddox nodded as well.

"Good. As soon as we get out of here, we head to the nearest bank, withdraw some cash and buy us an apartment or something. We'll also need a change of clothes, so if possible, withdraw everything" he said. The five men nodded. The elevator came to a stop and opened. They walked out into the lobby and made for the main entrance. A security guard sitting behind a desk stood up.

"Hey! Stop those men!" he yelled, running around the desk and coming at them. Two more guards appeared and rushed towards them, guns drawn. Owens quickly dashed forward, running out of the building.

"Run! Go!" he yelled. Colin and the others followed suite, however, Johnny punched one of the guards in the face, before leaving as well. The guard's nose broke on impact and he fell to the floor, trying to stop the bleeding. The squad rushed down the sidewalk, pushing people out of the way.

"Military emergency, move!" Owens was yelling ahead of them. This made the people move, as the six well dressed officers rushed past them. They stopped at the corner of a street and spotted a bank. They crossed the street quickly, avoiding the looks from the Washington Police Officers directing traffic. They entered the bank and rushed to the terminal machines. Kreutz Kamp and Maddox stayed near the windows, watching out for any police or security forces coming towards them. Bank cards weren't needed, only a name and password. Colin remembered his password well, since it was his squad codename. He typed in "Shade" and his account opened.

"How much?" Owens called out.

"I got fifteen hundred, withdrawing all of it" Fisher said.

"Two thousand, I'll take out one thousand" said Colin.

"Oh baby, fifty thousand credits here" said Colbourne. The squad looked at him and he grinned.

"I was a criminal before I joined the UNSC, can't imagine the amount of money people will give you for weapons and jewelry" he said. Owens only had three thousand. Once there pockets were weighed down with the small credits, they walked out and found the closest apartment. Luckily for them, it was the best one in the city and had very affordable prices. Purchasing one went by quickly. They all signed a few forms and each paid the owner of the building one hundred dollars, to make up for the cost of the apartment and the taxes that they would have to pay for the next few months. Paying the man four hundred dollars, meant four months worth of no taxes. They would hopefully be out of here by then. They took the elevator to level fifty-one and found their room; 51X. They opened the door and walked into the spacious room.

When the door, opened, it revealed the apartments main living room, with some couches and chairs, all focused on a TV stand. Small stairs led to the kitchen and table, and then there were doors posted around the room, that led to the four bedrooms. They decided to alternate as to who slept where each night. Owens dumped all of his cash onto the table, as did everyone else.

"Okay, here's what we're going to need...before anyone goes anywhere, put on different clothes, or take off the medals on your suits. Spirit and Specter, get some food that will last us a few weeks. Death, you and Wraith, get some appliances. TV, computers, anything. Shade and I will get some extra clothing. We meet back here, no later than 1500 hours" Owens said quickly. The team nodded and disappeared into the rooms, either finding new clothes or taking their medals off. They all came out looking different.

"Avoid the police and other type of UNSC personnel. Get what we need, then get back here. We'll decide on what to do from there" he said. The squad all nodded and left the room together, locking the door behind them....

TO BE CONTINUED
By: Nemesis (aka Agent Shade)

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