Title
Hands Held High
Chapter
Here We Die
Pairing
Master Chief x Noble Six
Story Summary
Never had she asked to become one of humanity's greatest warriors; to be a savior, a killer, a Spartan. But she made the most of it by becoming the best there ever was; a hyper-lethal assassin, a lone wolf survivor, a one-man army. A person who goes beyond the norm to fiercely protect her own despite allegations against her. Having braved through many trials of death and war at every turn, Noble Six chooses to be a sacrifice in order to ensure everyone who matters survives. Yet even in death the ghosts of her past remind her why she works better alone. However, it just isn't her time, for the Covenant/Human War has only just begun and her ending is far from nearing.
Disclaimer
Everything I own belongs to me. Everything I don't own belongs to Bungie, Microsoft, 343 Industries and their respected owners.
XxXXxX
18:42 HOURS, AUGUST 30, 2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR) /
EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM, UNSC MILITARY COMPLEX, PLANET REACH
ASZOD SHIP BREAKING YARD
-NOW-
As a Spartan, everything before being conscripted is forgotten.
Memories, family, friends.
With a considerable amount of schooling, training and field work, whatever they knew before was quite literally shoved from their thoughts to make room for what was to be their new personal life.
However, there were those moments where something would make itself known; a smell, a touch, an emotion. Just a fragment of a memory that made one remember the past.
All her life, Spartan-312 had gone through hell and back in more ways than one, managing to survive through thick and thin, never thinking of anything else but the mission at hand to ensure victory. By no means was she a mindless machine as so many thought of the Spartan's, as she sometimes thought of herself; she just had no other purpose but to follow the orders given to her.
She was good at it. She was good at also making her own decisions, ones that allowed more leeway for the tougher choices she had to make. She was very good at being and working alone.
So, when Noble Six stood there on top of the Mass Driver, realizing that with the Pillar of Autumn gone, with no orders to take or act on with a team that no longer lived, she was surprised to find a feeling of desertion in the pit of her stomach.
It froze her where she stood.
She felt it before. Familiar. But couldn't remember from where or why. Since her conscription and transformation into the Spartan she was now, she has always been alone, sometimes for hours, most times for days at a time. Her communications were the only link she had to anyone outside her operations, overseeing her when needed but never more than that. Now, the silence was near deafening, the stillness too unnerving. She hated it. She had always believed everything happened for a reason. She knew as she fought that any death had a reason to it. Hers and teammates included. But never did she think that she'd feel an emotion such as this in the moments that could possibly be her last.
It didn't help that after the Autumn went into slipspace, the guns of the surrounding Covenant ships she didn't take out immediately turned to her location, dropships unloading squads of ground troops hollering for the blood that led to their failure. She looked around, her eyes scanning quickly over the area for a teammate that disappeared from her radar. She called him over the radio.
"Emile, report!"
Static.
"Dot!"
Static.
Six dropped her hand and cursed. The covies already dropped their jammers. There was no time for this nonsense. She acknowledged her... abandonment issues, and quickly filed it away for a later time. She was in no situation to dwell on anything right now except to escape the shipyard. Dropping from the Onager, boots thumping hard on the metal platform, she pinged her location across the Noble radar, hoping somewhere that Emile - if he was alive - would be able to follow her trail. Reloading her weapons, she fled north.
She made it outside the structure when she met her first wave of Covenant fighters. Inevitably, she took them out in minutes. Waves of troopers varying in size met her head on after that as she headed anywhere that wasn't near a potential glass sight. Many times, she had to ditch empty weapons, taking arms with alien ones. The plasma seemed to work better on their shields, so she wasn't all that mindful. At one point, she was in a firefight for nearly an hour before she managed to take the stragglers out with a single plasma grenade and a large chain reaction of explosions. It was a lucky break. Yet again, she dumped her empty weapons for new ones.
Three hours Six had traveled like this. Short handed, alone, and starting to feel the pull of exhaustion. She'd been fighting for two days straight with nonstop attempts on her life. Walking, running and hiding when needed. No breaks, no rations, no water, no sleep. Sure, she trained like this before and could last much longer if she came across the essentials to survive off - she was a survivalist after all - but the Covenant weren't Insurrectionists. Insurrectionists were human. Humans were slower, their senses nowhere near a heightened level; a Spartan would lose them easily whereas the Covenant had great skills all around. They were faster, smarter, and their senses were sharp enough to hunt her and anything with her scent down within hours. She could still hear the call of Jackals - their hound dogs so to speak - behind her.
She found water first, the source a waist deep river about twenty feet wide within the mountain valley. The first thing she did was plunge in it. All dirt, blood, and scents of any kind washed off her person as she submerged and waddled through to the other side, filling a canteen in the process. She'd be tracking water for a few minutes, but aside from a foot trail she made sure not to make by stepping on tree roots or rocks, she would be lost to them until they picked up a new way of following her.
Free of chasers for a good partial hour and emerging from the valley, the Lieutenant finally came across a glassed base about eleven miles from the yards, stripped down to nothing but empty barracks, bare walls and dead bodies from the last team that held there. She could smell the rotting flesh through her air filters, indicating they were a few hours old. Rail guns were everywhere, as were barricades and several UNSC ordinance cases. From the spot atop an armed post, she could see everything clearly, from the burning shores across the city river, to the Covenant ships glassing areas past the mountain range she had just come from. All around her the aliens took space in both air and ground, close enough to be seen but far enough away for her to stay elusive.
It was twenty-two-hundred hours.
The Lone Wolf sighed.
For once in her life, she abhorred that title.
From just a simple, solitary assassin that took pride in taking out militia groups all on her own, to a team adamant on working together to solve a problem was a big change, one she hadn't looked forward to at all but kept up the appearance that she was okay to try it out. She was a one-man army, unwilling to have a team simply because she wasn't willing to throw lives away if the need ever called for it. She'd rather put her life on the line first than let someone else do it in her place. They had more to live for; she just had war.
Unfortunately, being an ONI dog of pedigree status, she didn't have this luxury, no longer thought of as simple cannon fodder like Spartan-III's were intended to be. She had the armor and Spartan Neural Interface to prove it.
Noble Six was now the assumed last member of a team she was proud to say she became a part of. In a little over a month they were able to warn the entirety of the human militia about Covenant plans and evacuate most of Reach in time. The valuable information was safe within the AI she had protected and delivered, along with Dr. Halsey on Jun's end... she hoped so anyway. She had nothing to regret for herself. She had done a good job; more than a good job. Nothing was at stake besides her own life now and she wanted to keep it that way, foreign feeling be damned.
Survive.
But then... how could she be so sure that whatever she helped get off planet was truly safe? That AI had chosen her for a reason, whatever that reason may be. Was it because she was the only one who could protect it the way she did? Was it because of how highly her rep was regarded, known and unknown? She wasn't sure, just like she wasn't sure whether that AI still needed her, and if it did... There was no other way off the planet unless she found another Saber launch site, an operational Pelican, or hijack a covenant cruiser.
She had to survive.
She wasn't abandoned or forgotten. She refused to think that way.
Kurt once said that Spartan's never die. They're just MIA.
She could still fight for this war.
She still had intel that someone may need.
She still technically had a job to do so long as that AI lives.
And if the only way to survive to fulfill that order was to risk her life and commandeer an enemy ship to escape off planet, so be it. In hindsight, maybe CASTLE Base was still standing. That's where Halsey and Jun went off to and she knew there was a dock station there. She was thankful for her knowledge in knowing the general location, having been there only once before during her test piloting days. It was about a weeks' travel on foot from where she was, guessing from her longitude/latitude points. She'd have to navigate by the stars to find out if she was right.
The joys to old school navigation.
Six shook her head. These scrambling thoughts were distracting her, she needed something to do to get back on track. She needed to make sure that their efforts weren't lost. She wasn't finished.
She had barely moved an inch to scout the area before her HUD blazed to life.
The Lieutenant ducked just in time to avoid the swipe of a pulse rifle aimed for her neck, rolling with the dodge to scope out the Minor-classed Elite who roared at his miss. Without thought, she quickly fired her plasma pistol at the alien. He snarled in agitation when his shields flared, dodging away with unmatched reflexes behind cover. He didn't wait long to jump over it, charging towards her. Reckless and quick. Taking advantage of this, she stood her ground, meeting him head on. What the Elite did not expect, was her sudden change in weight as she dropped to one leg and used the momentum to throw him over her shoulder.
He landed hard on the platform but didn't stay down as she advanced. He roared at her and caught the swift kick aimed for his jaw. The Lieutenant grit her teeth and, with quick reflexes, jumped to use her other foot that connected with the side of his head. He released her with a painful cry, the force having staggered him back on his haunches. With the given chance, she advanced with three successful and powerful punches to his abdomen that lowered his shields, dealing a final blow with several shots to each of his hearts. The Elite fell dead with a gurgle.
War cries of anger had her turning around. If she wasn't as trained as she was, emotions always in check, Noble Six would have balked at the five or so squads quickly advancing on her location. It didn't stop her eyes from widening.
When had they moved in so fast? How did they see her?
Simply looking up answered these questions. She cursed harshly at her own stupidity. Several meters behind her was a Phantom, the shimmers of a recent decloaking evident on how she missed it as it pulled away. The ship had already alerted other troops, she could see the other Phantoms and Spirits coming in closer, the spotting of a lone Demon too enticing to ignore.
Before she knew it, she manned a nearby rail gun and started firing. It was too late for her to try and run a tactical play. She'd have to improvise as she went. Grunts came first, which she suspected were the evaluators of the situation as not soon after, several Minors to Majors and Special Operation Elites were out to get her. No signs of Brutes to deal with thankfully, the Elites were bad enough, no need for a temperamental monkey literally jumping on her back to make her day. She picked off the smaller prey one by one, the small blast shield around the gun protecting her from the bigger shots of plasma fire. When it ran out of ammo, she resorted to her pistol and plasma rifle, shooting her way back to reach a more secure point of protection.
Again, wave upon wave went after her, each a lot worst than the last. Again, she found herself in a firefight that would either end in her favor or with her dead. Only this time, the battle lasted a lot longer than an hour.
Three days passed.
Three agonizing, painful days as she, at one point, finally managed to run from the base they found her in, fleeing to the foothills to take refuge of some kind there. Sleep was scarce, food nonexistent, water a luxury. The repeating pings to a hopeless end the only thing that seemed to be pushing her onward.
The twilit sky was more red than purple or blue, both moons near their peak, when they finally managed to corner her in a series of warehouses a mile from the nearest town. Noble Six was frustrated, angry, tired, and desperate. The Covenant were relentless, following her and finding her with constant drops of armament and vehicles. She lost count of how many times she laid traps, downed an alien or took out a Wraith, but nor did she really care. The many weapons she gathered were useless, she used up all that was left of the ammo and nearly depleted all that was left of any others she found, human or alien. All she had on her was her armor lock, drop shield and combat knives.
She ran whenever she could to another warehouse, just to get away on a new playing field to perhaps get a breather. She managed to do this about five times until they caught on to her tricks and managed to box her in last second with waves of Grunts or Ghosts blocking her path, making her retreat inside. By the ninth time she tried this (she did say she was desperate), damaged and banged up, is when they backed off the other forces and started sending down the Zealots. They were in the end game.
Looks like I'm not getting off this rock after all.
The pop of her shields had her running faster back to cover from the rafters above. A nearby blast from a Revenant destroyed the metal bridge at her heels. She stumbled and pain suddenly riddled her side from plasma bolts. She cried out, ducking immediately into a room and fell hard against the farthest wall from the door, a hand on the wound. When she brought it to eye level she saw red. Lots of it.
Definitely not going see another sunrise again either.
In the distance, far below, Six heard the warbling laughter of an Elite, no doubt brandishing his luck in greatly wounding a Demon. She sneered. That part of her armor was now gone, burned away, licking at her skin beneath in a constant, agonizing throb. With a wound this deep, it was impossible for her to move as fast as she had been. Her visor was also cracked - a surprise swing from an Elites rifle catching her in the face - taking out her radar and essentially blinding her from the field. The aliens knew it. So, it was both and not a surprise when a Zealot suddenly landed on what was left of the rafter outside the door – due in thanks to the jet pack on his back – firing away with his carbine before she could use her drop shield.
All hits were direct on weak shields until she dropped the protective bubble and fled again through the closed door to her right.
She ran straight into a frenzy.
Another hit to her helmet made her cringe as the entire visor shattered. Useless, she ripped it off her head and chucked it at the alien who broke it, resulting in the pained cry from a surviving Grunt as the Zealot dodged. The Grunt cried out as its foot slipped off the edge, taking her helmet with it, and promptly fell the four stories down. She took the distraction as an opportunity to jump the Elite. She managed to surprise him by shoving her shoulder into his abdomen as hard as she could into the railing. Faster than he could react, she grabbed hold of his arm and twisted, bending him backwards enough to grab his neck in a choke hold and twisted his head with a sudden jerk that immediately sent them to the metal floor, the alien dead. She grunted in pain, cringing as she stood with a near fully charged weapon in hand, and ran when the Zealot behind her started firing from the doorway. She grunted as the pain was caked on from more plasma fire from the Covenant unleashing their fury on her from below.
She killed a Zealot that was in her way with a knife to the chest, she kicked away another coming at her with a sword. She killed one more by cracking its neck the same way she did with the last one. The same Zealot chasing her jumped into the fray from the help of its thruster pack and hit her protected arm when she brought it up in a block, forcing her to stop and take a step back. An unexpected kick to her back brought her to her knees. Not willing to go down on her back, she shoved as hard as she could against the Zealot, sweeping her leg out to trip up any around her. However, the higher classed Elite jumped away before sweeping out his own leg and catching her in the jaw. The force from the kick was enough to slam her against the weak railing of the rafter and break right through it.
She fell three stories, landing harshly atop a pile of cargo crates, gravity and her weight making them crack and bend inwardly to her form. With her head uncovered, she had no protection against the impact aside from her arms shielding it. She lay motionless, dizzy from the hard hit to her jaw until a commotion brought her out of it. A hard grip on her leg dragged her from the wreck. She was tossed to the ground a story below and rolled a few feet before a foot stomped on her stomach, forcibly taking the weapon from her hand, rendering her useless.
Four Zealots howled over her, one brandishing a sword as she screamed in fury, kicking and flailing and stabbing with the combat knife she managed to take out. Even while down, she killed one by stabbing it in the neck, and another by kicking it hard over the head, embedding a hidden knife from the toe of her boot deep into its skull. But it was already too late. A pair of Hunters that had guarded the catwalks stood in the background, a small group of Grunts scoured the entire warehouse, one brandishing her helmet like a trophy, Elites of all classes stood out of the way of her blight as their vehicles settled down outside. Three more Zealots replaced the dead ones, and the sword wielder, the damn Elite that had kicked her over the rafter, assaulted her unprotected head. It was enough for the aliens to finally hold her still. The sharp blue glow of his weapon came down before agony consumed her entirely as it drove into her already damaged side at the exact same moment shots rang out.
And as blackness took over, the thought of failure echoed.
XxXXxX
Author's Note
Hey guys! So first off, be gentle! It's my first Halo fic! Second, please bear with me on this pairing! It's experimental!
John is 41 and Six is 26. That's a fifteen-year difference. I know it's weird for most people but the thought doesn't bug me much since I've grown to know people who are together and separated by age by the least of twelve years. I'm also taking in the fact that John has a constant streak of going into cryo, which slows the aging process. So even though he's 41, I'll probably make him look like he's mid-thirties. My Six, however, has no history of ever taking a break to need cryo, but we'll see in future chapters. Yes, I know augmentations gave them a more mature looking body, but let's say it was a temporary thing for the sake of the story. Either way, this won't be a star-crossed lovers thing, I will be spacing out their interactions over the course of both games and books as much as possible until I deem it fitting for them to show an attraction towards one another.
Thirdly, this story will occasionally jump back and forth between past and present times, both to show how my Noble Six got along with the team and how she's going to handle being needed in the future. Don't worry, this isn't permanent, and I won't touch upon exact game play - sometimes I might just to get past a scene - as I don't want people getting bored by reading something they already know about. I'm more so going to touch upon the times that aren't in the logs while referencing what happened in the missions.
And lastly, this fic is also experimental. It's more so to give me inspiration to write and see where I stand regarding my styles through your reviews. Please help me out and let me know what you think. The more I know, the better I get and the better my plays will be :D Halo fans are welcome to inform me about something I may have left out or missed and I'll do what I can to possibly integrate it if it's absolutely necessary.
Until next time! :D