The stars were shining bright in the sky on this Georgian night. A warm breeze blew gently, leaving the tall grass and trees to sway along. Most of Earth was covered in advanced technology, but this place was an hour out of Atlanta, and it was just how God left it way back when. An occasional airplane or spacecraft would fly by or up, but other than that, it was quiet. A house stood alone in this large field of trees and tall grass. From the roof, a man and young girl climbed on top. The man wore a gray t-shirt, some comfortable jeans, and a watch on his wrist. His dark brown hair was messy, but fit him perfectly, and with the combo of his five o'clock shadow made him quite handsome. He helped the young girl up, who was wearing a pink jacket, some jeans, and sneakers. Her dirty blonde hair was in a pony tail, and her striking blue eyes stared up at the sky with amazement. "Whoah, watch your step..." The man said gently, holding her hand until they got to the perfect sitting spot and then sat down.

"Whoah! Look how many stars!" The little girl exclaimed, a large smile on her face. "Yeah, there's a ton..." The man replied with a nod. "How many have you been to?" She asked innocently. Raymond Chase laughed a bit, glancing up again. "Too many to count Kid. Way too many." There was a short pause. "Like, more than ten?" Ray laughed, putting an arm around her. "that sounds about right." The two sat in silence for a moment, taking in the view.

"Uncle Ray... Did you ever bring Mommy up here?" Ray was silent for a couple seconds, then he looked over at Rebecca Chase, and nodded with a weak smile. "yeah... Your Uncle Benny, your mom and I would go up here and see if we could see our dad flying around with the stars." Raymond said softly. "Were the places you went cool?"

"Yep. Some were."

"Is that why you're going back to see the stars again?" She asked quietly. Raymond turned to face her again. "That's not why i'm leaving Kid... Not even Heaven could tempt me from staying away from you... I'm going back out there so I can protect people from the bad guys. To protect especially you, and your uncle, and your grandma."

"you're like a super hero...!" she said, coming to a realization, her gaze looking at her godfather with a smile. Raymond laughed, and then put his hands on his waist in a heroic stance. "Super Ray! Savior of the galaxy, protector or earth, and still able to tuck you in bed precisely at your bed time!" Ray said in a deep voice, Rebecca started to giggle. "you're silly!"

"yeah, well your stuck with me and my silliness... Look, no matter what you here, or what people tell you: I Will come back. I promise you." Ray looked at her with sincerity. This was one thing he wasn't going to break. "If I miss you... I can just come up here and try to find you." Ray gave a weak smile yet again. This girl was so innocent. "yeah, and i'll do the exact same thing. Come on, lets get you to bed... after a midnight snack. How does ice cream sound?"

"yes!!" Rebecca squealed, jumping up and walking to the way off the roof. Captain Raymond Chase got up and followed after her, a smile on his face.

---

ONI Alpha Site
New Mombosa, Africa
Earth, Sol

"I would like to welcome you back, Captain Chase. I heard stories about Tidal Wave during the War. Wish I could see your team in action."

"yeah, back then I was meaner, more in shape, but still as good looking as ever."

Captain Raymond Chase sat in front of an ONI officer in an office overlooking the rebuilding city. The woman at the desk gave a laugh at his comment, handing him a small computer chip. "Here are the rosters of your new ODST's. Although you might see some surprising ranks, you will be in full control of the team." Raymond nodded, taking the chip. "Yes ma'am. I'm sure I can find my commander voice again. When will the Achilles be taking off?"

"the UNSC Achilles will depart when all of the members of the crew make it. There isn't much of a rush today."

"Understood." Raymond said, standing up, and giving a salute. "Good Luck, Captain."

Not comforting words... Raymond thought to himself as he walked out of the door, and down the hall.

--

Raymond made it to the bunker where the large ship was stationed. He stared up at it in awe, his dufflebag on his shoulder carrying personal items, and some food his mom (and niece) made him. He was nervous, excited, afraid, and motivated all at once. It will be good to see some old friends from before, a bit intimidating to stare down a Spartan after he's been gone for so long, and they were also working with some Shangheili.... He just hoped that they would all get along in this closed in space. He was told his armor was waiting for him in the ship when needed. So for now he wore black cargo pants with matching boots, a gray athletic shirt with ODST on his right chest, and his dufflebag.

Marines and Spartans were walking to and from, all having their missions. Either loading up the spacecraft, boarding another one, or landing from one. Raymond was too busy looking at the ship that he accidentally bumped in to a group of soldiers. "Sorry, its... big ship." he said with a shrug and smile, and finally reaching the entrance to the Achilles.

Knight had just finished stowing his gear and a couple non-regulation items as well a bottle of scotch, his guitar, and a stolen covenant energy sword. He had been happy to know that like the Infinity this ship simply had troops room together rather than one large barracks, it was also so that encase of attack the troops defending the ship were not all in one place. He had taken it off a dead Elite back on Requiem and kept it since replacing his knife with it as he knew technically all Covenant weapons are to taken to the armory so they can be studied. Hiding the sword and drink he cracked open his guitar case, he figured it would be best to wait down by the hangar near where the entrance bay was and play some, the troops would enjoy it. Giving himself a once over in the mirror he was wearing a black shirt with Hell-jumper written on the front on and in sloppy white letters that you can tell someone wrote on the back it said Knight. It went well with his gray camouflage pants and black boots grabbing his acoustic guitar out of the case he began the walk to the hangar.

He passed a group of ODST's who whispered about the betting pool for who would be the first to find out his name. He sighed, he knew it would be a nice payday but ONI loved to keep there secrets, he was only here until they could find enough troops to rebuild the suicide team. ONI was always careful about that making sure to pick orphans or those with little family or those who had a death wish for there operations as they were expendable and no one really came looking later or they had groan to expect it. He stopped as he reached the entrance way shrugging deciding that it simply wasn't worth the the thought he strummed the guitar tuning it up he sat on a crate left carelessly by the door and began to play. He would sing but he didn't know what to, beside better not to get to much attention the first day. So he sat there playing songs of the old Mid-western Earth, the kind you would here gathered around a campfire or in camp after a battle.

The Multi-Faith Prayer Room of the Achilles was a sterile affair. White washed walls and gleaming metal benches attested to the UNSC's attempts to favour no one religion over the other; and considering half of the room was dedicated to prayer mats, Brian believed their sincerity. Truth be told, when he thought about it - which was often - he was surprised such facilities even existed in this day and age.

After so many ground breaking revelations of man's origins far out in space, the Bible, Torah and Quran were starting to lose the last of their credibility. The Faithful were dropping in droves to the allure of secularism, and now it seemed to the ageing warrior, that people were more likely to answer to their worldly superiors than to any divine being. This would not bother him so much, but a man with power was exactly that - a man with power, fallible and flawed. The Human-Covenant War had entrenched such men; their words were absolute in the name of Total War and Survival. In many ways, they had become Gods in their own right.

Sure, democracy had been restored along with civilian rule, but some people felt that not everything had been handed back. Terrorism was their sword on the political battlefield, and their anger threatened the ruptured UEG at every turn. Brian was often at the forefront of these violent surges, and he could testify before Saint Peter that he had truly seen the Folly of Man. There was no glory, let alone sport, in vaporising several hundred angry farmers with a plasma battery from space. There was no honour, nor holiness, in shooting defeated men in the back of the head on the orders of some black-ops ass hole.

And still here he was, fast approaching his fiftieth year, stationed aboard yet another warship, and destined to reap yet more souls of the misguided and the hate-filled. What his missions would be, he did not particularly care, because he knew where ever he was sent, it was with God's blessing.

"Watch not over me, Father in Heaven," Brian mumbled above clasped hands. "But over the widows I have made, and the children who will never know their fathers because of me. Amen."

She had expected the ship to be in space, up above the atmosphere, in low orbit at the lowest. Aria had not expected it to be in a bunker. Looking around the bunker before staring up at the UNSC Achilles for the third time since arriving, she let out a breath. That's one big ship. I can see why I had to go through security checks to get here.
Aria had needed to go through several security checks before she had been admitted into the bunker, mostly because it was a ship with an important role (at least, Aria thought so), partially because she wasn't replying to their questions. It wasn't her fault.

Aria sees someone playing a guitar, and stops to listen to the music he was playing. It sounded mid-western, however it sounded brilliant. She walks closer to the man, her helmet tucked under her arm, a smile on her face. She was in her full armour set, a backpack on her back with her personal effects. The music was starting to become ever more better, so she decided that she would stay and listen until either she was told to go somewhere or the man stopped.

Knight grinned smiling at the young women, Spartan IV definitely about his age too she seemed to enjoy the music so he kept playing as he spoke. "So you here with the Spartan core or are you part of this little task force the UNSC is putting together. I'm Corporal Knight by the way, Knight, say were you with the Infinity at Requiem?" He asked carefully, he knew he could be a bit of a chatter box he guess that come from all the time alone he spent. Sometimes he wished ONI hadn't roped him into all this but he also knew without them he wouldn't have been on Infinity and he was glad to have been there.

He didn't normally socialize with other troops ONI preferred it that way, but right now he wasn't a ONI agent he was just a ODST on a mission. Sighing he looked over at the pelicans and tanks there were loading up and wondered- Wait tanks!? Oh hell he would get one of those things requisitioned to the squad if he had to use every favor and item he had, he loved Warthogs and nothing was more fun than Mongoose trick-shots but a tank turned this commando into gods own anti-son of bitch machine. He was one of only three known people who could pilot one of those bad boys by himself with no assistance or implants, A scorpion tank was his best friend, sadly no Mantis's were being loaded, he could even make one those things dance still a tank would be good fun.

Julie quietly climbed off of one of the pelicans that had landed on the landing strip outside of the base, she turned around to look in the distance to see all that was left of New Mombasa. Although the city was slowly starting to be rebuilt now which was good now that the war had been over for the last four years now, she followed the soldiers towards the base and headed inside. Julie was already in her armor, she carried her helmet under her arm the rest of her belongings were already transferred aboard the Achilles. She heard that there would be some Sangheili would be joining them on this mission to the outer colonies.

Julie went into an elevator where the ship was being docked in as she pressed the bottom floor she felt the elevator moving and then a few minutes later the doors opened and she could see people were already loading up the ship for its departure.

Remi looked around the city of New Mombasa, what was left of it anyway, it was a wreck from the battles fought there and everything else that had happened there. He could see the beginnings of the rebuilding effort, and he was fairly impressed. As a technology expert, or as much of one as he could be considering how little they knew now. But He always respected humanities' tenacity and technological skill. They were impressive fighters and as soon as they acquired the technology of the Covenant they learned from it instead of just implementing it like the Covenant had done for millennia.

Walking down the streets, he ignored the stares that he was getting from soldiers and civilians alike, it still amazed him that some humans were not warriors, it was natural for a Sangheili to have fought since pretty much birth no matter their other professions. The stares he understood, however, as the war was still fresh in everyone's minds and the Storm faction fighting for the same cause that the Covenant had, causing a lot of mistrust between the two species who now held a rocky relationship. Remi, himself, had been fighting on the frontlines himself for the past few months until he had been pulled off to join this group of humans in some mission or another.

Finally, Remi reached the shipyard, he was checked several times for weapons and armour. Both of which had been transferred to the ship ahead of time but in the end he made it through and got his first real glimpse of his new ship. He was not shipmaster, only a specialist and warrior along with everyone else other than his commander, but he was willing to step out of the lime-light for a while. Being an Ultra was not an easy task, he was in charge of ground forces for the most part, even though he had been trying to make it to Ship Master for many cycles.

"Achilles" He murmured to himself, the name of the human ship. It was large but it was no CSO-Class Supercarrier, and like all human ships, they had decided to put their bridge toward the bow. It was an interesting design to him and something that always made him wonder what had caused this difference between their ship designs, the Sangheili and Covenant having designed theirs to be in the middle of the ship, often the most well shielded and armoured part though not always. With a sigh he looked around himself, eying up those who were present as any one of them could be his new team. There were too many, however and he decided his efforts might be better spent inside the ship itself. Thus he began lumbering towards the Achilles, standing well over a foot taller than any Spartan.

Rethea snorted, walking down the hall of the underground human bunker deep in thought. Her blue eyes stared ahead, and every now and then she would click her mandibles. How did she get here? How was this a part of her destiny?
Never would Rethea have guessed she would be working among the humans; let alone FOR them.........Since she had arrived they had certainly been a strange sight. Never before had she seen one in person until transferring from Sangheilios to Earth.

Shaking out of her thoughts she turned her attention to the humans that currently hurried around her, some carrying baggage while others worked on loading countless necessities into the bunker.
For being so small and vulnerable, they were certainly a tenacious race. For a moment Rethea wondered why the Covenant had not made to recruit them rather than seek war. She even felt guilty for what her kind did to them, for they were such an interesting race....

But then again they probably thought she was rather odd as well.
At the moment, Rethea held a long black staff and wore a suit of silver armor, accompanied with a long scrap of red fabric dangling from her waist and between her legs. It was an unusual accessory for a Sangheili; but she wore it in modesty, not wanting the males of her kind to stare where they should not.
After all; while her kind were in trust with the Covenant, the Prophets had banned all females from battle because they were thought as "incapable" or "A distraction".
Now that they were not bound by that rule, her presence in her brothers' ranks sometimes drew many unwanted gazes.

She smirked slightly when one of the humans passing her went wide eyed and proceeded to stare. No mere piece of clothing could keep them from staring. Like her situation with them; they had never seen a female Sangheili. She probably seemed as strange to them as they were to her.

Suddenly, an odd sound came to ear and Rethea jolted to a stop in the hallway. Her slender form stiffened and she tilted her head to the side when she realized the sound was a form of music. Interesting.....she was not aware humans indulged in musical entertainment.
Stepping foreword again she came to a doorway, where a human male strummed away on a strange instrument. The song was foreign to her and struck her curiosity, making her stand silently before him and listen intently to the notes.
All thoughts of finding her team went to the back of her mind.

"Ethan. He looks like an Ethan."

"Nah man, I say its... Brandon."

"Fifty says is Mike."

Captain Raymond Chase walked behind a group of ODST's talking quietly between themselves, glancing over at someone across the way. "There a good lookin' girl around here, fellas?" Chase asked, looking at the group. They looked up and shook their heads. "No, sir. We're ah... making bets on the name of this one Hell Jumper. Goes by Knight, and he's seen some shit." One of them said. "huh, really?" Ray asked glancing at the guy. "Well... put twenty on Mike." He said with a small grin as he made his way closer to the Achilles.

The man known only as Knight was playing a folk song on guitar. Raymond being from Georgia, he was very familiar with this style. It was nice to hear something familiar. It sounded like a familiar tune, not spot on for what he remembered, but that didn't stop him from walking in to the small crowd around him and singing along to his playing. Raymond wasn't half bad, but there's a reason why he didn't pursue singing and chose to be a soldier. A few people snickered at the Captain's bravery for singing, but he didn't care. Anything to bring up some sort of happiness, right?

"Nice playing, Corporal. Although it sounded a bit flat. That could be just me and my ears." He said jokingly, giving a nod. He looked around at the crowd. "You all Achilles?" He asked. A few nodded, and others shook their heads. "Well, if you are, jump aboard. So much to do in so little time ladies and gents." Chase said. He didn't know if he would be recognized here, especially with the younger faces. There were small legends people heard about Tidal Wave back in the War, but he soon found out that there are other much more stories all over this place.

Chase climbed the stairs in to the hangar, and then through a set of doors that lead in to the interior of the fairly large ship. Military issue walls and floors, nothing fancy, but it was built tough. Mechanics and engineers walked by, officers and some soldiers walking as well as Spartans. Alright. now to find my bunk, set stuff down, and then introduce himself to his new squad, and fellow ship mates.

Knight smiled at the assembled crowd, even a Elite had joined them, a female Elite no less. "Thanks Captain, this old thing is a little out of tune but it's nice to travel with. I'll being playing in the mess hall of the Achilles Daily for those of you riding with me, anyway if you'll excuse me." With that he jumped down off the crates already forgetting the conversation he started with the Spartan. He started to make his way towards the Achilles he stopped looking at the Elite women as he passed, he decided it would be best to at least show her some hospitality, most of the others wouldn't. "You with the Achilles ma'am? I'm Corporal Knight, walk with me up to the ship and I'll tell you how I got the name." He gave her a smile as he rubbed the slightly longer than regulation red hair he had grown.

Rethea had been silent while the crowd had gathered and the music had continued. Sometime during the odd song she had closed her eyes in an effort to better hone her sense of hearing onto every note that the human played. Standing there amongst the humans, she stood still like a statue.
Suddenly, the music stopped and a man's voice rose over the bustle of the bunker. Opening her eyes she saw a human male addressing those before him. From what she could tell he was one with high authority.....or atleast an outgoing soul.....
When he ordered them to board the Achilles, she froze......

This was the first time she had ever been away from Sangheilios; on board a human ship that had once been her enemy's. Truth be told she was nervous; would this work out with that the Arbiter had in mind? Was he telling the truth about finding a new start for her?

Suddenly, Rethea was aware of a man speaking to her through the throng. She shook out of her stupor and looked down, blinking when she saw the player of the odd human instrument.
Clicking her mandibles in shock, she gave him a quick nod and flinched when someone bumped into her side. The halls were becoming rather thick with humans struggling to board the ship.

Snorting slightly Rethea turned back to the man, flustered by the sudden change in motions, "From what my superiors told me.....yes I'm with Achilles....."
She tilted her head down at the Corporal and looked him over. He seemed friendly; one of the only humans to acknowledge her.

Nodding again she gripped her staff close and tensed against the humans pushing past her and up the hangar stairs.
"If you would not mind my company.....I would appreciate boarding with you. I'm to meet my new team once situated......but at this point I don't know what to do."

She glanced with wide eyes at those surrounding her, glancing to Corporal Knight with a weak smile. She should try to be friendly......it was the only way to find any allies in this strange place, "I'm Rethea 'Yurume....."

Knight smiled as he started towards the ship. "It's nice to meet you Rethea. I'm Knight, well that's not my name but it's what everyone calls me, I got it back on Requiem see I was with ONI's research groups meaning we hit the places Spartans thoughts was a bad idea, I think I'm one of only two living members of the team, anyway when the Infinity was boarded I saw these Spartans and joined up with them. Apparently they were taking back one of the hangars and we had just about shut and suddenly this huge group of Knights, there Forerunner war machines or something, was everywhere." Knight sighed pushing past a few other UNSC personal who were boarding keep Rethea in his line of sight. "Hey follow me Rethea, I'll show were the troops bunk."

He turned back heading towards the cabins. "Back to the story, so I saw these marines they'd run out of ammo and this bastard was going to fire this strange canon thing at them, so I jumped on it's back jammed the railgun I was holding into it's back and fired. I woke up three hours later armor wrecked, railgun toasted but I had saved the marines." He smiled proudly as they neared the rooms. "Anyway if your looking for a room it's free choice, there's bunks in a room so you'll have two roommates. Pick any room you like, mine's right over here." With that the Corporal ducked into the room he had just pointed out as his.

Aria had been continuing to listen to the music, loving the sounds of the instrument of the soldier in front of her. She felt herself being moved a little as a small crowd gathered, including what looked to be a Sangheili female, of which Aria stared at. Racking through her brain, she could not remember seeing a Sangheili female, only the males that lay dead after they were filled with bullets or scattered around in pieces, a crater in the alien's place. After a few more seconds of thinking and staring, she heard the voice of the captain. It was a shame to be told that everyone was now to get onto the ship, as she was rather enjoying the music.

Watching the female Elite and the man who had been playing the guitar walk together, Aria decided that she would follow them. She had nothing better to do anyways. A smile on her face, she waits for a few moments, and begins to follow behind them. After a while, she saw that guitar-man, whom she found out is nicknamed 'knight', walked into a room. Two roommates? I wonder if I should bunk with him, then.
Aria walks to the door of his room, giving a nod to the Elite, and knocked on the door. Damn, how am I supposed to tell him that I want to bunk with him? Quickly, she found a way. A horrible, probably-not-going-to-work way, but a way nonetheless.

Remi was already on the ship, he had stowed away his belongings and finally donned his armour in full, bar the helmet. He loved the design of it, the colour and the way the armour was moulded. He didn't bother to activate his armour's personal energy shield, he just ran a quick diagnostic on the armour to make sure it was working as it should and nothing was amiss, he looked for his weapons before remembering they had been placed in the armoury: A Plasma repeater, Pistol and Energy Sword in all. Fairly basic weapons but he wasn't a flashy fighter, only a good one. He grinned to himself as he left his room, looking up and down the hallway, he saw a human male and a female of his own species talking, they were choosing their rooms, and the hallway had become quite full. Though he noticed that he was being given a wide berth. It seemed that many still didn't trust his species. He didn't blame them but he would have to earn their trust to know that he would be able to work well with them in a possible combat situation.

Remi nodded towards the Sangheili and human before turning and beginning to head towards the mess hall, he hoped to grab some food before he had to muster wherever he would be called to. He looked around himself as he walked, it was his first time aboard a human warship after all, he hadn't ever been aboard one even during the war, he was a foot soldier, not good enough to have fought the apparent scum, the heathens, they had been called many derogatory names, those humans. He grimaced, he was working with them now, what would his clan think? He dreaded to think, as many were now part of the Storm faction, his clan had been split down the middle, those that he had known all of his life, now his enemies. He pushed the thought from his mind as he, with helmet in hand, pushed open the doors to the mess hall and moved over to the counter to grab some food, some meat hopefully.

Knight was putting his old Air Assault armor, he figured he would head down to the gym and then hit the range, afterwords he had to go see about getting a vehicle moved to his squad, hopefully a tank. As he had just finished getting his pants and lower armor on he heard a knock on the, it was a Spartan in fact it was one of the Spartans who had been outside listening to him play. Looking at her, he opened the door more and sighed. "Your were one my audience down there right? What do you need Spartan? I'm always willing to help out."

He gave her a friendly smile, for a guy who had been though so much he was pretty damn cheerful, however as he wasn't wearing a shirt you most everyone could the large amount of stitches and plasma burns running all over him, it's clear that though he survived much he was still very much human. The most prominent looked to be a very large plasma burn in the center of his chest with small ones surrounding it. It's obvious he's more than likely in pain and not in perfect condition at the moment but he smiles and acts as if it's nothing. He looked over spotting Rethea behind the Spartan "Rethea if you want you can bunk in here." He called out to the much taller Sangheili women.

For the short moment Knight had left Rethea alone in the hallway, she was pushed and shoved by the growing masses of humans struggling to pick the best of the bunks. Only when a male Sangheili passed, did some of them part and give her leeway.
Rethea snorted in thanks to the male of her kind and studied him until he disappeared around the corner. He was stoick and gave her a curt nod, then with silent steps he disappeared around the corner.
Once he was gone, Rethea reluctantly turned her attention to finding her own room.

Overwhelmed by the sea of humans, she attempted to step foreword and navigate through the current, but she was soon blocked off.
For a moment she wanted to snarl over the bustle and demand further passage, but she suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Rethea turned on her heels to see Knight poking his head from out of his room. A human female stood beside him; a Spartan judging by her strong physique.
Rethea frowned at this and studied her. So these were the warriors her kind spoke of; the ones that had prevailed to the Covenant?

Shaking from her thoughts she realized Knight had just offered her a bunk. Immediately she let out a sigh of relief and spread her mandibles in a small smile. At least one thing had worked in her favor.

Stepping foreword Rethea attempted to approach his door, but yet again, she was faced with the task of wading through the masses.
Growling in exasperation she flung one hand in the air, "Blast you humans!"
Her shout awoke the ones surrounding her, and they finally separated.

To this Rethea blinked and lowered her fist, before clicking her mandibles and stepping swiftly to Knight's room. There she chuckled, "If you would permit it, Corporal Knight.......I would appreciate bunking here."
Turning to the female Spartan she nodded in respect.

Aria had almost forgotten what she was going to do once the door opened, one of those moments where you knew what you were going to do two seconds ago but forgot one second later. She stared at Knight, her head cocked a little, looking at the stitches and plasma burns. Damn, he has been through a lot. Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the female Sangheili as she made people give her room to get to the door of Knight. Someone's in a mood. Aria grins, before turning back to the man in front of her.

Looking past Knight, Aria pointed to a bed, then clasped her hands together and put them to the side of her head, which she tilted, as if to show she was sleeping. She then puts her hands back to her side, and shrugs. What she was trying to ask is, bed, sleep, can I? She blushes from embarrassment from her horrible attempt of asking if she could bunk.

Knight sighed and stepped aside. "I'm assuming you want to bunk here Spartan? You and Rethea are both welcome here, anyway if you don't mind I need to finish getting my gear on. I need to head down see if I can find a sparring partner." Knight busied himself pulling on armor plates the lik. As you both enter you a Covenant energy sword laying on Knights bed definitely against regulation. He stopped looking at it as he pulled on his old air assault helmet, the armor was almost as in as bad a shape as he was. "Don't tell command but yes I have one these things, got it back on Requiem." He picked it up igniting the weapon giving it a swing, he seemed to know what he's doing with it. More than most humans atleast he had watched elites wield them he knew couldn't match them in strength so he used speed.

When Knight assumed that she wanted to bunk there, she smiled, nodded and gave him a thumbs up. She then walks into the room, picking a bed and setting her helmet down on the bedside table. Reaching into her armour, she found a set of tools that was used for maintaining and removing MJOLNIR armour. Armour was usually removed by several technicians or a set of robotic machines, however it was possible to remove the armour on your own. As she took off both of the shoulder pieces and the gauntlets, she looked up to see Knight giving a swing with his energy sword. Now, there's a difficult choice. Tell command, lose a friend, or don't, keep a friend, but probably get charged with knowing that he has such a weapon.
Aria decided to keep it a secret. She took off the front and back plating, leaving her in just the undersuit and the boots. She placed her armour against her bed, and laid herself down, kicking her legs up one on top of the other, watching the knight with his sword.

Raymond had his own little private quarters thanks to his rank. It was right next to the other bunks, so it wasn't like he was excluding himself... It was a simple layout, with some shelves, a bed, and a desk. Just something for a captain of a squad to keep his things together while not fighting. He hummed to himself as he put his bags on the bed, taking things out as he did so. On one of the walls he noticed his old armor. It was standard ODST issue, but with a lot of scratches, and a large chunk of the shoulder pad blasted off. He also made small modifications to it, like adding a magic 8 ball on it, and a little bit of a dark purple color to the armor.

He took out the roster chip he got earlier today, and placed it in the port on the desk, and a voice started to play, telling him everything he needed to know about the people on Tidal Wave. All of them were either young, or have seen some serious shit... With Ray being only one of those things, this would be an interesting experience. He wondered if the Spartans, or Sangheili would like being lead in to battle by just a ODST... He did have experience, he was one of the best troopers in the war (he wasn't a bragging man, or liked to talk about his stories like Knight though).

He pulled out a picture of him and his niece, Rebecca. She and his family left him a video message to watch whenever he got a bit homesick.... Now was not the time to listen to it. Once he listened to everything the roster had to say, he decided it was time to introduce himself. He stepped outside, watching a pair of engineers walking down the hall. He peaked his head into the bunker next door, to see that the Knight character was swinging around an energy sword. A bit cocky, isn't he? He gave a loud cough and pounded on the wall. "Once you're ready, ladies and gentlemen, make your way to the crews quarters. Got couches, televisions, and a working kitchen. We'll then play meet and greet." Chas said, purposely not looking at Knight to silently tell him "I know what you got, but i'm pretending not to so I don't have to take it away."

Once he gave the announcement to the people in the bunker, that same message rang through the whole ship