The UNSC Infinity shook as it came out of slip-space near the edge of UNSC controlled space It had managed to escape Cortana for a while but they were running out of places to jump to. Captain Thomas Lasky watched out of a window on the Infinity, a planet somewhat similar to earth was the random destination Roland had brought them too. "Roland, were are we and how long to do we have until we need to jump again." The Captain was becoming severely agitated due to Cortana's attempts to attack the Infinity, every time they got settled Cortana found them and sent the Prometheans to attack them.

"Captain Lasky, we are currently at the Inner Colony know as Ballast. Also you have a call coming in on a Secure transmission. shall i patch it through sir?" Lasky nodded and video displayed on the screen nearby.

"Ah, Captain Lasky I'm glad i could get through to you. I had no other choice but to turn to you. All our other vessels are currently defending Earth and the Major Colonies from Cortana. We've had reports come in from the UNSC units placed on Ballast stating that they are being over run by Insurrectionists. We sent Spartan Fire-team Black in a few weeks ago. We haven't heard from them since. Were asking you to send a unit to find out what happened to that team and retrieve their armour. We also need fire teams dropped around the planet to help deal with insurrectionist forces. Can you do this for us Thomas?" the picture of a grizzled UNSC commander had appeared in-front of him asking for his help. Captain Lasky couldn't help but notice the sounds of battle in the background, where was he? Earth? it didn't matter though, all that mattered was the mission at hand.

Lasky spent a few minutes trying to figure out the best plan for the fire-team to follow, but he knew more than anyone that as soon as they got their boots on the ground it would be a whole different story, they'd be under too much fire to follow the plan. "Roland, assemble Fire-team Quantum in the War room. Tell them to prepare for briefing." the small orange AI disappeared and set about following Lasky's orders.

"Fire-team Quantum, please make your way to the War room for Briefing. That's Fire-team Quantum to the War Room for Briefing"

"Fire-team Quantum, please make your way to the War room for Briefing. That's Fire-team Quantum to the War Room for Briefing"

Milo was in the hanger already suited up besides his helmet helping the other engineers working on the Pelicans acting as a heavy lifter and hard mover. "Damn, well boys this is your problem now," He said dropping the new engine they were trying to put into the Pelican.
"Come on, it woulda been another 5 seconds Cash!" A mechanic called, angrily after him.
"Sorry mate, got big boy things to do," Milo yelled back as he went to light his cigarette. Grabbing his helmet he started walking towards command. "I wonder what lovely task they got for us today... as long as its not engineering work I guess I'm fine, tired of day in day out work cycles on this ship... maybe there really ain't no rest for the wicked"

The UNSC Infinity's resident Irishman looked up from his coffee as the announcement went out, the presence of his fire-team being requested in the War Room. He sighed audibly and grabbed his helmet, downing the rest of the cup and dropping it into a collection box for dishes that was nearby. He slipped his helmet onto his head and waited for a moment, the seals around his neck hissing as they locked to the armor and the screens within providing him with a visual of the surroundings. The infamous Recluse armor he wore technically didn't exist, meaning that all records regarding a Patrick Byrne were destroyed when he requisitioned the set. For the capabilities granted by the suit, it was a worthy trade off, in his eyes at least. The enigmatic Spartan left the mess hall with the nervous glances of marines and crewmen alike following him.

A short elevator ride and a walk across the ship later, the lookout arrived in the War Room and took a seat towards the end of the large, metallic table in the center of the room. It was a common piece of technology, able to display 3-dimensional maps of battlefields and give full interaction with the ship's AI. He took a slight advantage in being the first one to the meeting location, deciding to chat up Roland to gather what information he could on the ship. "Roland, if you have a moment, could you tell me about the ship and her captain? I wanna know if we're in good hands or not." He sat rigid in his chair, years of being shot at demanding that he be ready to react to anything.

@Kurai Assassin

As the UNSC Infinity shook from the slip-space all Charlotte could do was groan as she once again lost her space in the reports she was reading. Of course, they narrowly escaped Cortana which technically meant that they saved her life, but Charlotte risks her life almost every day for these guys, she deserves some time to read some files without being interrupted. So she flipped her hair back and began to read the reports again when she was quickly interrupted by Lasky’s orders:

"Fire-team Quantum, please make your way to the War room for Briefing. That's Fire-team Quantum to the War Room for Briefing"

Charlotte begrudgingly rose from her seat and picked up her helmet from the small table next to her door as she made her way out. As she was making her way down to the War Room as requested, she was passing the armory when she noticed her second in command still sitting down. “Hey Jones, come on we have to get down to the War Room.” She said impatiently waiting by the door.

Arthur was sitting on a bench in the armoury, engraving something into the bullets for his DMR. He sighed as he looked up, seeing Charlotte in the hallway. "Yeah, yeah. I heard..." He grumbled. He put three bullets down on the bench and by luck they rolled perfectly to show what he was spelling. The first bullet said 'Fuck', the second 'You', and the third 'Covey'. The Bear stood up, his

height not lacking compared to Charlotte. "Sidenote: After all these missions, you still call me Jones? C'mon Charlotte..." Bear joked. He picked up his helmet on the way out of the armoury.

Charlotte groaned, “You guys and your nicknames, it is childish. We are fighting a war I prefer to stick with your given names. And please refer to me as Boyd in front of the others, it's stressful enough being the only female on our team, but losing any respect I have earned is not something I am striving to do.”

Bear chuckled on their way to the mission room. "Haha, okay Boyd..." He laughed heartily.

Arthur began to affix his helmet, tucking his beard underneath it. "What do you think we got this time? It's barely been three minutes since we exited slipspace and already command has got a mission for Quantum? Seems strange, even for Infinity..." He commented as the helmet clicked and hissed in place, his voice becoming more echoey as he used the Soldier helmet comms system.

Charlotte looked up at her second in command that towered above her, he was smart and followed her orders out of respect for who they serve. “Well, Jones...” She put an emphasis on Jones to mock him slightly and then continued “My guess is that we didn’t completely escape Cortana, but to be fair I really do not have any idea that is why we are going to the briefing.”

As they entered the War Room she was pleased to see Milo and Patrick already there “Byrne, Cash, nice to see you guys got here so quickly.” She smiled while taking a seat at the large table that Patrick was already sitting at. Now they just needed to wait for the others to arrive.

Bear walked in and separated the other way, sitting opposite from Quantum's leader, awaiting the mission brief.

Parker sat in the barracks alone, sharpening his combat knife as the Infinity came out of slipspace. He started a recording via his helmet.

"ONI Specialist, Spartan 666, Designation 'Parker'. The UNSC Infinity has entered and exited slipspace for the seventh time now. We're running out of places to escape to. The brass back at HQ keep sending info of more and more colonies going dark and noting that a lot are succumbing to insurrection forces. Inner colonies have gone radio silent for a while. Presumably the AI and Promethean uprisings are causing difficulties for the forces back at home..."

"Fire-team Quantum, please make your way to the War room for Briefing. That's Fire-team Quantum to the War Room for Briefing"

"Spartan 666 signing off." Parker stopped the recording as he took his modified ODST helmet with him as he made his way to the war room.

Parker was one of the last to enter the room. His team leader Charlotte Boyd and Second in Command Bear had made their way to the two mos prominent positions at the war room table. Cash and Byrne had placed themselves in the middle of the tables seating, Byrne obviously trying to communicate with Roland. "Spartan Byrne, information on the UNSC Infinity and Captain Lasky can be found on your private terminal and data pad."

As Roland had finished his sentence a message would appear on Patrick's data pad displaying links to the information he had requested.

Parker took a seat at the furthest seat away from the head of the table. "Charlotte, Bear good to see you both getting along." He joked as he leant back in his seat.

Milo's helmet sat at his side as he continued his cigarette, his feet up on the table leaning back in his chair. He watched as Spook (@Mega Birb) showed up, and he was business as always, ignoring Milo and talking to Roland getting information. "Another great day on the team" Milo thought to himself

The next two to show up were Mama (@JackalopeLove) and Papa (@CGinger), "Glad to see you two, ya'll know anymore on this? Or at least an eta on the others?"

Before Milo could even puff his cigarette though, in came the enigma..., Parker(@Kurai Assassin). Him just being here put Milo on a new edge. Something was just off about him, keeping to himself. Sure thats normal for a Spartan, but he didn't even seem to have a full ship duty. And that katana, only special people could carry a weapon like that to battle, everything just stacked on to bother Milo a little bit more. ONI taught him one thing, though... don't ask questions if it bothers you, thats when you learn something you never wanted to know. "Welcome to the party Parker, ready for a new day in hell?"

Parker looked towards Milo under his helmet he grinned."Ready? I've been dropping in feet first since day one mate. Ive never been more ready." Parker looked around the room and wondered where Reinhardt and Faraday were. It was unusual for them to be late to a mission briefing.

@Ghost Queen@Bayaz

Charlotte was putting her hair up in order to fit in in her helmet. She had her helmet placed on the table in front of her facing away from herself. Parker spoke up after taking a seat far from everyone else,

"Charlotte, Bear good to see you both getting along."

Charlotte glared at him, “Parker, please call me Boyd. You should know this by now.” It was a fight she knew she could never win. Almost no one in her squad referred to her as Boyd but she was still going to try and demand respect. Then Milo piped in,

"Glad to see you two, ya'll know anymore on this? Or at least an eta on the others?"

Milo was trouble, though he is good at what he does, but his attitude can be worry-sum to most. “Well Cash, as I said to Jones on our way over here, we do not know anything as of right now but that is why we are in the briefing. Hopefully, it is something quick and easy, I was in the middle of reading over everyone’s reports.” She had a chip on her shoulder for Cash, he was one of the only Spartans that did not have a lengthy military history. Charlotte was also informed from her higher ups to keep a strict watch on him and send in reports specifically about his performance. It was a little odd to give one Spartan so much special attention, but orders are orders.

Patrick Byrne

Patrick nodded his thanks to Roland and opened up his data pad, following the link to Captain Laskey first. He leaned forward in his chair as he read, taking in all he could from the captain's public profile and drowning out the world for a moment. It wasn't until Milo spoke to Parker that he looked up from the hologram projecting from his arm. The Irishman bookmarked the line he was on and closed it, now listening to the conversations unfolding. When their commanding officer, a Charlotte Boyd, ordered their resident shock trooper to address her on a last-name basis, the lookout scoffed a bit. While he spoke, his thick accent came through his helmet quite clearly, the electronic distortion only making him harder to hear. "Ma'am, in my own experience, keepin' a distance from your team like that only makes it harder to fight for one-another. Save formalities for the reports, I say." He sat back up in his chair, his armor giving a slight thud as he rested his arms on the table. "Yeah, where are those two anyway?"

@JackalopeLove@Kurai Assassin@PhoenixEye9

@Mega Birb@JackalopeLove@PhoenixEye9@CGinger

Captain Lasky strode into the room with Spartan Palmer at his heels. "Im going to be brief spartans. We dont have a lot of time on our hands. Roland, show the projection" a projection of the planet they were orbiting. "This is Ballast, recently this is one of colonies to have gone dark after reports of insurrectionists, Spartan team Black was deployed there a few days ago and we have lost all communication with them. Your job is to get down there and find that team. destroy the armour if you find them dead. clear out the insurrectionist forces around that area as a secondary objective. Any Questions?"

Patrick's hand raised to about shoulder height as he spoke, a habit that had never died since his schooling days. "Sir, is recovery an option? We could stand to learn a lot from damage to the armor n' on-board AIs. That, n' we can give the men n' women a proper burial." His hand dropped back to the table when he finished. He looked up at the hologram of the planet, his eyes darting between the continents and oceans, mountains and man-made structures... for one reason or another, this planet reminded him of Reach, a place that used to be as important to humanity as Earth. The Irishman's hand rose once again, noticeably slower than the first time. "Sir, what's the name o' this planet?" The appendage dropped once again and he fell silent.

@Kurai Assassin

Charlotte listened intently to the instructions given by Captain Lasky, as he spoke she watched his lips, to make sure that she stayed completely focused. When Roland showed the projection of the planet, Charlotte started to study the planet intently making a note of each notable landmark for recognition once on the planet. Once Captain Lasky was done he asked if everyone had any questions, of course, normally Charlotte would be the first one to ask but Patrick beat her to the punch with a very sensible question. Obviously to Charlotte, carrying the extra dead weight (literally) would slow the squad down greatly, but it was a good idea so she would let Lasky decide instead of putting her opinion in the mix. After a few more seconds Patrick’s had once risen again:
"Sir, what's the name o' this planet?"

Charlotte did not care much about the planets name, so she quickly piped up with the question “How will we locate Spartan team Black, once we are down there?”

Lasky hung his head for a moment. "Unfortunately spartan, retrieval is not an option this time. The extra weight will slow your team down and i cant risk losing anymore fireteams. if your concerned about a burial bring back their tags if that will help put your mind at rest." He waited for a moment before moving onto Charlotte's question. "While we don't have an exact location at this point in time we can however get one relatively easily. Roland if you'd care to explain."

The hologram that was previously displaying a planet changed into a Mark V variant of the spartan armour. "Each set of Mark V armour is equipped with an emergency tracking device in the neck were usually an AI implant would be located. Should a spartan be killed or should a ship suspect them of going rogue the emergency tracker can be enabled from the Infinity or any other ship of its class. The first objective once you hit the ground will be to clear an LZ for UNSC troops to land, from there you'll be creating a base of operations in one the buildings. The second objective will be to find Fireteam black. Once the tracker is active its beacon will appear on your heads up display. I advise caution however as you'll not be the only ones able to see its beacon."

Lasky stepped back into view. "That being said, id be on your way spartans. deploy by pelican to get groundside as fast as possible"

"That being said, id be on your way spartans. deploy by pelican to get groundside as fast as possible"

"Well, you heard the man," Milo said taking one last puff of his cigarette before putting it out on his forearm. Finally a change of pace from the ship work. Getting up and walking off," Mama, Papa, Spook, Enigma, and Milo the merry band of fellows, off to who knows what and where, what danger, what joy, what new world awaits, I guess our other two are no where, Lazy sleepers, lazy days, lets get moving," with that Milo locked his helmet on. Heading right back to where he came from, the hanger.

"Milo, you bastard, come back to finish the job?" the same mechanic from earlier
"Not my problem, Laskey has other plans for me mate. I know you're gonna miss me, but try to hold it in. I'll be back eventually." The blatant smart ass tones coming out as he grabbed his gear from the locker by the bay.

On the Pelican he took his normal seat, co-pilot. He could fly, but then who would bring it back?