noble six-1-spartans never die
She wears a gown of rose pink that sways in the breeze, stars twinkle above in the azure sky. We hold hands and spin around. We dance like there is nothing else in the world. Then she stops. Her hand flies to her breast, she holds it there, a look of shock crosses her face. I am holding out my hand to her, no, am i? no, my fist... my fist is clenched. She pulls her hand away, deep blue liquid seeps out, then light, there is a blue light, I can see... on the ground...a helmet...whose helmet is that? I have seen it so many times before...no... it's mine... it's my helmet. The woman falls back, her form twists and contorts horribly, an elongated head, blue armour, jaws divided into three sections... I spin to my left unloading the rest of my clip into the charging figure, it does not falter and continues charging, it raises it's sword, I hold a knife in my hand, such a small thing. Somehow, I dodge him. I stab him, he must be dead. Agh! I land on my front and roll to the side as another blade slices the ground. My other hand rises to fire. I stand as he drops dead, I look around quickly, a knife in one hand and a 44. in the other. I... I can't... my vision is a blur.... I look down at the sword sticking out of my stomach, it glows blue, I stare into the alien face before me, warped into a vicious snarl. I clench my fist, raising my trembling arm, slowly, we stare each other down, and in one last act of defiance, I swing down my knife arm...
What... what is this? This light... am I dead? Its like, white and blue, it glows warmly, welcoming, I can almost feel my body, my legs, I take one step towards it, then another. 'I have done my duty' I say. I take another step. There is a hand on my shoulder, I turn around slowly, I do not fear any longer. It is the woman. She gazes into my eyes. I feel something, my calmness is gone, I feel a sense of anger, sadness, regret, why? I had so much more to do in my life. 'Not now, not today.' The woman says, then she is gone. The light turns slowly to a deeper shade of blue, then it begins to get lighter, it turns paler, an aqua colour, the light moves towards me, I feel a sudden cold, then the light engulfs me...
I move my arm, it twitches, my leg moves a little, I open my mouth. Water suddenly rushes in. I fling myself up and out of the water, I pant and gasp for air as I grip the sides of the container. I wipe the wet hair from my eyes and open them. There is a human woman standing in front of me, a look of surprise on her face. She is wearing a white lab coat and holding a clipboard. I look around in desperation. I am in some kind of lab, scientists are staring at me in shock.
'What?' I ask. 'You never seen a Spartans dick before?' One of the fox women blushes, the cute one on the left. I give her a snap my fingers together and point at her and lift my head in that sorta gangsta-type way.
'Ajay, do you know where you are?' One of them asks. I shake my head. I have no idea what the hell is going on, how did I get here? Who am i? 'You were on reach.' He said. Reach... that was it!
'The pillar of autumn!' I shout suddenly remembering. 'What happened? Tell me!' I demand. The man makes a gentle shushing motion with his hand.
'Settle down, first we'll get you some clothes, then we will explain the rest, but there is nothing to be worried about.' I look down at my naked body.
'Oh, yeah okay then.' I lift myself out of the tank and flick my legs over the side and land on the ground. Most of the scientists look away.
'Where to?'
<///////////////>
I walk back into the science lab wearing a fresh suit of clothes. A suit of dark green overalls. The man who looks like the lead scientist greets me as I enter.
'This may be a little hard to believe Ajay, but you were killed on reach. I blinked in disbelief. 'You see, we eventually managed to retrieve your body from reach, it was not easy, but we did it.' He said. 'When you died, a small part of your brain containing your personality was left intact. Do you remember the AI you delivered on reach?' I stand silently in thought. Yes, the AI, the blue thing in the container. 'Well, before you delivered it, the AI...' The scientist took a second to work out how to explain it, 'Made a copy of your short term memory. Using what was left of your body and brain, your memory contained in the AI and a lot of very, and I mean very expensive cybernetic parts, we rebuilt you.' I look back down at myself again.
'I don't feel like a robot.'
'That's because you are a sort-of android-cyborg. We weaved your nervous system through a synthetic skin suit so you could feel as natural as possible. I look at my arm; the red fur looks exactly the same as I remember it. I run one finger through the fur, it still feels the same. 'Do you remember anything?' I lean back against the wall as I think deeply.
The seat rocks back and forth vigorously as the warthog bounces along the rough track. I hold an assault rifle in one hand, the other holds the side of the warthog. We roll onto the tarmac and the rocking stops. I put down my rifle and pick up my helmet. Black with a nice grey finish. A little grubby though. I wipe a smudge of dirt off the visor and gaze into it as if there was an unseen face behind it. Unlike the helmets the humans wore, it was elongated at the front to accommodate my muzzle. The whole thing was covered in runes and etchings into the surface. I carved them into it with my knife. There were waves, spiky bits, all sorts of random symbols. I put the helmet on the floor of the warthog and grab the dog-tag around my neck. It reads; Ajay Siiks. On the back, "Raida" is carved into the back crudely. I laugh at the inscription. Carved by the guys back home.
'Raider, honestly.' I mutter to myself.' I steal Victoria's undies one time as a joke, and that's all people remember me for?' I shake my head. 'Damn, that bitch kicked my ass that day.' The warthog rolled to a stop. I put on my helmet, grab my gun and jump out. A human male approaches me wearing blue armour, high rank. I salute him.
'Sir! I was directed here for assignment to noble team, sir!' the man waved a hand dismissively.
'Cut the "sir yes sir" crap. We're all comrades here. I'm Carter, if you will, leader of noble team. I'm noble one. He walks away and motions for me to follow him. He walks into a hangar and introduces me to the rest of the team.
'Noble two, three, four and five. You're noble six.' Noble six. I think. Oh the irony. People always used to get my name, Siiks, mixed up with six, but it actually rhymed with "likes". Number two was wearing a lighter blue armour suit and had a slightly slimmer build than the others. Three had a wicked skull on his helmet and was toying with a knife, four had his helmet off and was bald and polishing a sniper rifle, and five was standing in a corner, he was the biggest of the lot.
'Welcome six, I trust you had a good ride here?' I looked at noble two for a few seconds in slight confusion. A woman? She had a trace of Russian in her voice. 'I am Kat, this is Emile Jun and Jorge.' She says as she points at each respectively. Carter approached Kat.
'You know what you need about this guy?' He asks.
'Yes, even the things ONI didn't want us to know.' Kat turns to me. 'We know everything about you, previous assignments, skills, personality everything. I have to say, I am quite impressed.' I smile at her recognition. 'But I know your type. Don't do anything rash or dangerous. We are a team here, we don't need any heroics.' Jorge grunted in the corner.
'Don't do anything dangerous? What is he in noble team for? Motivational support?' Kat ignored his comment.
'Take your pick of the weapons in the chest there, then I will lead you to the falcon we are using.' The other members of noble team left except for Kat, who waited for me. I sift through the trunk until I find what I am looking for. I lift the weapon out and take some shells out of the ammunition box. I load the eight shells into the gun and switch the safety on.
'Are you ready six?' Kat asks from behind me.
'As ready as I'll ever be.' I say. She leads me out of the hangar.
'So how long have you been in noble team for?' I ask, trying to make small talk.
'I have been here for a year now. When you join noble team your life expectancy decreases tenfold.' She says to me.
'Yeah well I got a lot more stuff to do before I die, sorry.' I tell her with a big smile. She stares at me unsurely for a few seconds.
'You are a very strange creature.' She says without expression. 'But I like you. It's good to have somebody around who can stay positive in these times.' I maintain my smile.
'Well thanks, I like you too.' I say. 'Quite a bit actually.'
'Don't get fresh with me six. This relationship is strictly professional.'
'The profession where you sell sex tapes on the internet?' I ask quickly. She stares back at me coldly.
'If you could manage to use that quick witty mind of yours for something constructive, you could go far.' I shrug.
'Tried it once didn't like it.' I say. 'I prefer to use it to come up with pick-up lines on the spot.' I say. Kat looks at me with an intrigued look.
'Why is it that I have not shot you yet?'' She asks. 'five minutes after we meet each other, you're already trying to "pick me up", but I have not lashed out at you, I do not feel annoyed, why is that?' I shrug with a smile.
'Just pure animal magnetism I guess.' Kat shakes her head.
'If you say so.'
'I... I remember meeting noble team.' I reply. 'I remember from that point up to my last fight.' I say reflectively, remembering what it felt like to be dead. The scientist nodded. And scribbled on his pad for a while.
'We will have to perform a psychological analysis on you too deem if you are ready to be back on the field. In the meantime, you shall remain here.' He says.
'Here?' I ask. 'Where's here?' The scientist smiles warmly.
'We are currently on a UNSC frigate.
'You will have free roam of the ship. Do what you want, meet the marines, have a chat, whatever. Your room is Cabin A-4, have a good sleep tonight and come back tomorrow morning at nine so we can see how you are.' The scientist turns and leaves through an automatic door on the opposite side of the room. I stand in the middle of the room idly. A man is looking through a microscope at a table. The vixen I saw earlier stands on the other side of a table from me, pretending to be occupied in her work. I sit on the edge of the table. She quickly glances at me and then back to her clipboard. I fake a yawn and lie down across the table, so that my head lies right over her clipboard so she can't see it.
'Hullo.' I say with my usual warm-smile-that-gets-all-the-ladies. She blushes slightly and averts her eyes towards something else. 'Wat'cha doing?'
'Oh, just analysing, some... things.' She said nervously. I raise an eyebrow and say in a slightly suggestive tone:
'Yes I saw you analysing my thing earlier.' A sudden look of shocked embarrassment crossed her face.
'E-excuse me?' She squeaked as her face reddened.
'Yeah, I saw you analysing that clipboard earlier, I just presumed it was something to do with me. You know my data thing?' The vixen regained her composure slightly.
'Oh, yes... yes that was, some things about you.' She said.
'So, what'cha doing after that?' I ask. The fox shrugged.
'Nothing.' She said
'Well if you're doing nothing, care to dine with me tonight?' The woman turned red again.
'What, me? With you?' She squeaked. I shrugged.
'I'd hate to leave a lovely vixen like you all alone by yourself, and there has to be a decent place to get a meal around here.' The woman stood trembling for a few seconds.
'Um... yes, please, I think... I would like that.' She managed a smile.
'Great! I'll meet you here at seven.' I said. I jumped off the table and headed out the door, giving a quick wave as I left.
<//////////////>
I strut down the grey corridors with confidence. I hold my head high. Why? Because I'm a motherfucking hero. I turn and push open the double doors to the mess hall with an extravagant movement. The room is bustling with conversation. I walk up to a counter where a bored looking man is serving the classic mystery meat. Generally, a mince-like substance. There are some chunky looking mashed potatoes, soft-looking carrots and other questionable veges. I grab a small plate of the mystery mince and head over in search of the table. One table has four humans whispering to each other, one has a group of older marines who are talking to each other. A third one had a group of young marines, one was making extravagant gestures that vaguely resembled shooting something, and shouting. I walk over and sit at the end of the table. I lean back casually as the others stop and look at me.
'Sup.' I say with a nod.
'Who are you fur?' One opposite asks me.
'Siiks. Ajay Siiks.' I answer. He grunts.
'Never heard of you. Where you from?'
'Noble.' I say proudly. He thinks for a second.
'Bullshit. All of noble team's dead.' Reality suddenly set in.
'I got better.' I said. I would probably get upset later about the death of my team, but not now. I didn't work like that. The guy opposite me just grunted again.
'Whatever, sit here if you want, but don't be a dick.' I dug into my mince as one of the other men started up again.
'And I went straight out the window and landed on him!' He yelled. 'Tackled him to the ground and stabbed that bitch good.'
'So what? I once killed a hunter with my knife.' Another said.
'How many times did you shoot him first Jimmy? I reckon the rocket launcher would have done the most damage.' The man looked at me for a second.
'What about you?' He asked.
'Huh?'
'Say something man. What's on your dogtag?' Dogtags held a lot of information. Names, identification numbers, assignments, etc. Every dogtag had a nickname carked into the back by the soldiers comrades.
'Raida.' I pulled the dogtag up from my shirt and showed them. The guy nodded.
'This here's Ping.' He pointed to a guy on his left. 'He once almost killed himself with a fuel-rod gun. It bounced off his cover he was hiding behind and blew up behind him.' He points to the one beside me. 'That's Tiger. Because-'Tiger guy cut in.
'because of my awesome knife skills and speed.' He said. The first guy shrugged.
'That's what he says. I've heard it's cause' he banged one in the training academy.'
'Shut up man, that's bull!' Tiger yelled at him. I shrug.
'Doesn't sound that bad to me.' I say. 'I wouldn't be ashamed if I banged a tiger. They got nice curves, some of them.'
'Yeah, well you're different! Animals try fucking each other all the time!' Tiger shut up suddenly as I stared at him slit-eyed. He looked down at the table to avoid my eyes.
'Damn, jimmy, that's harsh.' Ping said quietly. I quickly changed my expression to a smile.
'Ahh, who the hell am I kidding? That's my favourite hobby.' I said with a laugh. 'Yeah, I'm an animal. So what? Most animals sleep, eat and fuck all day. The difference is, I shoot stuff too.' The other two grinned at the surprised Jimmy.
'Why do you guys always pick on me?' Jimmy said as he put his head in his hands. The first guy laughed.
'Anyway, the guys call me Choker. Cause' I once stuck a frag down an elites throat.' I smile at the thought. Why haven't I tried that? 'So what's your storey?' Choker asked. I shrug a little.
'Dudes in academy dared me to steal this chicks undies. A real hottie. I did it of course. Got the crap beaten out of me for it.' I said the last sentence with a laugh. The other guys laughed too.
'So what, you broke into her room at night, stole her panties and ran away?' Choker asked with a grin. I shook my head with a smile.
'Not exactly. I fucked her first. Left with her underwear. Got caught showing them to my mates the next day. She kicked the crap out of me.' The other guys laughed a bit more.
'So is your entire life just one big orgy of fighting and sex?' Ping asked. I hold out a finger accusingly.
'Hey!' I say. 'I like drinking too.'
<////////////////>
Five. To fight for something. I place my hand over my heart as Jorge approaches. He removes his helmet and takes my hand in his.
'Promise me six. Promise me you will not give up fighting the covenant, that you will do everything in your power to stop them.' I nod.
'Of course I will Jorge, you know that.' Jorge grabs me by the shoulder with his free hand and lifts me up.
'Jorge... what are you doing?' I ask frantically. He walks forward, still holding me in his grasp.
'Somebody has to detonate that bomb six.' He continues walking.
'No Jorge!' I yell. 'There is another way, I'm sure of it! We could rewire it to-'
'There's no time six.'
'Jorge...'
'This is your fight now six.' He stops at the edge of the gravity containment field and brings me close to his face. 'Do me proud.' He pushes me. I feel the world falling away from me as I drop through space, the corvette slowly disappears from view as it docks with the super-carrier.
'JORGE!' I yell. But there is no point. In space nobody can hear you scream. The corvette erupts in a burst of intense light.
'JORGE! NO!' I sob. A shimmering ball of blue fire plumes out from the carrier. Jorge is dead.
I feel I have failed. Reach was taken. I tried my hardest, but I failed.
'I am sorry Jorge.' I tell him. An ethereal voice echoes through the nothing.
'You did not fail six.' It says. 'I asked you to do your best. You did. You made your stand against the covenant. You fought for something, You make me proud.' The voice echoes away again, back into the nothing from whence it came.
Three. Defiance. The twisted and broken brute lies before me. The sound of death still rings in my ears. I look down at the hammer I am holding, then around me. Countless lie dead at my feet. They may be battered and broken, but my spirit is not. Something flashes in the comer of my eye. An elite, an energy sword.
'Emile! Look out!' The MAC cannon fires again, the force from the shot reverberating across the metal platform on which I stand. The elite grabs the top rung of the ladder. A barrel, dark grey, pokes out from the control room. It erupts in a cone of bright light. The elite explodes and drops to the ground. Emile strides out from the cabin of the gun. Then suddenly, he is grabbed from behind The elite is huge. It lifts him right off the ground and turns him to face. It roars in his face and plunges it's sword into the Spartans body. I watch in horror as Emile is impaled on the blade. The elite rips the blade out of his body. "He is dead." I say to myself. But no... He reaches up, draws the knife from its sheath, and stabs the elite in a furious assault. The elite stumbles and then tips over. Emile falls to the ground with it. One holds a sword, one a knife. Both end equal. A last act of defiance.
'Six...'
'Emile?'
'Yeah six, it's me.'
'Your dead...'
'Yeah, but so were you. And what matters is you put up a fight. You showed the covenant you wouldn't let up. And you're going to keep going six. Keep going hard. Defy them six. Show them you won't go down without a fight. Again...' Emile's voice faded away slowly...
Two. Just one shot. So simple. We walk into the vast main area of the building. Ten stories high with a shattered glass roof. Kat walks ahead of the group. She is thinking.
'Well what I suggest we-' And that is it. She falls to the ground suddenly. The shot seems to sound an eternity later. We fire, we all fire, blinded by rage and confusion. We stop and rush to Kats side. There is a dark purple burn around the entry and exit points. We all stand silent. We don't bother to check her pulse. We know she is dead. How could this happen? She served on noble team for a year. Survived countless firefights and perilous missions, for this? To be killed by one simple jakal? One shot through the head? I cradle her lifeless head in my arms as tears drip onto her face. I feel something on my shoulder. It's carter. Of course it's carter. He's the leader. I turn around and gaze into the skull carving before my eyes. Emile is crouched behind me, one hand on my shoulder.
'Just let it all out man. Let it out.' I turn and fall into his shoulder, still crying.
'Just one shot... how?' I cry. Emile pats me on the back.
'That's just the way things go six. War's a bitch.'
'Six...I am here.'
'Kat?'
'I need you to listen to me six. Be careful out there.'
'Kat, you know I will...'
'No six, listen. You know what happened to me. One shot. That was all it took. What if it happened to you six? You miss one jackal, and that's it.'
'...but I-'
'You remember the ship six, yes? You stopped it. Just one shot stopped it. One shot saved the pillar of autumn. Just remember six, the power of one bullet. Kats voice resonated for a while and disappeared.
One. The last weapon. The scarab let out an ear-splitting sound as it fires it huge green ray.
'Carter, we haven't got the weapons to deal with a scarab!' Emile says into his com unit.
'We have one weapon left Emile.' Comes over the com.
'Emile... what's he talking about?' I ask, fearing I know the answer.
'Go hard Carter.' Emile says. There is a few seconds of silence, then the falcon comes roaring around the corner,
'Roger.' The falcon busts into a fireball as it collides with the scarab at full speed. The scarab, stumbles backwards, its back legs fall off the cliff. The front legs scrabble at the ground to no avail, it slide off the cliff face, and falls to the ground far below.
'He did it for us six. Let's not let him down.' Emile says as he sets off.
I stand looking at my feet. There is a hand on my shoulder. I look up at Carter. He looks back at me.
'Don't give up hope Ajay.' Carters use of my name shocks me. 'If we give up hope that is the only true loss. There is always a way.' I stand silently. 'I knew you were special Ajay. From when I first saw you. You have a chance to save people now. You have been given another chance at life. The question stands, what will you do with it?' Carter slowly started fading from view. I can't feel his hand on me anymore.
'What will you do..?'
Things are black. Where am i? This is different.
'Six. You can see me?'
'Jun?'
'Yes, it is me.' I shake my head and look around in the blackness, but it is too dark.
'No. NO! You are alive! You got away! Why are you here?' I scream into the darkness.
'Six, war catches up with all of us. I know you are confused.'
'Damn right I am!' I yell. 'What happened? What is going on? JUN!'
'...six, you will find out one day, and I want you to know, its ok. You didn't know, I understand
'JUN!'
<///////////////>
I suddenly open my eyes. The grey ceiling stares back at me. I look to my left. The blanket has been moved aside. The vixen must have left while I was still asleep. I lie back comfortably, picturing the scene from last night with a smile. Of all the chicks I have slept with, she has to be in the top ten. I toss my blankets off and stretch out. I walk into the bathroom without getting dressed and jump straight into the shower, giving myself a quick wash. I change, eat some breakfast and head out my door to go to the lab.
All the scientists are busy at work. The vixen glances at me quickly as I enter. I kiss two fingers and point them in her direction.
'Morning professor.' I say as I enter. The lead scientist turns around.
'It's doctor, actually.' He says. I shrug.
'Morning doctor.' I say. The doctor puts down his clipboard on the table.
'Are you ready for your psychological analysis?' He asks.
'I'm always ready.'
<//////////////////>
I walk back into the lab confidently. Doctor Bein follows me with his clipboard.
'Well, it seems you have passed your examination with flying colours. You are mentally fit enough to be released. We have detected no problems with your cybernetics either, so you are passing our expectations. I nod happily. 'It seems there is a nice retirement fund available for Spartans, should you wish to go that way.' I shake my head immediately.
'No dice doc, I'm standing and fighting.' I say proudly. Bien murmurs as he flicks through his clipboard pages.
'Well, as luck would have it, there is a squad of ODST's about to embark on a high priority mission back on earth tomorrow.' He says.
'ODST's? Those nut-cases that fall from orbit in their little drop pods to land right in the dead-centre of the enemies army?!?'
'Well, I assure you, it is much-'
'I'll do it.' I say with a grin. The doctor blinks in astoundment.
'What, really?' He asks. I nod my head eagerly.
'Hell yeah! Falling from orbit is awesome! Sign me up.' The doctor writes something on his page and rips it out, putting it on the table beside him.
'As you wish.'
'What's this high priority mission then?'
'The covenant are on earth.' My heart skipped a beat.
'What! Where?'
'New Mombasa. They managed to slip past our orbital defences.' My fist clenches tightly at the thought of the covenant on earth. My earth. My home.
'Doctor, I swear to god, I better be on that ship tomorrow, or I'm coming back here to kick your ass.'