Epsilon Eridani system 

Planet Reach

August 30, 2552, 18:54 hours

He moved down the mass-driver ladder as he witnessed the Pillar of Autumn launching out of the atmosphere. Disappearing into the stars, it flew through the clouds made by war, and the ship's reflection left the orange-golden visor. His focus shifted, and he looked towards the fellow Spartan behind him.

{This is the Pillar of Autumn were away. The package is with us.} Captain Jacob Keyes radioed in and confirmed the Pillar of Autumn's escape. He was rearing his thoughts back to Dot's words. The last off-planet extraction flew off, meaning all that was left was to fight.

"You should have left with them, Noble Two." Noble Six voiced his thoughts to his CO.

He knew he should've been the only Spartan to stay, fight, and die. It was his duty, his sacrifice. But his stubborn CO didn't share his perspective, choosing to stay and fight another day instead of walking on that pelican as she should have.

"So you can be here alone and have all the fun you want? I don't think so," she said dryly.

Not answering her dry response, he looked forward at the fallen cruiser he had just shot down and looked lower to see some fighting still left to be done.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three thunderous MAC shots shattered the air, jolting the two Spartans out of their focus. A new development had arrived, casting a shadow over a damaged CAS carrier flanked by three CCS cruisers seeking protection—a barrage of plasma shots from the three smaller cruisers toward the origins of the MAC shots. While as if poking a wasp nest, hundreds of Banshees and dozens of Seraphs started to target the source of the attacks.

Looking in the direction from which the MAC shots came, a battle group of nine UNSC ships appeared. From what the two Spartans could see, the vessels consisted of a Punic supercarrier, followed by two Epoch carriers and a mix of two Stalwart and four Paris frigates.

{This is Punic supercarrier Fires of Winter. All remaining UNSC forces must follow that carrier and assist us with our objective, acknowledge.}

Six looked at Noble Two, who held a finger to her coms, ready to respond to the call of arms.

"This is Noble Two with a remnant of the noble team acknowledged." As she finished her communication, she sprinted to action along with Noble Six, who followed her movement.

Behind them, the UNSC Battlegroup shot smaller armaments at the fleeing covenant ships while surviving soldiers of reach answered the calls.

{Iota company responding: we are on our way.}

{This is the remainder of Echo team we read you.}

{Theta company en route.}

{Gauntlet team heading to vector.}

{Red team mobilizing}

{Eta Company bringing in our artillery}

{Comet Platoon will meet you at the target.}

The two spartans reached a small hangar meant for the deployment of the UH-144 Falcon, hesitant to let his CO pilot Noble Six conceded to man one of the M460 automatic grenade launchers attached to the 144A variant of the Falcon.

The Falcon's rotor blades started to spin, providing the necessary force to lift the vehicle. This force combines with the thrust generated by the jet turbines. Once Noble Two had set their desired altitude, the Falcon's rotor blades tilted more horizontally. They were heading toward the waypoint on their HUDs.

Six understood that this new objective must be significant enough for the UNSC to deploy a heavily armored and large Battlegroup to a designated lost world. But he still wondered what this new objective could be.

Looking around with his hands gripped tightly on the grenade launcher, eyeing the area for any sign of covenant forces. Though surprisingly, the airspace was empty; maybe the covenant centralized their troops toward the carrier was a thought Noble Six held.

A sudden interruption made him pause as he was lost in his thoughts. His heads-up display (HUD) lit up with a distress notification. Shortly after, the sender's message came through on the radio, adding urgency to the situation. 

{Hello! This is Theta company covenant forces are intercepting us with air armament, and we need assistance.} 

When checking for the IFF tag, Six noticed they were pretty close to the company and waited for Noble Twos' response. Ultimately, he didn't have to wait long as Noble Two radioed to Theta Company and received a response from the Battlegroup. "Noble Team en route to provide air support ETA 4 minutes. Hold on." 

{Pelicans are inbound to secure remaining UNSC forces ETA 20 minutes.}

Feeling the shift in direction, Six readied to combat Covenant aircraft with the grenade launcher and faced more forward, waiting for any targets to reach visual range. 

Upon reaching the three-minute mark of continuous flight, Six could see many Banshees strafing. Large green blasts from fuel rod cannons could be seen from the five kilometers they needed to engage the enemy crafts.

"Six, I count over 20 Banshees; get ready to engage." Noble Two Radioed in the team comms.

Hearing the shots from the autocannon, the primary weapon of the Falcon, Six aimed at a Banshee that had changed from strafing to shooting its plasma cannons at their Falcon. The Banshee blew up after two fragmentation rounds from Six.

The other covenant aircraft noticed the new addition in the skirmish as half of the remaining Banshees changed their targets to the Falcon.

The Falcons' autocannon shot out in bursts while Six took shots at the surrounding Banshees. Bright green plasma shot towards the Spartan's aircraft and yet missed due to the maneuvering ability of Noble Two.

As the Covenant aircraft's pressure loosened, Theta company started to fire back at the remaining Banshees, focusing on them. Four M41 SPNKr rockets, each with its own Banshee target, tracked down their target, and each rocket landed, blowing up its respective Banshee.

At this moment, 9 Banshees were destroyed by Theta company's and Noble Team's combined efforts. Six scored five kills as the Banshees used their propulsion drives to evade the autocannon firing range, though they still got taken out with their secondary weapon.

The remaining Banshees put some distance between themselves and the UNSC forces, and Noble Two then lowered the Falcon's altitude.

"Come on; soldiers were going to need another gunner," Noble Two Said in the UNSC-directed comms.

One of the soldiers proceeded to get on the mounted grenade launcher and prepared for the remaining Banshees to circle back for another strike.

During the intense aerial battle, rockets were launched from SPNKrs to intercept the banshees. However, despite their efforts, only one of the banshees was successfully shot down, leaving the remaining 11 to continue their assault. 

Two Banshees splintered off from the leading group to strike at the Falcon, possibly as a distraction. It didn't matter, as they were destroyed in a matter of seconds, with the grenade launchers badly damaging them and the autocannon finishing them off.

As Noble Two was prepared to rejoin the main aerial battle, the remaining Banshees were suddenly assaulted by 20mm rounds. The loud sound of the bullets whizzing past filled the area, along with the roaring sound of Pelican engines following.

Seven D77-TC Pelicans arrived to pick up the remnants of Theta Company along with an escort of four AV-14 Hornets. The Falcon held guard in case of any more covenant arrivals.

Six felt it wasn't appropriate to relax until they got off the planet—at least, maybe not even then. Humanity was on the edge, and whatever the vector led to might ultimately help. Who knows, as no mission detail was given out yet besides a rallying point.

Once everybody was loaded up, all UNSC aircraft started their course for what could be the last battle within reach: a desperate crusade on the lost planet.

The lack of covenant troops did not ease the tension in Six's mind as he pondered the missing covenant fleet that came to decimate the UNSC on Reach. The vision of a dreary atmosphere that was once filled with a blue sky, and in the end, they couldn't save it. Sure, they pushed back the covenant enough to get civilians off the planet, but maybe more could have been done. 

Jorge, a Spartan-II, was one of the two he interacted with while only seeing others in passing.

Thinking back on the rest of the Noble Team, a short while ago, a team of six whittled down to three, maybe two, but without information on Jun Noble Three Six, they could not be sure. That could be where he could have done the most by helping the rest of his team, but in the end, nothing could change what had happened. At least he saved one.

Shutting down his thoughts as they arrived at the rally point, he looked down to gaze upon the few remaining UNSC Army companies on Reach, looking heavily battered yet ready for another round, prepared to fight against the covenant with a never-yielding force.

Other Pelicans appeared mainly to drop off M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicles, otherwise known as Warthogs, for the ground troops while the others dropped off more soldiers.

In the distance, Six could see the pulse lasers of the Covenant cruisers firing at UNSC space fighters. The damage done to the three ships was heavy and easily seen.

After landing the Falcon, Noble Two voiced their subsequent actions as she stood next to her Teammate. "Looks like we are needed in the command center."

Both have received a communique from the temporary command post for debriefing.

They headed toward the most prominent platform and passing soldiers who gazed at the two spartans and spoke among themselves.

"More Spartans?"

"What difference is it going to make? We are outnumbered five to one."

"It matters because we are not going down just twiddling our thumbs; we are going down fighting now; stop your yapping and get ready, soldiers."

Epsilon Eridani system 

Fires of Winter-Punic-class Supercarrier

August 30, 2552, 20:28 hours

"Athena, Status on SPA-2?" Spoke a man looking to be in his late thirties and wearing a traditional grey officer uniform.

"SPA-2 certainly provided us enough time and only sustained little casualties." A silver AI appeared wearing an ancient Spartan helmet and adorned a battle-like toga, enhancing her warrior image to fit her name-sake image.

"43 total covenant ships are in pursuit of SPA-2, thus fully ignorant of us due to the help of SPA-2 Prowler."

"Let's hope we can effectively use that time. What is the status of the Spartans?"

"Prepped and ready to join their brethren down below."

"And you?"

"Waiting for your command, Rear Admiral."

"OK, our timetable. It is not the largest, but we must make it work." The man inputs commands to prepare the AI transfer to the data crystal. The AI disappeared from the HoloTable, and the data crystal glowed silver.

"Take the data crystal down to hangar bay 1. The Spartans are waiting, and they need to go now!" Commanded the Rear Admiral to a stationed soldier. 

"Sir!"

Epsilon Eridani system 

Planet Reach

August 30, 2552, 20:48 hours

Finally, Noble Team reached the command platform, with a couple of soldiers posted next to the entrance who nodded towards the Spartans as they let them through. Entering the command center, the two Spartans found themselves two of the many in the command center.

On the small holo table, 18 Spartans surrounding it, including the rest of Noble Team,  examined the three Covenant Cruisers and the land below. Most of the remaining Spartan-IIIs kept their helmets, except for each team leader and the Spartan leading the mission debrief. Miljonir was red, and due to their helmetless head, their blonde locks were in the open to be viewed. A female Spartan with a gloved hand was placed on her CQB helmet as she explained the mission details.

"HIGHCOM has authorized  Rear Admiral Wilder Gatlin and the newly established UNSC SPA Fleet to engage the covenant specifically; these four ships are the important ones while the rest of the Covenant Fleet is distracted right now."

Noble two, though, was surprisingly quiet. Six at least thought she would ask a question specifically on the importance of the objective. Turning his head back to face the familiar Spartan-II, at first, he may not have reacted initially to the Spartan, but it was a surprise to see her.

"Each Spartan Team has its target and will be assisted with current ground forces and more to reach it," said the larger Spartan.

"Ma'am, what specifically will we be doing?" Spoke Gauntlet One with their CQC helmet held against his hip.

Finally, the big question was asked as Six moved his eyes from Gauntlet One to Spartan-023.

"HighCom has designated this area directly under the carrier as housing a weapon of sorts, and Intel noticed a tenth of the fleet was digging here." Outlining the area under the carrier with a finger.

"So far, our scouts noticed small groups entering an entrance to whatever is down there while the rest of their troops, which include close to a dozen battalion-sized infantry units along with heavy vehicles, are amassed under their ships." Continued the leading Spartan.

"Why not focus on the structure's surface entrance and wait for them to come to us while a team goes down to meet the covenant there?" said a member of Echo Team.

"Because supposedly the covenant has the so-called 'key' to unlock the weapon but has yet to deploy it until the Zealots down there have confirmed it is the weapon," patiently answered Spartan-023.

"So Spartan Teams will be deployed along with the rest of UNSC forces and meet the covenant troops to grab the key." Noble Two finally spoke out while trying to surmise the plan.

Spartan-023 plugged a Data Crystal chip from her helmet into the holo table, smiling lightly.

"Hestia Report."

A vermillion hologram materialized before the Spartans in a burst of fiery light. The image was of a stunning digital woman with flowing red hair that cascaded down her back in loose waves. She was dressed in a beautiful, long red satin gown, which gave her the appearance of royalty. A crown-like band adorned her head to emphasize her regal status further, adding a touch of elegance to her already striking appearance.

"TIA 0591-5 reporting." a warm smile graced the digital face of the Smart AI.

"Alright, you are up; explain Operation: CUTOFF to them." Spoke Spartan-023 with her folded against her chest.

"OK, Spartans Operation: CUTOFF will mainly focus on those covenant ships and the entrance to the weapon first; we will have Echo, Red, and Gauntlet teams engage the covenant battalions along with the remaining three defense companies. As soon as you gain a foothold, Pelicans will arrive with Marine four Battalions worth of troops to aid you and thus begin the push to reach each ship's Grav Lift." 

"We are boarding, Ma'am?" This time, Echo One spoke out.

"Our scouts have noticed no unique movement among the covenant infantry below the ships and have concluded that they are keeping the 'key' on board one of those ships." Answered the blonde Spartan. 

"This will then lead to the next part of the mission, which will be each Spartan team boarding one of those ships along with four Marine squads following you to take care of the enemy on the ships and search for the 'key.'" Hestia continued to explain the next part of the plan.

"Gauntlet Team, you will have the CAS carrier along with a squad of ODST following you with the four previously mentioned squads of marines and Fires of Winter shipboard AI; Echo and Red Team will take two of the CCS cruisers." Noble Six turned his head toward Noble Two at the lack of mention of the Noble Team.

"Don't think we forgot you, Noble Team; your mission is different as you will join Hestia and me. A squad of ODST will go down the entrance, take out all Covenant forces there, and find out as much as we can about the weapon." Spartan-023 finished.

"And the fourth ship, ma'am?" Noble Two asked.

"These two will take care of it." Spartan-023 pointed to the two Spartans behind her. The first wore green Mjolnir Mark V armor with an Eva helmet, a right Recon shoulder pad, and UA/ Multi-Threat on the left. The second wore a burgundy-colored set of the Mjolnir Mark V with a Volant helmet and traditional Mark V shoulder pads.

Six, his eyes still on Kat, noticed her hardened look and, in a slight gesture of comfort, placed his hand on her shoulder. Spartan-023 noticed this, though she didn't comment on anything, as the general importance was on the mission so far.

"Alright, Spartans. We have limited time before the rest of that fleet jumps on us, and we need to get out quickly, move out." Spartan-023 stated the command with authority.

Sacred Advance: Kerel-pattern assault carrier

Ship Master Zyto 'Tegum watched the details of his ship's reparations; the damned Humans had rendered his ship to sole defense, with about half of his pulse lasers operable for defending against their air crafts.

"Sir, the humans are moving to engage our infantry." A display of Pelicans is beside VTOL escorts heading in their direction. 

The shipmaster scoffed at the puny number; their estimated numbers would be outnumbered 38 to 1, though he needed to ensure they would be crushed quickly.

"Send in a dozen Banshee squadrons to assist," he ordered the officer, who simply nodded.

"What is the status of the Field Marshal?" He asked another officer who transmitted orders to the Zealot team in the weapons vault.

"They have pierced deep into the weapons vault but have yet to find the control room." Spoke the second officer.

Ship Master Zyto contemplated their next steps, wondering if this was another futile search for the ancient's holy weapons. The second excavation fleet continued searching in another part of this land towards the direction of one of the human bases for another treasure of the ancients.

"Sir! The scouts have reported in about the human forces." The first officer returned to inform the Shipmaster.

"What of it?" 

"Demons have been sighted."

"What!?" Turning to his bridge controls and inputting commands, he displayed visuals of the first human response.

Confirming the officer's words as he saw images of Spartans leading the assault against his forces. Over a dozen Demons were engaging his troops and were supported by their other forces.

"Send out two Battalions to reinforce our troops engaging the Demons," he said, pointing at the first officer. He then looked to the second officer. "Inform the Field Marshal of the filth engaging us, and then get me a secure connection to the First Blade."

The Humans know what lies beneath them if they send forces, especially Demons, to engage them even if they are outnumbered. Zyto 'Tegum's small fleet, named Seeker of Transcendence, initially arrived behind the Fleet of Particular Justice in search of the weapon that lies beneath is their primary role here. In response to being one of the closest to a nearby human shipyard, he had sent one of his cruisers to intercept a human ship, only for it to be shot down before destroying the fleeing ship, which the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee then chased. 

"Sir! The Humans are breaking the first battalion, and I'm counting over a hundred more drop ships incoming." Another officer informed the shipmaster.

"Damn, these Heretics, what of the Field Marshal?" He questioned the first officer, who only shook his head. "I informed them of the Humans, but then connections started to break, and I could not contact the First Blade."

"Accelerate the repairs and make sure every troop is ready to burn the Humans and get me a line with Vako 'Hagram."

Epsilon Eridani system 

Planet Reach

August 30, 2552, 21:32 hours

"We will be dropped four klicks away from the entrance, as covenant forces have been estimated to have hundreds of troops in the area," Spartan-023 Informed the rest of Noble Team and the assisting ODST, wearing her CQB helmet while holding an MA5B. Noble Six put a fresh Mag into his BR55 and dropped the slide to load the weapon. Noble Two had two M6G magnums attached to both leg magnetic holders, while an MA37 was attached to her back holder.

Spartan-023 looked at the two Spartans, and she was given the files of each Spartan-III based on those who responded to Rear Admiral Gatler's message. She inspected each file until she reached a familiar one. Then, she looked at Noble Six, who was eyeing the scenery outside of Pelican. Noble Team was a team of six Spartans, three of whom were already listed as MIA, while one was on his way out of the atmosphere, and the ones staying on Reach were the second in command and the team's newest edition. Noble One, Noble Four, and Noble Five Jorge-052, it was a long time since she saw him.

"Rear Admiral Gatler put me in charge of this Op, and I chose the Spartan team to join me. I read your files. I believe you may see this as me taking over the team, but I'll let you know that is not my intention." Noble Two simply stared at Spartan-023 and then nodded her head.

"Call sign: Noble Seven COM check." Eight green lights flashed on Noble Sevens HUD.

Only a little time was left in the Pelican ride to the drop point, and each soldier prepared for a hot drop. Type-27 Shade turrets fired shots at the arriving Pelican; most missed, but the ones that hit the dropship melted a bit of its armor. 

"Go! Go!" Shouted Noble Seven as the group spread out around the rocks for cover. Noble Six shot three bursts at an elite, shredding his shield, and the final burst shredded the elite's head. 

"Rocks five-o-clock Six." Taking note, he aimed towards his right, firing his BR55 to kill both grunts traveling past rocky cover.

"Thanks, Hestia."

"No problem, Six." said the AI housed in Six's armor.

Since the Smart AI would be needed on the Op, Hestia had to be housed in Spartan, which Noble Two refused. Noble Seven volunteered Six, to which he didn't argue but had an interesting experience when the AI was inserted into his armor; a cool liquid sensation felt like it was going to his brain. 

Six ducked his head down as an overcharged shot of plasma flew toward him; as a result of his timely duck, his rock cover boiled. Seven red dots appeared on his motion tracker, and moved closer to his position. 

A barrage of plasma bolts was sprayed over the UNSC forces' cover, preventing counterfire, to which Six responded with Active Camo. Adjusting his position further closer to the enemy line, he found cover. He shot at the seven grunts heading toward his old position and fired at the Shade turret operators. Two grunt operators died rapidly, while the third focuses on Six.

Quick to notice, the two other Noble Team members pushed forward while the ODST followed behind. Noble Two shot the last remaining Shade turret operator, allowing Six to move forward.

As time was wasted, they opted for a shoot-and-keep-going tactic, taking out two of the three remaining covenant squadrons while the other shot from the little hill where the Shade turrets were. Six and Kat prevented the remaining grunts from operating the Shade turrets, and then the three Spartans and ODSTs fired on the enraged Elite who charged at them.

Seeing no more Covenant, the three Spartans nodded at each other and jogged lightly, which the ODSTs followed. Heading closer to the covenant-infested hole, to which they would need to either sneak their way in or shoot their way in. The team slowly moved through the desolate forest with no covenant forces patrolling. 

The seemingly empty forest didn't allow the UNSC strike team to feel safe; if anything, it made them warier in their surroundings, though once they reached the end of the forest, they could see the lack of patrols.

"Sniper!" Harshly whispered one of the ODSTs. At the edge of the cliff was the raptor-like Jackal snipers. Holding the Beam rifle, the UNSC equivalent of the S7 sniper rifle.

Six signals the team to hold back while he places his BR55 on his back and pulls out the M1 Combat knife attached to his chest. Once again, activating his active camo, he slowly creeps onto the unsuspecting jackal. Once behind it, he clamps a gloved hand on its beak-like mouth and quickly slashes his knife across its throat, which leaks its bright purple blood.

Placing his knife back into its holder after a quick cleaning of the alien blood and then grabbed the dead jackal's beam rifle. He could see the surrounding snipers across the 4km wide hole without scoping. Looking down the covenant-filled hole, he could estimate seeing a full-sized covenant company, possibly more.

"Company-sized infantry with heavy armor guarding the entrance and seven more snipers along the edge." Six radioed in TEAMCOM.

"Six will focus on taking out the remaining snipers while we head down there. Once you have removed all the snipers, we will engage the infantry while you provide cover fire." Noble Two's commands were strict, as always.

Six hid behind a rock, waiting for his Active Camo to recharge—only for a bit of time, as he provided an 'okay' signal to his team. Reactivating his Camo with an M6C silencer magnum in hand, he sprinted to his next target as the rest of the team made it down the hole without being seen.

The Covenant forces' inadvertent ignorance of the strike force's advancement could be attributed to their use of the Covenant structures to hide their movement. Once the team reached a point with cover that could effectively protect them from a frontal engagement. Waiting for Six's signal as he proceeded to take down the snipers.

A green signal appeared on their HUDs, indicating they should start their assault. They executed a passing patrol consisting of two Elites, six grunts, and four Jackals, which announced their presence to the remaining Covenant forces in the pit.

In response, many plasma bolts were aimed at the strike team. A nearby covenant watchtower with plasma turrets fired heavily against the Spartans and ODST. A bright plasma trail appeared from the ledge of the pit, splattering the brains of the grunts operating the plasma turrets. No longer being suppressed by the turrets, the team in the pit focused their fire once again on the responding elites.

The leading Ultra was firing explosive plasma rounds from a concussion rife. Three ionized particle trails hit the lead Ultra quickly, and the two elites closing in on the strike team. An Elite Major roared in anger and commanded orders to the nearby troops.

Noble Two and Seven took protected shots behind the Covenant Portable Shields while the ODSTs were farther back, returning heavy fire through the little protection the Covenant structures gave.

"Little guys making a push." Shouted out an ODST, seeing a large number of grunts charging.

Noble Seven responded by grabbing a Fragmentation Grenade and tossing it to the closest group of grunts. Little plumes of green smoke appeared with explosions as Noble Six shot the grunts' Methane tanks, which killed many of the grunts pushing against Noble Team and the ODST.

Noble Seven moved away from the Portable Shield and focused fire at the elites, with many bullet casings dropping. Noble Two followed, focusing on the remaining grunts and quickly taking them out with headshots. The ODSTs also pushed forward in a tighter formation, covering each other's angles. Six sniped as much as he could of the reinforcements coming from the other side of the pit.

In quick succession, Six killed three Jackals and the leading Elite. Finally, the ten-shot charge ran out as Six threw the weapon, and he grabbed another Beam Rifle that was to his side. Scoping back in, he quickly checks the entrance where the Wraith stayed throughout most of the battle.

"Wraith is getting ready to engage." Six voiced in TEAMCOM.

"Copy Six," Noble Two responded.

Sniping the gunner on the tanks, Plasma Turret proceeded to fire at the Elites, killing two more, but then others hid in cover.

"Six behind them." Listening to Hestia, he saw Plasma batteries stacked against each other.

Elites roared as they were burned in the flames caused by the explosion of Plasma batteries along with their assisting squads of Grunts.

A large plasma blast soared through the air, aimed at the Spartans and ODSTs before hitting its target; a blue-spherical energy shield appeared, protecting everyone from harm.

The lack of weapons fired filled the air with silence as both sides stopped firing at each other, except for the Wraith, who kept bombarding the shield with plasma blasts.

It would take two more plasma blasts for the Dropshield to break. Noble Two radioed their next steps to Six. Once the first blast came, they readied themselves and their weapons aimed at the Covenant as the second blast was coming.

Hitting the shield one last time as the blast's fire covered the view with its impact, and a second later, the sound of ballistics could be heard. The Elites who were about to open fire didn't get the chance to as they were shot dead by Six.

Noble Seven and Two moved swiftly, their ODST companions providing cover fire as they advanced. The Grunts in their path were quickly dispatched with expert precision, their bodies riddled with bullets. Meanwhile, Six focused on the Covenant attempting to chase the team. He aimed carefully, firing shot after shot at each trying to chase, determined to take them down before they could do any damage. Six remained focused, his eyes locked on his targets. With each successful hit, he felt a sense of satisfaction.

Six down to his last Beam Rifle, meaning he only had ten more shots left, he carefully picked his targets by defending the backs of the team as they focused on another contingent of Covenant blocking their path.

After using up the last shot, he surveyed the pit, looking to see what to do next before his helmet shifted towards the Wraith. Looking down at a nearby Watchtower quickly, he walked away from the ledge.

"What are you doing?" Questioned Hestia.

"Improvising."

Six leaped off the ledge with a running start, roughly landing on the Covenant Watchtower. From the Watchtower, he executed nearby Grunts with silenced bullets with his M6S to the head. Dropping to ground level, Six grabbed a Plasma pistol and charged it. Venturing closely towards the Wraith as it focused on the others, Six attempted to take a shot at it but was intercepted by an Elite. Shooting the overcharged shot broke the Elite's shield, thus allowing Six an easy kill with a headshot. Swiftly dodging a Plasma blast directed his way, which left a crater, he moved around the area as quickly as he could while firing both weapons hand to take care of the Wraith's little escort of Covenant troops.

As the blinding Plasma blasts kept coming at Six, he swiftly moved to dodge them and put some distance between himself and the Wraith. Despite the barrage of fire, he managed to maintain his focus and keep his eyes on the tank. With just over 40 meters between him and the Wraith, another plasma blast was fired toward him, and he ran toward the tank. However, Six had charged up his plasma pistol and fired an overcharged shot at the tank, creating an EMP effect that knocked out the Wraith.

Six jumped directly onto the Wraith driver's cockpit, smashing his gloved fist into the armored hull. After enough hits, the hatch of the Wraith was ripped off by Six as he unloaded armor-piercing explosive rounds into the Elite driver. Six had to deposit the body of the dead Elite on the ground before being able to operate the Wraith.

Six activated the Wraith in the driver's cockpit and quickly worked its controls. A patrol of Covenant passing through were the first victims of Six firing the plasma mortar. The heavy plasma bolt landed in the center of the patrol, leaving scorched corpses, maneuvering the Wraith toward the remaining Covenant forces that engaged the others in a firefight.

He wiped a dozen squadrons on his path, probably to reinforce the firefight. Once he arrived, he launched a Plasma blast at the central group of Covenant soldiers who were making a push to the rest of the Noble Team and the ODSTs, breaking the cohesion of the remaining Covenant battalion.

So far, the whole UNSC strike force has collectively wiped out about a hundred Covenant warriors, meaning that half the battalion stationed to guard the weapons entrance remained. But it is racing against time. While most of the Covenant forces still on Reach are preoccupied and do not focus on what is being done by the weapons dig site, the operation must be completed to buy humanity time.

Hestia, a Smart AI, wholly agreed with Spartan-023's choice in the Spartan Team and even respected Spartan's action of taking the callsign Noble Seven to commemorate the deceased Noble Team members. Maybe it is the sentimentality that she's known to have despite being a newer AI. However, she believed and still does after witnessing the UNSC strike force strength; the compatibility between the Spartans makes them deadly and worryingly compromised.

Of course, looking into each team member's files would be most effective. Being an AI, it didn't take long to analyze each fully Catherine B-320 Lieutenant Commander, who came straight from a family of soldiers, an exciting tidbit Hestia found. She is a brilliant human, no doubt, with some levels of insubordination, making her one of the more interesting Spartans. 

Daisy-023, a Spartan-II, unlike the rest of the current Noble Team, her choice wasn't her own; another strong-willed Spartan who chose to escape the Spartan program after augmentations and reaching her previous home while confronting her flash clone at gunpoint, yet she didn't shoot it? Returning to Reach back to being a Spartan. Sometime after 2526, getting classed as MIA. Of course, that wasn't the original thought, as that's the natural response to classify a Spartan who is thought to be dead. This is not the truth, as she was later found in Cryo along with the other surviving members of the UNSC frigate Blazing Glory, a complete accident that happened to be classified. Being a curious AI, Hestia bypassed it because it connected with another Noble Team Spartan. It would be soon that Daisy-023 was redeployed.

In defense of Algosis, helping fight off the covenant so their forces won't overrun the base where the prototype lies at a rapid pace so close a tragedy would occur after being overrun with Covenant and trying to make it off-world. By luck, a familiar Spartan would be wiping out the last of Covenants air fighters and happen to provide air support with enough time for a safe retreat. 

Noble Team's newest Six, two months after the death of the previous Noble Six, B-312, quickly had to adapt to working in a team, as his record shows his lone deployments since after his training finished. Very odd compared to what she could find in the Spartan-III training files, though Hestia guesses she would find out as he is her chosen Spartan to be deployed with.

Hestia quickly reprocessed all the data, she had on each Spartan of Noble Team. The strike force rapidly eliminated most of the remaining Covenant battalion, mostly thanks to Six jumping into the fray with the Wraith, making some of the Battalion shift their shots at him, which prompted the rest of the strike force to take the more offensive instead of the tactical engagement they've been trying to maintain.

As Six piloted the Wraith, he was under heavy fire from Covenant forces. Bright green fuel rods were shot towards him, filling the area with light. With quick reflexes, Six maneuvered the Wraith to avoid some shots, but most hit their mark, covering the vehicle in green light. The Wraith was heavily damaged, but Six didn't give up. He fired a plasma blast in the direction from which the fuel rod shots came, hoping to hit the enemy. The Covenant retaliated by firing more fuel rods, but Six quickly acted. He fired another plasma blast and then abandoned the Wraith. The vehicle was already on the brink of destruction due to the first volley, and now it has destroyed itself under the heavy plasma fire. Despite the setback, Six remained determined to fight on.

Holding his BR55, he dodged incoming plasma fire and hid behind cover. Boldly, with his rifle, he fired burst rounds with deadly aim now out of his cover with small green plasma bolts hitting him. The gold light of the energy shielding produced by the Miljonir armor appeared in defense against the plasma attacks.

Quickly dodging to his right behind a Covenant supply case, he readied an M9 Fragmentation Grenade. He threw the grenade backward as he leaned against the supply crate, which landed in the middle of the alien squad advancing on him. The four Elites, disorientated by the grenade, couldn't react as the Spartan fired and eliminated the four.

RAARR!!!

Looking to his left, an Elite went to charge at him with an energy sword but didn't get close as his body dropped to the ground after being riddled with bullets. Behind the dead elite stood the rest of the Fireteam.

"Good work, Six." Six responded by nodding his head in acknowledgment to Noble Seven. While the ODSTs passed Six following Noble Seven, Noble Two visor scrutinized Six, who was confused by this action, followed behind her as they jogged to the entrance.

The fireteam approached the weapon's entrance, which was most likely scorched open by an Energy Projector, noting the smooth walls leading to the cave-like hole. The three Spartans entered first, with the ODSTs following while two covered their backs in case of an ambush. The fireteam found a holographic terminal to which Six walked towards.

"Reach out your hand, Six." Following the words of the AI, he did so.

The console responded, with the yellow holographic square moving like a pressed button. One of the triangular doorways opened, and blue lights flashed on.

"How odd?" Hestia said in a questionable tone.

"What is it?" asked Six.

"The records show that the Covenant accessed the other doorway, which, according to what I found on this structure, is a longer path to the control room," Hestia informed the fireteam through TEAMCOM.

"Let's move fast, then." The fireteam did so carefully. With the Covenant Company guarding the entrance, it would be safe to assume that some might try to block their way to the control room. There was no sign of any Covenant as they moved through the alien corridors. The empty halls felt unnerving, especially to Six, whose guard was on an all-time high.

While Hestia guides them through the alien structure, Six takes a point in the fire team. He watches his motion trackers as they approach each room entrance. While venturing, some debris is left over as they find what appears to be destroyed drones.

Choosing to find any information on said drones. Hestia scanned over the little data she could, but nothing had mentioned them yet. From what she guessed, the fact that they were already in this structure and the apparent plasma used against them showed they were a threat to the Covenant. It's evident that their role is to protect the weapon.

As the fireteam advanced through the battle's aftermath, they cautiously approached the control room. Six members led the way, while Noble Two closely trailed behind, dual-wielding M6G magnums in anticipation of the impending conflict. Noble Two couldn't shake the feeling that the ease with which they had bypassed the Covenant forces was unsettling. The fireteam encountered another terminal, which, according to Hestia, would bring them closer to their objective, the control room.

Meanwhile

Dozens of UNSC heavy armored vehicles formed a defensive semicircle, their cannons swiveling to hold off the relentless assault of the Covenant forces. Hornets zipped through the air, engaging incoming Banshees on a bombing path toward the Scorpion's defensive position. At the same time, UNSC troops spread thinly around the desolate lands in defense to ward off Covenant forces and push them into a Kill zone.

"Enemy dropships inbound!" The sleek design of Phantom Dropships started to horde like a group of animals. Far enough away from the defensive cluster to not be hit by the Scorpions as they hide behind a large rocky cover. A firefight began with the UNSC Marines at the forefront, trying to keep the Covenant from bleeding over the opening between their rocky cover.

With the main force holding back the Covenant forces, the Spartan teams and units of Marines and ODST helping secure Operation: CUTOFF had pushed their way to the first Gravlift.

"They're trying to shut off the Gravlift, and I'm holding them off." Smart AI Athena informed her carrier. 

"Alright, Gauntlet Team. This is our stop, and we will have a lot of bag guys with us up there, so keep sharp." Gauntlet One sounded off. The team stepped on the Gravity lift and followed the ODSTs and Marines squads.

As Gauntlet Team and their company gracefully floated into the Carrier, the other Teams advanced on their light armored vehicles toward the remaining Gravlifts. Echo Team pulled away from the leading group with their assisting Marines to reach their designated Gravlift while the others stuck together.

Intercepted by the rapid attack vehicle of the covenant codenamed Ghosts by UNSC soldiers. Immediately, they fired their dual energy cannons at the M12 Warthogs, leading the fire teams with a quick response; one fired a hypersonic 25mm round with its M68 Gauss Cannon, while the one equipped with the standard chaingun fired its armor-penetrating rounds at the second Ghost. With no time to waste, the UNSC vehicles kept moving to their destination and prioritized immediate threats that would slow them down—circling the next Gravlift with those on the guns killed surrounding Covenant troops, which didn't take long with lower numbers of Covenant troops.

"Alright, J, get ready; we gotta make this quick." The Spartan in red amour with the Volant hemet spoke to his partner.

"Please, with the numbers out in front, I bet the numbers there are low." The Spartan EVA helmet reflected the cruiser as he spoke.

"J, if it's not in this one, we will follow orders." The one called 'J' looked at his partner, and his partner knew he preferred following the orders as if he could see a smile behind the helmet.

"Then let's make it quick, Rol." Roland B-210 only shook his head as they walked to the Gravlift along with the Marines.

Control Room, Sacred Advance

"What!" Shipmaster Zyto growled in frustration.

"Where is our main force? They were supposed to prevent this!"

"They somehow broke through our initial Battalion and pushed directly through the middle of our troops with their heavy armor. Once they set themselves in a defensive perimeter, they started picking off our Battalions as they approached without reinforcements." An officer informed the shipmaster.

"What fools!! allowing the humans to pass through them!" Slamming his fist against his seat armrest.

"Sir! Demons and the human filth are at the Gravlift!"

"Shut it off!" Ztyo ordered.

"We can't; something took control of it." Spoke the first officer.

"Send in our troops and make sure they do not reach farther than they already have." The shipmaster ordered a Sangheli General, who quickly exited the control room, followed by two Sangheli with Blue battle Harnesses. 

"What of our communications?"

"Still being disrupted, we still cannot reach the rest of the fleet nor the warriors down in the weapons vault."

"Weapon Status?"

"Our Shields are still down while the Pulse lasers are fully operational along with our Torpedos, the Plasm…Shipmaster, our systems are getting shut down!"

"Damn these filth!"

Weapons 'Vault'

"This is it," Hestia said to Six.

They had reached a large hallway and seemingly beat the Covenant to the control room. Six walked up to the terminal to open the doorway, Noble Two following closely behind him. Upon accessing the terminal, the large doorway opened.

In the middle of a spacious circular chamber, soft yellow lights glow from recessed wall fixtures, casting a warm and inviting ambiance. The room's focal point is a mesmerizing projection of a spiral galaxy, surrounded by a larger-than-life holographic terminal that commands attention with its intricate design and advanced technology.

The control room of the 'weapon' was a tense and focused environment. As the team moved towards the center of the room, the ODST members fanned out around the terminal, keeping a watchful eye for any potential threats and ready to defend it at a moment's notice.

"Yank me," Six did so, pulling out the Data crystal. 

Six then connected the Data crystal along a holographic port and pulled it back as the vermillion light faded. Hestia appeared in a more human-sized form and showcased a worrying facial expression.

"...Forerunner? It's no–They're here!" Hestia shouted a warning.

Not enough time as one of the ODSTs was slashed by an Energy Blade, and a group of four Elite Zealots wearing their Ceremonial battle harness and a Field Marshal at the forefront appeared out from the shadows. 

Six noticed a shift and fired past one of the ODSTs positioned farther away from the group. The ODST reacted to the bursts and dodged toward the rest of the fire team. Due to Six's shots, everyone saw the outline of the alien due to the energy shielding from its armor and thus saw no more reason to hide, and with their cloaking off out appeared four more Elites with a variant of their usual infiltration armor, though of a deep crimson color along with visors that were a lit up blue but the leaders was red just like the blades two of them held.  Six recognized the armor of the new Elites and the classification that came with it.

"Kill the Demons!" Shouted the Field Marshal.

During the chaos, a plasma grenade landed in the middle of the fire team, prompting all the UNSC forces to scramble and evade the imminent blast. Reacting swiftly, Noble Seven deployed a Dropshield, providing temporary cover. Meanwhile, Noble Two and Six darted to cover behind one of the pillars in the room, engaging the Covenant forces with precision to return fire. As the intensity of the firefight took its toll on their shields, Noble Two communicated through TEAMCOM.

"Six and I will focus on the Silent Shadow Tangos." To which Six visor shifted at her when she mentioned the name of the Elites. "What? I lied when I said I didn't read all of your files." Although he wanted to follow up on Kats's comment, now wasn't the time, as he prepped himself to take on the Silent Shadow.

"Confirmed; we will try to finish the Zealots off as fast as possible to assist." Informed Noble Seven.

Loading his last 36-round mag into his BR55 as Noble Two fired counter-offensive shots with both magnums before retreating to cover again when her shields were dangerously low.

"They're slowly advancing on us with two providing cover fire for their leader and another of their members," Noble Two informed Six.

Hestia, distracted yet hoping the fire team would pull through, was looking into the system of the 'weapon' to find anything that could help them.

'This should work.' Hestia thought as she reached for information. Hestia continued to work through the defensive systems of the 'weapon' until she found the term Sentinels among what she could decipher. As she analyzed the systems control, it became apparent that she needed to issue a directive to the Sentinels, as they appeared to recognize her as being linked to the so-called 'Reclaimers.' She proceeded to deliver a directive to the system communicating with the Sentinels, informing them of an attack on the control room, classifying the Covenant as 'Meddlers' from the vocab she witnessed the system used to describe previous engagement when it sent Sentinels to engage the Covenant earlier. So Hestia provided the directives to help the fire team and give them an easier time as she searched for answers. 

From openings in the walls of the control room, the drone-like Sentinels started floating into it, their arm-like appendages moving with a sense of aggression reminiscent of a wolf bearing its teeth.

Ten Sentinels, led by a distinctive golden variant, unleashed beams of focused energy at the Sangheli, prompting the alien force's retaliatory barrage of plasma fire at the Sentinels, protected by a shield.

"Don't fire at them, and they will not hurt you." Hestia communicated with the TEAMCOM frequency. Reacting to this information, the remaining ODSTs and Noble Seven fired on the Zealots.

As two of the Silent Shadow members came into Six's line of sight, he swiftly maneuvered beside his fellow Noble member, bracing for action. Suddenly, a brilliant bluish-white light streaked toward them, catching their attention. They then moved back against the pillar to avoid the plasma grenade.

"Fall back to the next set of pillars. Six." 

"Go first. I got your six." With his rifle up, Six moved back, watching for the Silent Shadow as they seemed to shift on their cloaking. 

As a distortion appeared, Six swiftly aimed and fired, the rounds hitting the target and revealing the cloaked Elite. In a split second, Six instinctively ducked, narrowly avoiding an incoming energy blade. Unfortunately, the Elite's strike was successful, slicing through Six's rifle with its menacing red energy blade. Dodging a swipe from the Elite's arm, Six sent a Haymaker-style punch at the Elite's head, breaking the Silent Shadow's shield while denting the helmet with the red visor breaking towards the left side of its face.

Noble Two provided covering fire as Six skillfully retreated, while the second Elite rushed to support its leader. With swift precision, Six reached for his M6S, and the plasma pistol secured to his left thigh magnetic holder, unleashing a barrage of semi-armor piercing rounds and green plasma bolts at the approaching aliens.

With the ODSTs and Noble Seven, two of the Zealots had been killed with relative ease due to the initial help of the Sentinels. A firefight rages on with both sides, with the two Silent Shadows reinforcing the remaining Zealots. The two Shadows quickly dispatched the Sentinels with their Covenant Carbine, firing bright green caseless radioactive projectiles. Plasma bolts from the Zealots rained upon Noble Sevens' group.

With her MA5B, Noble Seven held onto the trigger of the rifle with her shields dropping after each impact of plasma bolts. The 60-round mag was fully unloaded in four seconds and fully emptied. This brief action allowed the four ODSTs to position themselves and follow up a barrage of bullets from their M7S SMGs.

Green trails of light hit the upper bodies of two of the ODSTs, knocking their bodies to the ground dead as they lay motionless. With her bullpup rifle reloaded, Noble Seven fired more focused shots at the two crimson-armored Elites, distracting them as the two last ODSTs fought the Field Marshal.

As the plasma grenade tossed by Noble Seven landed directly before the two Elite assassins, it exploded with a blinding flash. The Elite assassins rolled to their sides, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the blast, but their shields flickered at the damage received. Meanwhile, the towering Field Marshal, a formidable figure in imposing armor to the smaller humans, staggered backward as it was pummeled by the relentless gunfire of the two ODSTs. With a swift and relentless elbow blow to the face, the Field Marshal stumbled, momentarily stunned. Bullets rained down on the Field Marshal, penetrating its legs and causing it to drop to its knees, and then a thud was heard as its body fell to the floor after another burst of bullets.

"Come on, Soldiers. We still have these two to deal with." Noble Seven stood in front of both ODSTs, and they followed by aiming their weapons at the aliens.

The two Silent Shadows rushed with their bloody red energy blades now in hand with extreme aggression. Compared to the Zealots, the energy shields easily absorbed the kinetic damage of bullets from the trio, causing the three to move back as they continued to fire.

As the two Shadows closed in on their target, Noble Seven, they disregarded the presence of the two ODSTs. One of the ODSTs, displaying incredible boldness, leaped in front of a Shadow with a knife in hand while the other directed all his firepower at the Elite.

The ODST skillfully evaded the deadly swing of an energy sword, swiftly maneuvering under the Elite's arm as he lunged forward and tackled the enemy to the ground. With his SMG now empty, the other ODST quickly drew his pistol and fired at the downed Elite, creating a momentary distraction. Seizing the opportunity, the first ODST drove his combat knife into the Elite's throat with precision and determination.

A loud thud could be heard as they saw the body of the other Silent Shadow fly into the metal railing, which left some blood pouring from the weakened Elites wounds. Weakly, the Elite eyed its assailant and spoke.

"Do not be proud, Demon; you and the rest of your race will soon fo–" No long could the Elite speak as he was shot dead by Noble Seven with a pistol. Shifting her head to the two-winded ODSTs and ordered. "Let's move."

While all this fighting was going on, Hestia rapidly absorbed as much of the data as she could, especially after learning the true nature of this installation. 

She peeked into every system she could, as the defensive firewalls, which were supposed to prevent unauthorized access, seemed to allow her to bypass them. This is a curious fact, to be sure, but to get some real-time updates on things going on up above, she activated the sensor systems, and what she found was not good.

Epsilon Eridani system 

Planet Reach, Aboard Fires of Winter-Punic-class Supercarrier

August 30, 2552, 23:51 hours

Rear Admiral Wilder Gatlin gazed at Reach through the expansive windows of the bridge. Once a stunning garden world, Reach now lay before him as a desolate expanse of arid wastelands. On board the UNSC Supercarrier Fires of Winter, a modified version of its class, flanked by two Epoch heavy carriers. These three formidable ships had recently undergone an engine refit to incorporate advanced technology acquired during the war. Thanks to the knowledge gained from the Covenant, repulsor engines had been seamlessly integrated into the vessels, enhancing their capabilities.

The Fires of Winter now had three original fusion engines, with the bottom pair replaced with the new experimental S81A/X-DFR Fusion/Repulsor engines. The now twin ships of the newly refitted Epoch heavy carrier class Chills of Summer and Storms of Spring carry this new fusion drive, which classifies as a Repulsor engine.

The new engine drives allow for easier maneuverability, and due to the size of the ships not allowing with the limitations of UNSC technology at the time, these ships are now capable of atmosphere flight with no other assistance.

These upgrades allow them to contest the covenant on the ground with an easier troop deployment, especially with the many soldiers the three ships can field alone.

SPA-2 was the remainder of the fleet, with its role being that of a distraction while the nine vessels engaged the crippled Covenant ships that dug out the weapons and held the key.

"Winter-Actual, this is Red One; we are near our objective." That was good news; Noble Team last checked in not too long ago, claiming they were close to the control room.

"Winter-Actual to Spartan Teams Echo, Gauntlet, and Noble-B Status?"

"Gauntlet One responding. We just reached our objective, and it's not here."

"Noble Eight to Winter-Actual, it's not here." Gatlin waited for the last two teams to respond.

"Winter-Actual to Red and Echo Team respond."

"Sir, there's a large energy output from one of the cruisers, and their weapons are not heating up." As soon as the crew officer finished speaking, a bright light enveloped the bridge as one of the Covenant cruisers proceeded to blow up from the inside.

"Winter-Actual to Echo Team respond!"

"Spartan Teams status?" With a lack of response from Echo Team, he moved on to ensure the other teams didn't face a similar fate.

"Gauntlet One to Winter-Actual, we found a bomb and defused it."

"Noble Nine responding. We also found a bomb, and one of the floating blue pineapples took care of it for us."

"Red One to Winter-Actual: we didn't find a bomb, but we did find the 'keys,' and it's not good." Gatlin then moved to a nearby visual screen to see what Red One wanted to show them, and what he saw was not good news. In Covenant shipboard, prison cells filled with UNSC personnel, mainly what looked to be ship crew members and a few Marines.

It seems that throughout the initial attack on Reach, the Covenant collected UNSC members, but Gatlin wondered why they were labeled as the weapon's 'key.'

'They couldn't have been baiting us since they would have leaked the fact they had prisoners but instead solely referred to them as the 'key.'

"Sir, Covenant forces are pressing an attack on our ground forces."

"Tell them to backpedal toward the Covenant Ships, follow the Spartans inside those ships, and send Pelicans to pick up our Heavies and light vehicles."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Sir! SPA-2 prowler is sending us emergency signal priority one."

"Seems as though we ran out of time. Inform ground troops to move as fast as they can now!"

Ground Battle

"Pull Back, Marines, we are leaving!" The Marines guarding the nicknamed 'gate of hell' did not let Covenant forces breach the wall's small opening to gain a foothold.

The ground lightly shook while the troops readied themselves to leave on their armored vehicles.

"Let's move it, troopers; they brought something big." The Captain of the small Company ordered his troops.

A large shadow loomed behind the Company as they made their exit. In a flash, a large stream of bright green plasma hit three of the company's vehicles, and their destruction was the only outcome.

The large Covenant quadrupedal walker stood triumphantly over the rocky wall that the Covenant had been trying to breach as it rained plasma down on the Marines below with its plasma cannon. Covenant troops came out like a swarm, and enough of their armor followed to overwhelm UNSC armor immediately.

Already ahead of the Covenant, the UNSC troops followed their orders to board the Covenant capital ships, with Pelicans inbound to pick up armor and troops.

Control Room

Noble Six swiftly unleashed a left hook, deftly evading another slash from an energy sword. Meanwhile, with precision, the right-gloved hand of Noble Six gripped an overcharged plasma pistol, and a searing shot was unleashed at the crimson-armored Elite. As this unfolded, Noble Two relentlessly fired her two magnums at the Elite, managing to shatter its shields. Nevertheless, the Elite's resilient armor stood firm, preventing the magnum shots from fully penetrating its defenses.

Grabbing a hold of his combat knife from its blade, Six launched it at the unshielded Elite before dodging another slash, this one coming from the Silent Shadow leader, whose red visor watched Six like an eagle watching its prey for the slightest movement. 

Noble Two ran and gunned toward the Elite, which now had a knife stuck in its neck courtesy of Six. The alien did a sloppy swipe with the red energy blade, which allowed Noble Two to backhand the Elite to the ground while emptying the magnum rounds down on its chest area after two swift shots at both aliens' hands.

The Silent Shadow member remained motionless on the ground as it lay dead due to the onslaught provided by Noble Two. Her visor shifted to focus on the intense battle between Six and the Elite. Six was dominating the fight, using his quick reflexes to grab the Elite's sword hand while simultaneously firing plasma bolts at the remaining Silent Shadow forces. As the Elite attempted to strike back, Six dropped his pistol to block the attack, then swiftly twisted the Elite's sword hand, causing him to drop his energy blade. Seizing the opportunity, Six caught the energy blade with his free hand and delivered a precise slash to the leader's chest. Six kicked the Elite towards a nearby railing in a final fierce move, sending him plummeting over the edge to a significant drop below.

Six, with no signs of exhaustion, looks toward Noble Two while he places the crimson blade of the Silent Shadow leader on his thigh magnetic holder.

"Looks like we survived another battle, Six." Noble Two spoke softly as Six moved toward her side and looked forward.

"Kat?" Six said the Spartan's name as her visor reflected his image.

"You've gotten better."

"At what?"

"Not doing everything by yourself." After stating her observation, she proceeded to walk back toward the terminal, though Six noticed a shift in her movements and could not piece the meaning behind it.

All of the present Noble Team and the remaining ODST stood in front of the Terminal, waiting for Hestia to respond.

"Hestia Report." Commanded Noble Seven. In a flash of vermillion light appeared the hologram form of Hestia with a worried expression.

"Sorry, Noble, but we have bigger issues. I have been trying to figure out how to deal with them and finally have a solution."

"What is–" Noble Two's words died as soon as a holographic scene played. Many slip space portals could be seen from the holograph, and Covenant ships came out of them.

"Yeah, it seems like we are out of time and have hundreds of Covenant ships coming down on us."

Epsilon Eridani system 

August 30, 2552, 17:18 hours

The Covenant's initial response was to send fifteen ships to intercept SPA-1. SPA-1 withdrew its nine vessels in response and seemed to be fleeing slowly. This is where the Prowlers worked by cutting off communication in the Covenant Battlenet. With the Covenant Battlenet disrupted and the Covenant fleet far from Reach, the nine ships of SPA-1 now turned back to face their pursuers.

Ten MAC rounds aimed at higher tonnage ships doing little as golden flickers of the advanced shielding technology of the Covenant didn't allow any hull damage to their ships. The Covenants ships did not bother to evade the shots and simply tanked the MAC rounds that were dished out.

The Nine UNSC vessels spread out in separate formations, with the Punic Supercarrier alone. The Two Epoch Heavy Carriers were each supported by three frigates. The Heavy Carriers and frigates charged their MACs for a second wave of attack, while the stronger Punic MAC needed more time to charge. Eight MAC rounds were fired, hitting their conceited targets yet again, as they didn't bother moving to avoid the tungsten rounds.

It would be a few minutes before the Covenant ships entered the range, and their weapons would effectively be able to decimate the small UNSC battlegroup.

Eighty-four wormhole-like portals flashed in the dark space with more light as a fleet of UNSC ships appeared. Larger assault carriers led the newly appeared fleet, with cruisers supporting the larger carriers while the frigates spread across the fleet.

The nine ships of SPA-1 are now charging their MACs, and the SPA-2 vessels are following as they move in range, ready to unleash their MACs' ferocious kinetic power. All 93 vessels unleashed a volley of tungsten, smashing apart the Covenant shields with their barrage. The previous 15 Covenant ships were effectively destroyed, and the UNSC fighters just needed to eliminate the few fighters they had deployed to harass the UNSC vessels.

As SPA-2 headed towards Reach, SPA-1 remained behind, patiently awaiting the Covenant's larger fleet to be lured away by the diversion created by SPA-2. Once SPA-2 reached a strategic point on the planet, they decelerated, anticipating the Covenant's response.

It didn't take long for two groups of ships to move from the planet's atmosphere to engage SPA-2; they combined into 58 ships, with the nearest flotilla consisting of 23 ships.

With SPA-2 distracting the larger fleet of Covenant ships and the prowlers cutting off their Battlenet communications, SPA-1 moved in to engage their target.

SPA-1 did enough damage to the four capital ships with the precise use of archer missiles to target major weapon systems once the shields of the Covenant capital ships dropped to prevent high-risk damage to SPA-1 vessels.

SPA-2 continued engaging the 31 Covenant ships at 78% of their initial strength of 84 vessels, which now dwindled to 65. The loss of ships was due to the two-prong attack done by the two flotillas splitting MAC salvo amongst the two, with a majority aimed at the lower count flotilla.

A single Covenant cruiser survived the MAC salvos until the second flotilla reached SPA-2 and started firing plasma upon the SPA-2 ships positioned to intercept, which consisted of two heavy cruisers and seven light frigates. The nine ships launched a salvo of archer missiles at the initial battle cruisers and destroyers entering their range. The missiles had minimal effect on the covenant ships, but it did buy some time for the MACs to charge, which, when unleashed, proceeded to take down two of their ships due to another salvo archer missile, this time hitting the hull of the enemy ships.

The ships started to turn on their axis, followed the rest of SPA-2, and continued sending barrages of archer missiles toward the two ships chasing them. The Covenant ship energy signatures started to rise as they gained on SPA-2. Bright lances of plasma shoot from the two ships, slicing apart the hulls of two light frigates.

Epsilon Eridani system 

UNSC Now You See Me: Winter-class Prowler

August 30, 2552

"Sir! The Covenant ships are pulling away!" Questioned the XO of the UNSC prowler as they witnessed the 29 Covenant warships pull away from their chase of the SPA-2 flotilla.

The prowler Now You See Me is one of four stationed to assist the SPA fleet in sabotaging the Covenant Battlenet together with the SPA-1 prowlers. The fourth stayed far away from the fight in observation in case things went south and someone needed to brief HIGHCOM. All prowlers were filled with ONI agents and supplied with squads of marines.

Commander-ranked ONI agents were set in command of each prowler as they overlooked the jamming systems and alerted each SPA group of new battle information.

"Get me a connection to Winter-Actual! This isn't looking good, Hermes." An orange-colored hologram appeared on the holo table with the image of their godly namesake. 

"Sir! I'm detecting numerous amounts of slip space ruptures near SPA-2." Hermes pulled the SPA-2 fleet up on the holo table with numerous vectors showcasing the position of the slip space portals.

"Winter-Actual to Rho-1 report." 

"Sir, another Covenant fleet has entered the system with another hundred ships heading to jump on us."

"Fly over the planet on our position; most troops are ready to set off aboard the Covenant ships; just need the rest of Noble Team." Recent reports from SPA-1 prowlers reported that Noble Team had been near the 'weapons' control room but have yet to report anything else. "Sir! Noble Team is using the E-Band to broadcast a message." Through the transmission, the AI TIA 0591-5 explained the true nature of the 'weapon' with it not even being a weapon at all but an ancient gateway. The only information she could find on where the gateway would lead was "Novum Initio," which was strange to those who heard the name and recognized the language in which the phrase originated.

"Sixty more Covenant ships appeared through slip space!" Nearly 200 Covenant ships were bearing down on the SPA fleet, each charging their weapon systems. 

Epsilon Eridani system 

Fires of Winter-Punic-class Supercarrier

August 30, 2552, 23:59 hours

"You're gonna have to exfil Noble; we are out of time." Rear Admiral Gatlin looked over the holo table, showcasing SPA-2 fighting off small flotillas of Covenant ships entering the effective range. The larger groups of ships make up a crescent shape, slowly closing in on the SPA fleet, now 74 ships strong with the addition of the 3 Covenant ships.

Gatlin's mind raced to devise an escape plan that could hopefully lead to a low casualty count. It didn't take long as he looked at the three captured ships. The energy shielding of the more advanced ships would allow for longer survivability from Covenant armaments compared to the UNSC's ships. However, the three ships would only last briefly under fire from so many Covenant vessels.

"Sir, I believe I have a solution to our extraction." Gatlin shifted his gaze to the ship's COM interface as it lit up in vermillion light. "Explain." He questioned the AI, wondering what she could bring to the table right now.

"The portal, sir. I could activate it with enough time for our remaining ships to pass through and cut it off before the Covenant could follow us." Hestia's short time in the portal system allowed her to learn enough to easily activate its systems without the involvement of the system's own assigned artificial intelligence with the label 'Monitor.' A curious fact she found was that there should have been a Monitor watching over the installation, but the records she looked through showed that a Monitor hadn't interacted with the systems in a long time.

This wasn't important now as Hestia's artificial mind shifted back to concern over those under her watch, specifically Noble Team. She considered herself an overtly emotional AI, a comment her brothers and sisters shared as her thoughts drifted to a particular silver AI.

Hestia analyzed Rear Admiral Gatlin's facial expression as it shifted, trying to understand his thoughts and whether he would go for her answer. She watched some frustration leak from his usual calm facade.

A newly minted Rear Admiral just in time to lead a large battle group of ships with a unique blend of heavy warships. From what she found on his file, his time in the war was not one of meeting the Covenant on the front lines of battle; no, he worked behind enemy lines of war, harassing high-profile targets to slow the Covenant warpath and, for the most part, he did that yet of course, not without the cost of his men under his leadership due to harsh choices that needed to be made and ones ONI highly advised with as they gave him his missions.

One such as herself could see that even with the high casualties of men under him, even when he was ordered not to take risks on the mission for lives, the casualty percentage never reached a total loss of troops.

Her heart would be racing if she had one as she watched the Rear Admiral, silently hoping that he would once again prioritize the well-being of his men. She yearned to save as many lives as possible by activating the portal. "How much time do you need?" Gatlin's gaze fixated on the holo table, where images of the Covenant were rapidly approaching. In just 15 minutes, they would be wholly cornered.

"A couple of minutes as I started on the activation procedures." Looking out the bridge's window, Gatlin saw the Reaches ground shake. From the ground, 18 giant pylons broke through the dirt as they unearthed themselves. Simultaneously, the ground collapsed, making a giant sinkhole that spanned at least 160 km.

More metal from the installation revealed itself, as some metallic structures were already showing due to Covenant digging.

Control room

Six eyed the holographic feed of the Covenants ships firing numerous streams of plasma at SPA-2 as they burned holes in through the hulls of the ships; some were crippling shots to the engines of the ships, and some shots did minor damage due to the range with few burst of plasma lances earned a kill shot due to a luck hit.

Moving his gaze to another holographic screen showcased a reactor-like room with the center displaying an aquamarine hue of crystal, which seemed to be the power source, oddly enough, Six thought.

"Hestia, is there any information on the crystalline power source?" Noble Two asked, her visor focused on the giant crystal as it glowed with power. "Only the name Kyber Crystal. Besides that, there is nothing else." Noble Two viewed the crystal, intrigued by its power source capabilities, wondering if it was naturally made or artificial.

"SPA-2, get ready to enter the atmosphere once the portal activates to start your descent." Hestia then motioned her hand to her side as a slip space portal appeared simultaneously.

"Go Six, and I will follow after everyone who can make it through," Hestia said as she brought up a holographic screen showing a bright beam of energy firing.

Hestia watched the two ODSTs readily jump through the portal with the Noble's slight hesitance as they stayed. Noble Seven, from the file, reports she read for little time she spent with B-312; she found from their hidden files ONI didn't know she accessed. A test to see if B-312's effectiveness increased with teamwork restrictions placed to make sure he doesn't go 'Lone Wolf.' In the end, his superiors argued his OP successions could have been done solely by himself with the same effectiveness. An argument that got B-312 and S-023 separated with the latter put to guard high-ranking navy personnel once they shipped off in critical engagements that needed a Spartan's help. S-023, or Daisy, didn't take it well as she spoke out against it, something Hestia deemed she would have to look into later after following everyone else through the portal with Six. Six continued to be sent as his superiors 'personal grim reaper' until Colonel Holland had requested high enough for the Spartan's assistance in Noble Team.

Which led to the Spartan's reassignment with the disapproval of his previous superiors voiced but ignored.

Catherine B-320, or Noble Two, saw many of her Spartan brothers pass in the line of duty, recently those of the Noble Team. Of course, it would've taken a toll on her, and with a show of worry for her fellow Beta company, Spartan was the result, Hestia surmised.

"We'll be right behind you." Instead of being able to give her own words to lessen their worry, Six stepped in. No words were spoken between the two. She nodded and walked past Noble Seven, who got a nod from Six. She returned it and followed Two into the portal.

Six shifted his head back to holographic screens right in time as bright light spread and blinded those who looked at it. Opening his eyes as the bright light disappeared, Six saw the now large spanning portal colored with a dark blue as its surrounding layer while the center was a darkening black.

"SPA, move into the portal." Rear Admiral Gatlin's voice was heard throughout the Battlegroups COMs. Following the command of the Rear Admiral, all ships moved toward the portal, with the 12 ships of SPA-1 entering first. Both Six and Hestia watched as the ships of SPA-2, especially those of higher tonnage, activated their backward thrusters to slow their descent because the weight and speed would cause the hull damage if they went full speed.

The two watched as the first ships of SPA-2 reached the portal, with the Covenant closing in on the flotilla.

The Covenant just reached the planet's broken atmosphere as half the remaining ships of SPA-2 passed the portal. The Covenant ships stopped firing, something Hestia had high hopes would happen due to their religious beliefs about this ancient technology.

With the final UNSC passing through, Hestia shut off all power connections to portal stabilizers that comprised most of the hulking pylons. Yet she didn't shut the power off from the crystal as she pushed it to overload, which showed when it grew brighter, and cracks started appearing.

"Hurry, Six, let's go." Listening to the AI, he grabbed data crystal from the portal, plugged it back into his skull, and ran toward the portal, jumping into it.