2562: Part I

[Herrith]

2203 HOURS, JULY 12, 2562 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \
UNSC PROWLER SAHARA, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM
REACH LOW ORBIT
@christhebarker @Kori Buor @Billbo Swaggins
​

Nicola Sevry eyed the information on her datapad. Two ODSTs and a Spartan. Against a highly trained SECTION-III operative with skills across a broad range. Who also had a prosthetic arm and was trained in SERE protocols extensively. Not impossible odds...though it wasn't exactly going to be a walk in the park. She stood in the dark meeting room, waiting for the group to enter. The tight Navy jumpsuit that she wore was perfectly fine, but for whatever reason she was having a hard time breathing. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Or it was all in her head. Or was it fear of what they were about to face? She was an intel agent and would mainly be guiding the team from this prowler.

So why did she feel so terrified?

Once they entered, she would speak, her Czech accent showing through the normal neutral tone of anyone who affiliated with ONI.
"Good evening, gentlemen. I know you've seen the text briefing, but I thought I'd let you in on some more information about our target. I'm Petty Officer Sevry, and I'll be your intelligence officer, a whisper in your ear, so to speak."​

​

 

[Kori Buor]

Nathaniel Mills had been sitting on a supply crate inside the UNSC Sahara for the past several minutes, cleaning his weapons while waiting for whoever they were waiting on to arrive. He wasn't wearing his armor at the moment, just the slate grey and blue undersuit he wore between missions, though he could easily get combat ready in just a few short minutes with the aid of an automated armor cradle. Taking a break from his weapons, he ran a large, calloused hand through his buzzed short brown hair, scratching his scalp for a few moments before his grey eyes scanned the pieces before him, pausing as he considered his mission.

This would be the first time the Spartan-IV would operate with a team of non-Spartans to 'acquire' an asset. Though, in this case, he was silently wondering if this would be a true acquisition mission, or if it would simply just devolve into another assassination mission. Still, having receive a very very informal briefing on the mission and the team he would be working with, Nathan had no doubt that the two ODSTs he would be saddled with could hold their own. Both were combat veterans having seen several tours of duty, one of them even working for ONI now.

Receiving the message for them to all congregate in the briefing room, Nathan quickly reassembled his MA5D Assault Rifle, slinging it onto his back before standing and making his way to the designated room. Entering, the Spartan glanced at the female before them, clutching a datapad in her hands as she waited for them to all enter and give her their attention. For Nathan's part, he entered and leaned on the wall at the back. Giving an acknowledging nod to the other two Marines, he looked to the female and waited for her to start. The woman introduced herself as Petty Officer Sevry, and she seemed somewhat nervous, perhaps this was her first mission as an intel officer. If it was he couldn't blame her for the nerves, he just hoped she would be able to deliver when the time came.

"Pleasure," Nathan replied back, giving her an nod, but otherwise remaining quiet and waiting for the other two to say something, or for the Petty Officer to continue with her briefing. Hopefully, she would be able to give him more information than the paltry amount in the text briefing they had all received.

@Herrith @christhebarker @Billbo Swaggins

 

[christhebetrayer]

It wasn't unusual for ONI to call in assets from Naval Special Warfare Command for highly sensitive missions, they had done it countless times during the war against the covenant and to no surprise for James they still do it but this time it was different they weren't hunting or assassinating any high valued enemy, they were hunting one of their own, an embarrassment for them and one that couldn't go public.

James had mixed opinions ONI, in his eyes, they were a necessary evil without there illegal activities before the covenant war, it would have been a shorter war, to say the least, and talking about illegal ONI activities they were being saddled up with a Spartan, While odsts generally have a distaste for Spartans, it was less so for 4's on the account of more than a few being former hell jumpers, like the one they would be working with.

Receiving the message, he opened light blue eyes and rose from his bunk, half dressed in his BDU from the waist below and white vest covering his chest exposing his marine and odst tattoos on each arm, and his dog tags dangling from his neck. He walked over to the sink, he peered into the mirror, he looked tired but he always looked like that when on the ship, just something about the quietness of a ship, being able to hear everything just didn't sit right with his sleeping. Turning the tap he sighed and splashed his face with water, "time to go work" he spoke to himself before leaving for the meeting.

James entered the dark room, a holographic table lay at the centre on the other end of it lay their intelligence officer, Petty Officer Sevry, he stood opposite her arms folded over one another. he listened to her introduce herself and nodded "before we begin Petty Officer, I would like to confirm with you something, I am the only commised officer on this boat, correct? and this would mean i'm in charge and responsible for the success of the mission?" he put bluntly in his non-sense attitude, he wanted to make it clear to both himself and everyone in the room who was in charge and make sure there wasn't any surprise ONI officer waiting in the wings to tell them how to do their jobs.

@Billbo Swaggins @Herrith @Kori Buor

 

[Algarus]

Collin glanced over his datapad, his brow furrowed slightly in frustration. His name hadn't been listed on the rooster for the group, and he could help but feel that someone at ONI had royally screwed up; or maybe they just liked making his job harder. He was fixing that now. The navy jumpsuit he was wearing didn't fit his body right, but at least it felt better than the armor he was always being crammed into. He froze, waiting at the door, the briefing was underway. Now he was late, wonderful. The door would open as Collin would slip in, catching the end of Mccready's comment. "Incorrect, there are two commissioned officers on this mission now. Sorry, I was put on this assignment at the last minute. Sorry you all were not informed." Hayes said sincerely, he hated when this sort of thing happened. "Lieutenant Collin Hayes, ONI. I'll be assisting you all on this mission." He'd look to the man who had just spoken. He looked similar to the profile of Lt. Mccready, he looks to Petty Officer Sevry. "As to who is in charge of this operation, I'm assuming this is a joint command situation, but we can sort that out here." Collin pondered if his equipment was actually loaded onto the vessel, or had ONI forgotten to do that too? No, they wouldn't be that incompetent, right? Mccready spoke too soon, the ONI officer was just waiting to make his move.

 

[Herrith]

Nicola internally sighed. This was a rag tag bunch ONI had slapped together. She hadn't exactly chosen them, but she knew who each of them were. She also understood that one was a noncom, and a Lieutenant at that, so it was unsurprising when he questioned if he was going to be in charge of leading the mission. It was a complex answer to a simple question. Shs decided to focus on other things for a brief moment. The SPARTAN-IV, or now two of them seeing as ONI command had the bright idea of fitting in one more, were here. The second wasn't late exactly, especially since their last had yet to show up. The woman brushed her blonde hair over an ear and inhaled, clicking on the holoprojector.

"Right. We're missing one, but it's best we get started. It's fine that he's late, I'll trust you to fill him in once you're on mission. As for your rank, Lieutenants, there's not an easy answer. To put it shortly, you will not be leading the mission. Ranks will not be included in the operation. I will be acting as your advisor using numerous surveillance devices and ONI resources. There is no chain of command except for me, and I will deliver orders as they come straight from...you know who. Sorry."

The apology probably wouldn't lessen the blow, but it was hard enough to tell two noncoms that they couldn't give orders. Especially when there were two SPARTANs in the room. She took in a breath and plugged in her datapad to the console, watching as the particles of light began forming into a UNSC symbol while the briefing loaded. Suddenly, and to Nicola's surprise, the beams of light made a separate entity, forming a human anatomy with what looked to be an old American cowboy hat. The details appeared, and the AI tipped his hat with a charming smile angled toward the Petty Officer.

"Howdy. Name's Nevada, darlin'. Who's the lucky guy here? Sure hope it's me."

Nicola went to speak in protest, but was interrupted.

"Hold on now, lemme explain. I've been assigned to your little gig here."

"On whose orders?"

"Right up the pipe. Osman. Don't ask, don't tell, y'know how spooks like us are."

He made a shushing motion to the three soldiers in the room and clicked on the presentation, inviting Sevry to start as he sat down, creating the image of tuning a guitar with the projector.
"Ma'am."

She shook her head, ignoring the urge to toss her files at the AI. They really went over her head again? If this kept up, she would request a field job-

Nevermind. Briefing.

"You read the briefings. We are being tasked with killing or capturing former ONI operative and ODST Sarah Wellington."

An image of the person in question appeared, though without any color except blue. She was attractive by normal standards, but her looks were hardly the reason they had been sent to kill her. She'd murdered multiple ONI officials, mainly scientists, in cold blood. Or that's what SECTION-III was telling her. Nicola had done a few 'vanishing' ops before.

"Wellington is a highly decorated soldier and trained extensively, with focuses on unconventional warfare and SERE protocols. She served in the darker parts of the Human-Covenant war and later went on to fight the Insurrection and a couple remnants of the aliens. She was put on the death list four years ago, and the mission was labeled as complete. Clearly, the rumors of her life are very true. A satellite spotted her on Andesia, a URF planet. She's likely off the grid, or laying low in a city. We suspect her exact location is the capital. As far as we know, she is posing as a restaurant worker, with said restaurant having ties to the URF. There is a high risk of her dealing secrets to the Front for money or safety. I'll upload the rest of the briefing to your datapads. As for now, I'd recommend you go to Hangar 2. There's new gear waiting. Once you're suited up, this Sahara will jump to Slipspace and we'll insert from there."

Nev looked at her. She'd left something out of the briefing, both a wise and possibly bad idea. The reason behind Wellington's betrayal-but that was need to know for the troopers. And right now, the last thing they needed to know was that she was far more than a traitor.

 

[Algarus]

Collin listened intently to the briefing. Wellington, that name didn't sound familiar, then again Hayes mostly dealt with homegrown threats. He scowled and tried to connect the dots. Every time ONI wanted someone killed, there was always more to the story. That wasn't his place to ask though. Collin clenched and unclenched his hands, the augmentation process wasn't as flawless as he would have thought, but then again he had to rush through physical rehab just to meet the mission deadline. He'd work with it as he went. Still, something about this op was off. Why were there two Spartans on this squad? And why was someone so green being put in charge of this op?

His thoughts were only confirmed when the AI and Intel operative exchanged looks. There was some sort of internal debate raging on behind those eyes, but that wasn't any of Collin's business. Hayes filed the thought away for later. He had a mission to do, and if did find out the truth, well....good chance he's be going on the chopping block next.

"Very well then, Petty Officer Sevry."

 

[Kori Buor]

Leaning on the back wall of the briefing room, Nathan watched as another man from the team entered the briefing room, the ODST lieutenant, and once Savry had introduced herself, moved to inquire about the chain of command, specifically if he was at the top of it. Typical. The Spartan thought to himself he watched through uninterested eyes. No sooner had the man asked the question then a second man entered and stated that he was also a Lieutenant, this one was a Spartan judging by his build. Interesting, Nathan mused. Now that made two officers, and two Spartans. Nate was just there to shoot things and fly, so this chain of command stuff didn't really interest him.

Thankfully, it all got resolved rather quickly as Petty Officer Sevry dismissed both notions by stating that she would deliver orders straight from the top, circumventing normal rank in the hopes of using everyone's skills to help complete the mission. Well, this will be very interesting. I'm sure those officers are chaffing at being bossed around by a mere Petty Officer. Hopefully this little cutie doesn't get us killed by telling us where to go and what to do... things are a lot different being in the field as opposed to being in a comfy little OP.

Nate was willing to give it a shot, though. If she got them through this without all getting killed, then maybe he'd buy her the first round of drinks when they got back. She'd have to get them back, first, though. A proposition that was often easier said than done. Watching as a new guest joined them, but this time in the form of an AI, the Spartan raised an eyebrow. This mission kept getting more and more interesting with each new twist, hopefully they didn't get a surprise like this in the field. Those sorts of things typically proved to be fatal.

Smirking after the exchange between the AI, Nevada, and PO Sevry concluded, the Spartan gave a curt nod to the AI when he made a shushing motion in their direction, then beckoned the blonde woman to begin with the briefing proper. Sevry explained that they would be hunting down a former ONI operative, who apparently had gone rogue named Sarah Wellington. The Petty Officer then explained that they had spotted her on a planet controlled by the URF called Andesia, staying close to ground. She continued by state it was hypothesized that Wellington was dealing with the URF and that she could be selling secrets to them. With that she added that there was new gear in Hanger 2 and after they were suited up they'd jump in the Sahara to their destination.

Whistling, Nathan shook his head, "So, ONI put a hit Order out on one of their own for doing their damn job? That's cold woman. Even for you spook types. Can't blame her for going over to the other side after she had nearly been killed. Probably the only way she was gonna survive any amount of time." Sighing, he stood up to his full height. "But if she's selling secrets she's a threat now. I don't like this, but I'll do my job. I want it noted that this is messed up. Cleaning up ONI's messes because they couldn't didn't like one of their operatives being too good at their job." Nodding at Sevry, he looked to the other two, "Alright, let's get this cow show on the road."

 

[christhebetrayer]

"Understood" James replied to the petty officer on the issue of command she was in charge, well more the mouthpiece for their orders but that was very little difference as of right now. he stood silently as he waited for Sevry to continue apparently there were more surprises in store for the crew, as a holographic cowboy appears on the holotable, an A.I and it couldn't be any more stereotypical than it was like something straight from a 20th-century movie. Generally, every capital ship had its own A.I but for one to be assigned to a mission was unusual, everything about this mission was becoming unusual and James didn’t know if he liked it or not.

Now that the interruption had quelled itself he watched the holo table as the image of target, he remained quiet until she had finished, waiting to see if her briefing might answer the question he had, but she didn’t, “Before we go, I’ve had a question ever since I read the brief on her, specifically about her equipment.” he paused for a second “What did she steal from ONI? It was mention she might have stolen something but specifics are classified, I don’t like idea walking into something that could explode in our faces without knowing the whole picture of her capabilities, not just for my sake but for sake everyone in this room and on the ship, we need to know so we can adequately prepare for it if she use whatever she stole” he was blunt but he had to be, there was beating around the bush when coming to this, but it would be up to her to decide what she wanted to do, all he could wait for her response.

@Billbo Swaggins @Herrith @Kori Buor

 

[Herrith]

Sevry looked between the three, trying to avoid passing out from nervousness. They all had accepted the briefing just fine, or at least as fine as they could, considering the fact that this had red tape and inner circle politics written all over it. To be honest, Nicola knew almost as little they did. She was just given a briefing, operational command (more or less), and access to a whole wealth of technology and information. In the past, she had been a field agent, specifically with espionage, but that changed...

Why? She guessed it had something to do with her ties to WOLVERINE, specifically one such incident in a joint operation that nearly killed a news station full of civilians. So it made sense ONI was trying to shove everything underground. She'd worked with Sarah before, though, and not a lot of people had..most were dead or "missing". ONI needed her to hunt the woman down...but Sevry couldn't help but agree with Mills on his observations...as much as she wanted to stay neutral in this.

Questions. Right.
"I will be sure to note that in the record, Spartan Mills."

"As for tech...the entirety consisted of her armor, the prosthetic that ONI cooked up for her, and a lightweight thruster pack, similar to full-size jetpacks, but seeing as her unit was something that needed to be a bit more discreet...SECTION-III put together a few fancy toys. Any weapons that we know of are...probably light, but definitely avoid packing small-caliber SMGs and sidearms. Don't take any chances."

Sevry paused for a moment.

"An unknown list of modifications could have been made to said prosthetic and arms, however...we just don't know. The exact nature of her arsenal isn't exactly common knowledge either..that's why we're headed to Hangar 2 and getting suited up. I'd recommend we get moving...last I checked the clock, we were two hours away from Andesia-"

She checked her pad again.

"And that was an hour and forty-five minutes ago. We're going to need to rush the gear orientation, but I think we can get you situated."

Nicola glanced at Nev one last time, and he stood up, skipping a couple frames of movement to standing as he opened the door and flicked the lights back on, speaking through the room's speakers one last time.
"I'll be the AI on the ground with you and the lady, here. If y'all die, I'm trusting Sevry is smart enough to shut me down. Let's saddle up, now."

***
​

Once in Hangar 2, the gear briefing was fairly quick. Each member of the fireteam would be equipped with BR85/SOCOM variants, or their own weapons if desired, as well as a couple modifications to their armor, specifically with the ODSTs and SPARTANs receiving RECON armor. Nicola herself had traded her Navy jumpsuit for civilian clothes with kevlar weave and a low-profile plate carrier to fit under her leather jacket. She would essentially be their intelligence, and blending in was advised for her and the others. Because of this, usual uniform standards would be a bit more laid back.

"ONI's encouraging us to look as non-military as possible, which is a bit ironic. It also means no MJOLNIR...that will essentially give us away the moment we land. Civilian garments once we're on the ground."

Currently, Nev was stowed in a backpack containing complicated computer hardware that would allow him to function. He was a smart AI, so there was no chance he was going to be able to fit in someone's neural lace, or a laptop. Nor would he let anybody do such a thing.

"That being said, we'll be jumping in vacuum suits. Airtight. They'll send our gear with us in a capsule with a GPS. We'll be entering atmosphere from low orbit...and SOEIV pods are too high-profile. It'll be a HALO jump from a black ops Pelican...it's old school, but we know it works. I'll be setting up a small OP to monitor your progress...I'll also be the one to call in pickup."

She paused, letting herself relax for a moment.

"I hate it as much as you do...we just need to get this done."

To be honest, Nicola was a bit excited to see how they would react to jumping from 40,000 meters up without a pod.

She'd done it. Once.

And damn near pissed herself.

@Kori Buor @Algarus @christhebarker

 

[Darasuum]

THEME​

Up, and down, pause, then up and down. The apple in Gerard's hand went. It almost touched the ceiling, close enough to make a shadow on the surface as it reached the apex of its arc before falling back down and landing in the man's palm. He heard the voices down the hall and could hear everything that was being said. The perks of being a spartan helped when it came to that sort of thing. He entered the room just as one of the other spartans was making a formal verbal complaint. Gerard moved over to one side, skirting the gathered group and taking a satisfying bite out of the apple. He was similarly dressed to Nate and in a simple body suit.

Gerard's eyes moved back and forth both analyzing and silently judging everyone present. This was going to be interesting. He normally worked either alone or with one other partner most of the time. If he had it his way, a team of two would go in and take this WOLVERINE gal out and be back in time to watch the Academy Awards.

He held in laugh at the Lieutenant McCready's question. Asking what ONI secrets wanted to get back was not something that got anything more than a 'eyes only because reasons' and Gerard had experienced plenty of that. But the Petty officer still indulged the question. The Spartan listened but it still did not provide enough information for him to not be skeptical. Actually he would be skeptical no matter the situation but he usually voiced his displeasure with sarcastic remarks. Still he was in the presence of others, superior officers and strangers. "Unknown modification" , yeah, unknown to us but probably not the brainiacs still working for ONI that designed it. It would be too much of a bother to ask them. He thought to himself. As the others finished up he took a few quick bites out of his apple, taking it down to the core and throwing it into a waste bin.

☠
​

The man rolled his neck inside his recon BDU, cracking a few joints in the process. He was glad the outfit was made to fit his larger frame. He still would look gigantic next to a normal human. If they were going to look like none military personnel he would try to stray from the norm and had checked out a SAS-10 as a sidearm. Keeping his bland, but effective, combat knife the man decided to accept the BR85 with sound dampener.

The finishing details were heard by Gerard as he decided to take two fragmentation grenades. He would not be able to take any equipment that would get in the way and was not ditchable. The armor was probably the biggest thing he would have to deal with since it was ONI exclusive. Everything else was disposable and not too exotic for anyone to necessarily trace it back to any one organization in particular. Unsheathing his knife he made sure there were no nicks or dull points along its edge. He stopped as he realized he had not made a snarky remark the whole time but then again there would be plenty of time for that later.

He was actually excited about this. He had been a Hell Jumper from day one. Reconnaissance and black operations were what he did and now it was just more of the same. This time he was just doing a mission that brought him back closer to his roots. Gerard also was probably the youngest one in the group if one was not counting the time spent in cryo sleep. He took a deep breath, a calm and pleasant expression on his face. It was the kind of look one had when they were going to get on a bike for the first time after a long winter now that the weather was nice. At least the drop was going to be fun.

@Herrith @Kori Buor @christhebarker @Algarus​

 

[Herrith]

0030 HOURS, JULY 13, 2562 (MILITARY CALENDAR)\
UNSC PELICAN "KNIFE 3-7", URF PLANET ANDESIA
​

"Two minutes! Check your chutes and seals!" The jumpmaster declared over the noise of the engines, clad in vacuum-sealed armor and connected to the air supply onboard. Nicola looked over her gear, tightening the straps on the parachute with gloved hands. Her visor blinked on, a short burst feed from Nev, and she scoffed before standing upon command, looking over her armor for anything wrong. All good. She still knew a thing or two about field ops. Good..not that rusty. Sevry took a short breath as she opened the feed, tapping the person on her right, their extra person (@Darasuum ) to check her chute. The text flooded on her screen as she turned to her left, the rear ramp opening. She was first out in the order, which was why she was so paranoid about her parachute.

They were jumping from around 40 thousand feet, and would be falling fast enough to break the sound barrier. It was silent save for her air pump hissing. The Pelican was at the very edge of atmosphere, and their prowler was hidden at an asteroid belt somewhere off orbit. She looked at the jumpmaster as he checked his watch and GPS, tapping onto the screen. Sevry refocused her attention on the actual text, reading it.

[YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD THEM. WHO DO YOU THINK THEY'LL BELIEVE, ONI OR A VETERAN?]

Sevry grimaced, shutting down the burst feed. The jumpmaster send out the capsule containing their gear as well as Nev, which slid silently out the back and fell. They were waved out next, and she took three steps before being flung out into the empty air, accelerating toward the planet below them. They were massive, planets. It humbled you when you were this high up. Sevry focused on attempting to not spiral out of control in the limited gravity, keeping her altimeter in the corner of her eye. It looked like everyone was accounted for. The Pelican would head off back for their Prowler, which would wait till the mission was finished to quietly evacuate them on the surface.

That was the plan, at least.

The group would be skydiving for about eight minutes. They'd located the gear capsule, she'd set up a small post near their target region, and they'd take out the target. Simple.

Again, that was the plan.

She continued to rocket toward the surface.

 

[Darasuum]

Feeling a tap he turned his head to the side and was able to gather what the woman wanted (@Herrith ). He turned and checked her gear and gave her a light pat to let her know she was good to go. He then cycled through his helmet's HUD system. It was simpler than the one in his own MJOLNIR armor. The LOCUS and SCOUT combination he had setup was meant for work behind enemy lines but would certainly not pass in civil areas when digression was needed. The man thought back to Jorge-052. Gerard had met him when he had only been an ODST on reach. Compared to thee other members of Noble team the spartan stood a full head taller than all others and the other members still stood above the normal soldiers, even the shortest of them. Well that was probably a common trait in spartan-IIs. Most Spartan-IVs did not know the truth about the spartan-II and III program. They all thought spartans were volunteers, only beginning at the start of the covenant war. But the black ink that stretched back was enough to fill an ocean. Some of those secrets could probably die with Gerard if he perished. But spartans never die. They're just missing in action. He thought to himself as the jump light changed

When the signal was given he did not jump, he just stepped off. It was not really jumping, that was just the common term. Really it was more like a straight drop and doing your best to not hit any part of the ship you were leaving. Making sure you did not get too close to the other members of the drop formation was also key.

Falling through darkness, he assumed the position to stabilize after initially leaving the ship so that he would not tumble. Then he closed his arms to his side and straightened his legs. Maybe he could beat the record. They needed someone to secure the area on the ground first after all. In the darkness his augmented senses and HUD made him able to see the others as they fell as well. He quickly passed them, following the waypoint for the drop zone. Lights of settlements, a distant vehicle, the twinkling star all could be seen from this height.

Getting close he continued to scan, looking for any sign. Once his helmet let him know he was at the height to release his parachute he waited a second longer and then pulled the chute. Gerard looked around, wondering if his presence was noticed. It was amazing how well one could hear up in the air. No objects blocking the sound. It just carried.

Feet touched ground and he took a few steps and immediately began gathering his chute. There would be no trace of him ever having landed. Afterwards he made his way towards the gear capsule and gathered his equipment. By the time he was finished the others should have landed and started doing the same. He was simply ready and waiting to move out as a unit.

@Herrith @Kori Buor @christhebarker @Algarus​

 

[Herrith]

THEME​

Sevry's breath quickened as a black mass accelerated past her, the IFF tag on her HUD catching up and identifying him as the person that had checked her chute. She calmed down after a chill ran down her spine--it wasn't anything crazy. Within a few moments, he was caught up to the capsule and falling with it. Any normal human would have passed out from the mere g's of falling so fast. But of course, this guy was a Spartan. There were...quite a few of the augmented individuals in this team, and the reasons as to why were vague at best. Nonetheless, she checked her altimeter and muttered under her breath. "Damned hotshot..."

Within a few more minutes, they had breached the inner atmosphere of the planet, still on course to land. Two minutes for her, as she couldn't risk the pressure causing her to pass out and turn into the flattest pancake in history. The capsule, as well as Speed Demon had already reached the ground, and she could see their IFF tags faintly. Within a few minutes, she had pulled her chute and decelerated, the harness digging deep into her skin and vacuum suit as she gently spiraled toward the ground, the capsule blinking from an IR strobe fixed on the nose, as well as Babcock's IR light filling in through her VISR.

She pulled hard on the guiding straps and landed softly, rolling up the chute with slightly more difficulty than the experienced ONI agent beside her as she tucked it into the bag and tossed it into a nearby ditch.

Sevry tapped a code into the capsule as the other functions unlocked, picking up the duffel bag containing Nev, as well as light body armor as she swapped her vac-suit for civilian clothes. The Petty Officer looked around, putting on glasses displaying a limited HUD, significantly less advanced than the VISR models in helmets, but not as obvious.
"Toss your chute in the ditch, we'll melt it with an acid solution. I doubt either of us want to carry around extra gear...especially out here."

Sevry grabbed the remainder of the gear from the capsule and kicked it into the ditch as well, only after typing in a fail-safe that would trigger the device to emit chemicals which would melt it and anything around it. No trace. Just Nev, comms gear, and them. Nicola checked her watch and nodded. They were on track. Moving into the city would be a breeze. The lights glowed only a few kilometers away.

Time for the hunt to begin.
"You ready to go?"

 

[Darasuum]

Acid solution, huh. Well wasn't that just fancy. He wondered if that would have a negative affect on the natural environment. Then again he had probably unintentionally devastated ecosystems in some way shape or form on one or two of his missions. Hundred of shell casing left around, bodies littering the landscape, target areas devastated. Nothing like a kilometer wide crater to change the landscape. But he wondered why the petty officer was carrying a canister of acid with her. Was it just for the purpose of eliminating evidence of their presence. Fire would have done the trick but that would make them visible in the dark.

When the woman asked if he was ready he replied with a nod. "Always ready." With that being said he had his battle rifle ready but did not sight down it. There was no target and he had no need to keep it up at all times. He scanned the horizon, looking for any silohuettes against the darker sky or the reflection of city lights on the atmosphere. As an operator one had to be exceptionally aware of the details of their surroundings. Not just to spot their enemies, but to keep themselves from being noticed. It was more than just the camoflage of armor or face paint. It also meant when one was being seen like they were going to be in the city that they still blended in. No obvious tells that they were UNSC or ONI. That was why Gerard had chosen different weapons that could be found on mercenaries. He wondered if he should even ditch his recon armor altogether.

As they moved towards the city he was curious about the petty officer. What had brought her to this point, doing this sort of operation. "While we're in route we may as well get aquainted. Don't want to seem like a strict bunch of soldiers with a tight chain of command. Sevry, what's your story. How'd you end up out here, among the ragiest and tagiest squad. Piss somebody off or make someone too happy?" He had forgone the use of her rank. They would not want somebody overhearing them talk to one another with such titles. Details like that would get them made. and botch the whole operation.

@Herrith @Kori Buor @christhebarker @Algarus​

 

[Herrith]

Sevry looked at what remained of the continually dissolving canister and others as she checked her compass. They were on track. She started hiking, checking her M6C before tucking it into a shoulder holster hidden in her jacket. There was a shortened M90 stowed in the pack she was lugging around for the next few kilometers, but this just wasn't the right environment. Unless you were talking about the Flood...a rather unlikely and unfortunate event if it were to happen on this planet. She glanced back at the ONI agent with her, wondering how they could play this off if they were discovered even as he asked her how she got here. She blew her hair out of her face. Maybe they'd be mistaken for a couple hunters...with military grade weaponry, intelligence systems, and armor. Yeah, sounds about right for Andesia.

"I worked as a deep cover agent in a drug. Turned out they also smuggled chemical weapons. That caught WOLVERINE's attention, and all my work got shoved down the drain. I briefly was brought into their unit as an advisory asset, and then it all fell apart. ONI deemed my work underperforming, and I got stuffed into an office. Here we are now."

That was the likely story, to be precise. She didn't include how closely she had worked with Wellington and her unit on purpose. Their detachment didn't need to think she was going to be distracted.

She wasn't. Never.

@Darasuum

 

[Darasuum]

Life could very easily get boring in the galaxy. That was one of the reasons why Gerard had first joined the UNSC. However what Sevry described was deffinitly far from dull. On the other hand it sounded like she had a rough go of things. In this situation this was maybe her only way to start getting some positivist in her career. That was a motivator if the spartan had ever heard it.

In response he simply nodded his head and kept moving forward. The woman had divulged some information some would even consider very personal. "Sounds like the origin story of an anti-hero." He said, letting his nerdy side get the better of him. When not on a mission he appreciated some of the geekier things in life and had since he had been a kid. Comic books, movies, video games and more. Most people would not guess it when it came to a two meter tall super soldier but Gerard enjoyed reading about the forces of good and evil battling it out with laser eyes, telekinesis and other fantastical adventures even when he already lived an exciting life.

"It's definitely more exciting then what I've got, at least the parts I can tell you." He gave a look at the woman even with his helmet on that said you know how these classified things are before resuming. "Was with the 10th Recon ODSTs. Did what you might expect from us, saw some good action. Must have made people start to like me or maybe they don't like me knowing what I know and hope I trip on a mine or something. Either way I just keep doing my job." He shrugged and kept the pace.

@Herrith @Kori Buor @christhebarker @Algarus​

 

[Herrith]

Nicola scoffed, taking his joke rather well and allowing herself to ease up slightly. She was just so nervous for no damn reason. Maybe it was because she was about to hunt down someone that she knew...or maybe it was because ONI might have 'accidentally' caused her to 'disappear' after this assignment. Sevry wouldn't be surprised in the least. She knew precisely what ONI could and would do, especially in this time of corruption.

Gerard explained his background, starting right off the bat with ODSTs, talking about war as if he had just gone down to the mall. Ah, made sense. He was a Spartan. They lived, breathed, and basically got laid with war. She held no spite against them, especially since there were quite a few working in near proximity. The program did its job, despite the evils that had to be done. Nothing wrong with that.

"I was in E2-BAG/1 before this, believe it or not. One of the 'ghost battalions'...we came from Eridanus II after it got glassed, never dumped the unit name. I guess it was a way of remembering. I was just a medic, so that story kind of ends there. The Covenant doesn't usually leave enough left to stitch together. Either way, ONI found me promising and brought me in as a field agent."

***​

A little while later, and they emerged on top of a hill, looking out from the treeline to a city. Not as flashy or vertically built as many in the inner worlds, but certainly large. She exhaled, looking at the scale as wind blew her hair back. The woman set down the duffel bag on her back and unzipped it, sitting down slowly. Well, here they were.

Red was somewhere in there...and she was going to make sure that this ended.

 

[Herrith]

1030 HOURS, JULY 14, 2562 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \
ANDESIA, URF TERRITORY
WAREHOUSE DISTRICT
THEME
​

"And you'll be delivering us our money, right?"

"Right."

The woman nodded with a smile, watching as the crates were resealed, all of them containing UNSC-issue SAM equipment. They were supposed to get shipped to her...at least that's what she told the dealer. She turned and walked out of the warehouse, igniting a cigarette with a match and tossing it away. Once it was lit, she took a long drag and pulled out a detonator, breathing out the smoke while an explosive got tipped off in the warehouse, a huge fireball coming out of the double doors.

She kept walking as alarms went off and people started screaming, pushing through the crowds as best as she could.

Sarah Wellington didn't take kindly to terrorists.

Ironic, considering the UNSC called her one.

@Darasuum

 

[Darasuum]

It was hours since they had first seen the city skyline. So far they had moved into the city in the darkness of night and were now holed up in an abandoned warehouse in the small slum section of the city. There were a few to choose from, some of which had some security though it was minimal. The spartan considered this just as dangerous of territory as any other though. This was not a friendly environment. Since the drop he had not had the slightest hint of being tired and kept watch as some of the others were able to rest up.

Dawn had come but there was yet to be a time to play their hand. But that would probably change. From the top floor of the warehouse, looking out through a tinted window with his back against a share wall he saw a bloom of light. At first he thought it was some aircraft or something bringing a search light over the area or something of that sort. But as he looked at the surrounding area it was all lit up equally, something a spotlight was not capable of.

Peaking out he saw the multi-story size flames and cloud in the distance. Something was happening on Andesia. Keying the communication bead he alerted the others what he was seeing. He wondered if this was what the Petty Officer expected. His grip flexed around his weapon.

@Herrith ​