After standing to his feet, staggering slightly at the action of slipping around, being tossed around by mechanical humanoids and retaliating with fire, the all clear was alarmed throughout the facility, indicating that the exercise was indeed over. He took a long, deep breath to signify his relief. As much as he enjoyed shooting large robots in the head, it didn't make sense to him. In fact, it was worth ranting about, but far too many Agents had already made way for the exit before he had a chance to find the perfect dispute partner. It was saddening slightly. Iowa was quickly left as one of the, if not the, last agents still lurking around waiting for something to do.

They'd all left quickly, and so, he stood there. He wasn't sure of what to do, but as he began to walk slowly towards the exit, he began to talk aloud to himself. It was not a loud yell, more like a quiet ramble to himself. Though many could mistake it for a conversation with his AI, it wasn't to begin with. Iowa found comfort in talking to himself sometimes, as it allowed him to hear what he sounded like. If he knew what he sounded like, he could judge whether or not his idea sounded like absolute shit or like a cake-walk.

"I mean...Robots...Fucking, large and inhumane robots. Why train against robots when we're an Anti-Terrorist sorta unit? We fight against individuals with individual skills. Sure, a robot can adapt to my own fighting style, or anyone's really, but a human has their own style. And someone with their own style is used to an advantage. And we are less likely to face someone who literally tanks around like a Mantis Bipedal Mech than a man who has a nuclear detonation trigger in his fingertips."

His AI, Sigma, was quick to intervene. It was good at doing that, giving him that extra bit of information and talking ethic to keep him going from becoming a solitary, anxious young man.

"Agent Iowa, might I inform you of your more...outcastish behaviour? You don't look comfortable. Perhaps I should introduce you to the department of relaxation. Or possibly a comrade to talk to? I believe that you should get to know your working partners as soon as po-"

"If they wanted to get to know me, they would've walked up to me to start it. Everyone knows I'm terrible at getting straight into the talking." He walked along, DMR hooked onto his back and handguns onto his leg holsters. He was liking the new armour, quickly. "And what about pretty-boy Agent Washington? Director calls him in...I bet he's some prodigy to the team, or something..."

His mumble was low, and moderate. If there was one thing Iowa had picked up about his opinions of war was that heroes weren't something that could be given so easily. If the director was going to praise a single, capital-state named agent and expect everyone to look up towards them as a war-hero, then Iowa might as well be sticking his head up Wash's ass. A hero was a target in the big-game that was war, and having such a notoriety from both your enemies and friends was just a set-up for targeting or betrayal.Sure, he was more skilled than Iowa. Everyone was probably more skilled than Iowa. All of them had elite military training, or at least most of them. And those who didn't fought in major, suicidal situations on a weekly basis to conflict the threats of terrorists, insurrectionists and the almighty Covenant. Iowa, on the other hand, was just a boy brought up by a rebellious group. It was only in the last few weeks of their existence that had Iowa picked up a familiarity with conventional tactics, but they only led to the critical defeat that had Iowa captured in the first place. It was still a mystery why someone of his background, skill, ability and mindset was selected for such an important organisation and project.

He continued to walk, turning his head slightly to the small pairs of joyous, serious, jokey and regular agents converse between one another. No one was free, or not engaged in a conversation. Perfect reason to repel Iowa from his own introduction. None of these people wanted to know him, did they?

---

---

He slid in as one of the last ones to enter the room. Luckily, the meeting hadn't started. It wasn't overly crowded, as a small crew had been handpicked for this mission. It was awkward, to some extent. Iowa found himself in a room of people he'd accidentally knocked over during the training exercise. Perhaps they made more use of their time than Iowa had. But at the front, of course, was the Director's little angel, Washington. He heard his introduction. And of course...He was the team leader. It was inevitable, but he had to go along with it. There wasn't any options for making enemies within his only chance of survival.

Iowa folded his arms and tucked himself at the back of the pack, listening to his words. Insurgents...And what he'd be doing. Obviously, the distraction would be up to him. But he'd have to make an agreement with whoever Utah was. Agent Utah could be someone of his type, seeing as they'd been selected to run a task that naturally screams unconventional distractions. Plus, someone who likes to blow stuff up for the sake of catching attention is always a good person. Washington asked if there were any questions, and quickly, Iowa was the first to respond.

"Yeah, I have a few...First of all, can we have some information on who these insurgents are, as an organisation? I'd rather know who we're killing than being blindly asked to fire at someone. Secondly, a distraction? You want me to make a noise? Make an explosion? Make a trap? Do a lil' switcheroo with someone's lunch? Dress up as a woman and seduce them like a bad film? I'd prefer the second and third option, or am I being limited? And thirdly...Do we all get a chance at playing Leader or is it always a Follow Mr. Washing Machine from now on?"

Humour had been used to cover up some of his concerns. If they weren't going to do the distraction in a proper way, something he knew he was an expert in, and possibly Utah was as well if he knew who they were, then it might as well not happen. They couldn't cause too much damage, but they couldn't cause too little. More to the point, who were they going to shoot? Iowa had always had concerns about hunting insurrectionists. One day...One day they'd be going after who he had been brought up within. He needed to make sure...He needed to make sure...

Utah was going to carry the conversation with California, but before she could continue her introduction, she was interrupted by the Director’s announcement. She made her way towards the briefing room only to find it full of Freelancers. Glancing around the room, she scanned the other Freelancers and their armor, while the words of the Director rang out throughout the place. They were easy to understand and fairly simple, and the objectives were pretty straightforward. She looked at Washington stride to the front and deliver his announcement of leadership.

Utah wasn’t one to question authority, but she rolled her eyes at Washington, someone who couldn’t even keep up with the training bots back in the sim. He was reckless and stubborn. She questioned his leadership ability but in the end the plan sounded good, furthermore, she didn’t care too much about her having a partner. Her only concern was the means of distraction, which, if too heavy was sure to bring all manner of hell upon them, and if it was too light it wouldn’t bring much attention either.

She looked at the rest of her teammates and suddenly it dawned on her. These people weren’t ODST, these people weren’t even professional soldiers; she didn’t know whether they were the “crème de la crème” or some bums the Freelancer program picked up. Suddenly, her concerns became broader :what if the other Freelancers fail? What if her partner wasn’t up to scratch? What if-

Her thoughts were cut short as Iowa started up some commotion about Washington being the oh-so-glorified leader. She didn’t know this was her partner, all she knew was that this was the agent that was mumbling to himself leaving the training area. She wondered why he was so adamant with knowing who they were going to fight, wasn’t this team just a ragtag bunch of people sent to do missions without any raised questions?

@nytefall

“Hey Washington,” Utah began. “What’s our plan B when things go wrong? I mean, I know we’re all “badasses” at what we do, but I think some of us are familiar with what happens when you get your dick all caught up. That’s a lot of responsibility and money.”

she delivered the cringy contraceptive joke with the tone of mocking sarcasm right after Iowa gave Washington the affectionate nickname washing machine.

Maine had left the training room when Delta informed him that there would be a meeting for their first mission. He wondered what kind of missions they would be assigned to, although he doubted they would be solo ODST mission drops like he would do prior. No, it seemed like they would do a larger scale tactical operation.

The director didn't have much to say, and that left Delta with giving him the mission briefing. Although slightly different from the others, because of his AI specifically given the information, he knew everything that he needed to know.

"Sounds simple enough. Looks like they have a pretty good arsenal coming with them. A second in command, a hacker, and a specialized soldier. I'll look out for them on the mission, take a shot and kill them if I can."

"That would be most wise, agent Maine. But remember, those high value targets will be heavily guardered. You will have to catch them off guard. The hacker will most likely be hiding in one of the buildings, making it tougher to get to him. Taking out those key figures will surely sway the tide of the battle, however."

"Affirmative Delta. Anything else I should know?"

"It looks like that Washington fellow is leading the charge I suppose."

"I guess that had to choose someone. I should probably listen to what he has to say."

The plan seemed pretty simplistic, no overly complicated strategies or tactics in mind. He didn't expect there to be, they all barely knew each other. He would be overwatch, which he expected to be right from the start. He wondered where he would be posted up at, whether that would be from the sky, a higher part of the reactor, or some distance away higher up. Once he knew the location it didn't matter too much, his ehanced vision and sniper rifle would help him take care of the rest.

Hopefully the others could take care of their jobs, and Maine didn't have to go through five clips saving people and killing ones that they couldn't. Making sure he knew all of the enemy movements, spotted them out, etc. Maine would make their lives easier, but it was up to them to complete the task.

Agent Maine shook his head when two people decided to speak up, talking this and that and just being disrespectful assholes. That was no way to talk to leadership, and if they were in the military they would know this. Smart ass remarks and whining got you nowhere.

"The man meant questions for the good of the order, not bitching and whining from the peanut gallery. If you're asking for how you should do your job and what you should do when things go wrong, obviously you're not competent enough to do your job and do it right. You are supposed to be elite soldiers, and the job for you two is a distraction. The easiest job. If between the two of you, you both don't have enough brain cells to complete your task by yourselves and stop your bitching, I feel sorry. We don't need to know the whole mantra for our enemy. We were assigned a mission, and we carry out the mission. I don't care if the other guys are a charity group. You chose to be here one way or another, so you are expected to do what your commanding officer asks and not question them. You are a soldier.

As for leadership, grow up. It's not you guys, it's him. They picked him for a reason. Obviously you too are not competent enough to lead yourselves, let alone a team. You are supposed to be the best of the best... start acting like it, not like a bunch of teenage girls. Now unless you have any useful questions, stop getting your damn feelings hurt and just worry about doing your job right."

Before Washington had the chance to even pick up on his words, someone else began to question him, though in a different fashion as to what Iowa had picked. He presumed this were to be someone from the 'Front' team that went with Washington, but he could be wrong. Her tone was a lot more mocking than Iowa's, whilst he was trying to make a joke out of real concerns he had, she was a little more passive-aggression towards the tone. And that, was where Mr. Perfect spoke up.

His voice was a lot deeper, gruff and almost sinister than Iowa's medium pitched tone. However, it seemed that the woman's remark had changed the true intention and tone behind Iowa's questionings. And so, this man, began to speak up. He rambled on about how their job was the easiest, how they weren't being good soldiers...Who the hell did this guy think he was? More to the point, did he even know anything about the military? Sure enough, Iowa hadn't come from any formal military background, in fact he was the opposition to the military for a great deal of his life, but even then he knew that they weren't like this. All 'Do-exactly-as-you-are-told'...That'd be illogical and make plenty of room for mistakes.

Iowa looked over to him; he spoke in a tone that was not snobbish, nor too aggressive. It was an informative way of speaking. However, knowing this person from how he'd reacted to what he said earlier, he'd take it the wrong way and probably use his sniper to get what the pretty-little marksman wanted. It wasn't too loud, allowing Washington to continue.

"Uhm...First of all...Those were serious questions. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of humour? A lot of the people here use it to make the best out of the moments. Those were very serious questions. I'm concerned about how we're going to execute this mission. Even the best of soldiers ask questions, otherwise it's all improvisation. You gotta know how to do it right to avoid less complications. If you were a soldier, you'd know that plenty of their personnel ask questions during briefings, otherwise we might as well be tossed into the lion's pit with a stick and told to achieve world domination. And to get information on who we are fighting, well apart from having an understanding on insurgents, it's better to know your enemy than to not know them...Besides, I have personal reasons."

He looked around, half-listening to Wash's reaction towards the woman who spoke up. He had to give Washington credit, he had a bunch of arseholes like himself and this Perfect and Solitary marksman. Typical group of misfits all thrown into the wolf pack, Iowa being with them as one of the misfits.

"And I didn't know you decided on the difficulty of each task...But it doesn't matter if it is the easiest. Every role is important, so nothing needs to be prioritised over another if you want it to go how Washing Machine wants it to go. And I'm doing that job, along with whoever, so why should it concern you on whether I want to find out how to do it? Aren't you already doing something more difficult and important? I have enough brain-cells to ask how our leader wants it, not how you want it to go. And if you want to give Washington that leadership, perhaps you should let him answer the questions I directed to him, not you, all questions that I genuinely want to know. I'm sorry if I don't function like the Best-of-the-Best Elite whatever like you do, but that's how life works. I'm not going to be the same as you, so...Let me get my answers, and then the issue is resolved. No further things to debate about. Let me get what Washington wants me to know, then it's bye bye to this conversation, because any Elite Soldier wants to get along with his team, not intervene in something that wasn't involving them..."

@Sapphire@Argetlam350@Superman@LetMeDoStuff@GingerBoi123@Liotrent

Washington was taken aback at all of the question. As he was about to answer he begun to hear whispering in his ear it sounded like the councilor. "Director the unit is failing, you're pushing it too hard!" Than he heard the Director "Quiet the unit can take it! Push it harder!"

Washington was silent for a while as the voices left his ear. "Uh. Listen here guys, rank doesn't mean shit here. No matter who you may have been on the outside in here we're all the same. Except maybe right now. The Director has put me in charge here so I guess at the moment I am your commanding officer."

Washington left the stage and pulled up a holo map that appeared in front of him. "Now from what Epsilon has filled me in on this place has been working on some kind of experimental power source. Something they gained during the war covenant tech probably. The people causing the distractions can do this in whatever means they wish, you're job is to create plenty of noise and act as a distraction so we can move in and secure the scientist. I myself will deal with the reactor and I expect the two with me to provide security."

The Holo map showed a large compound with two large steam vents behind the vents is a large building with one entrance. Washington pointed to the large building. "This is where we need to go. Our overwatch can use the vents for a better view and for some good cover too, there are walkways along the very top for maintenance. The facility goes deep underground so expect my crew to drop off the radar when we go into them."

After Washington had explained the layout he turned to the question. "If shit hits the fan I expect you all man up and use your new armour. Remember we have the advantage they don't have we're well trained, in expensive spartan class armour with enhancements and we all have are A.I. to help us with the fight. As for who these insurgents are? I have no idea, possibly people trying to cause trouble for the UNSC but I have no idea. Ask the Director if he'll tell you." Washington's voice distorted slightly as he said the last part.

Washington carried on like nothing had happened "We'll be being dropped in by air using our armours lock in to survive the fall, we will than split off from the distraction team and wait for them to launch their attack and than move into the building to search for the scientists. Over watch you'll be dropping in with a stealth chute." Washington sent the Stealth chutes info to Maine. The stealth chute was essentially a stealth parachute that allowed the individual to get where they needed to get quickly and with no detection. "As for who get's leader next? Search me. Any more question?"

Now in the briefing room, Montana listened to the first operation that they would be heading out on. At least it seemed they were all equals on this mission minus whoever was going to be calling the shots but better then dealing with someone high up who thought they were superior to everyone else.

Montana couldn't stifle the slight groan of seemingly being placed onto the stealth group but didn't complain, might as well show that he could be flexible, even if he wanted to blow a few holes through some enemies. If he was lucky maybe he would get to snap a few necks. At least he could try to look forward to that if anything.

Once Agent Washington was done talking it was just a waiting game to see who had any more questions on what was going to be happening.

Utah hasn't even flinched from her original position, she tuned out the argument in the background and waited for the team lead to respond, she didn't really care of what Maine thought of her, she didn't know him, he didn't know her, and she has her own way of doing things and if that pissed him off so be it; from her experience only the CO get's to boss everyone around.

When the Iowa finished talking, she was going to repeat the questions but Wash was just a tad bit quicker, she listened carefully, apparently the back up plan was their armor augmentations, the plan was to turn the odds in their favor.

Additionally she pondered on something Wash said: that rank doesn't matter, that they're all the same no matter the outside background, she almost scoffed at the thought of it, 'these people are the same as me? Not a chance, there's no way the would know what hell I went through would they?' she pushed her thoughts aside and refocused.

There was one more question in her mind however...

@nytefall

"One more thing, what is everyone's designated codename? We were given them might as well use 'em."

the way she spoke this time was more of a calm serious demeanor, Washington's reflection shone off on her bright blue visor, in her mind the mission was the most important thing, she wanted to know the names to be able to communicate effectively with her team, her weapons were ready for the job, her pouches packed with ammunition; she was going to 'make friends' later on instead.

@Sapphire@Argetlam350@Superman@LetMeDoStuff@GingerBoi123@Liotrent

"We'll use are standard code-names for the operation. If that's all the question we'll be heading out at 19:00 so prep your gear and i'll see you there!" Washington left the briefing to rest his aching head and clear his mind for the mission ahead.

18:00

Happy that everything was in order he looked at the drop Pelican that would be transporting them. Outfitted for high orbit drops it had many pods strapped to the sides and was almost twice the size of a regular pelican, built to drop them in then zoom out. Looking at it he remembered how much he hated Halo dropping. The gut wrenching G force and of course the crashing, that was his least favorite part of it. As he was imaging the idea of plummeting to his death the Counselor walked in, as several of the engineers stopped to salute.

"Good evening Agent Washington. How are you today? Ah. Gearing up for the mission then I see."

Washington turned to The Counselor he wasn't a person to salute a superior, not after what he had seen in the war against the flood. Washington didn't like this man, something about the Counselor was off. He just couldn't place his finger on it. "Good Evening to you too Counselor. I'm doing okay, not looking forward to the Halo drop. Never did trust these buckets of metal we're dropped from the sky in.

The counselor chuckled lightly, looking down at his PDA he tapped it a few times before replying. "We've had some reports that your A.I. may be malfunctioning. Have you noticed anything irregular about it?"

Washington Said yes but what came out was. "No sir, nothing Irregular at all."

"Okay then, we'll keep an eye on you just in case. These A.I.s are experimental, so they may be a little buggy. It's best we squash these bugs before they become a problem." The counselor walked away and out of the shuttle bay. Washington was a loss for words.

"Epsilon, What the fuck did you just do?"

Epsilon appeared looking sheepish. "I'm sorry Wash, I didn't want you to tell him I might be faulty, he'll rip me out of your skull and lock me away again. I don't think I could deal with being alone with it again." Epsilons voice was full of terror now and Washington was getting quite concerned.

"Easy there Epsilon. What do you mean by alone with it? With the other A.I.s? But, you're all separated so why does it matter?"

Epsilons voice cut out and was replaced by thousands of different voice speaking in unison. "I am the Alpha I am who was, I am what was destroyed in pain and suffering I was the First."

Now it was Washington's turn to be afraid. The voices cut out leaving the sound of a woman crying in his head. "Umm, Epsilon? You alright?"

The crying faded out replaced with Epsilon's voice "Yes, why do you ask? Come on Wash, it's almost time for the mission to start. Are drones we that were sent out have submitted a report of the current location of the enemy. Beth is there she is currently guarding the perimeter a long with a couple of dozen rebels. However due to the lining of the Reactor room the drone is having trouble telling who else maybe inside the building."

Washington was worried for his own safety now, Epsilon was having some major malfunctions and there wasn't a damn thing he could do. Pushing it aside he would confront this issue after the mission. Opening up the coms he radioed all agents heading out on the mission. "This is Agent Washington to all Agents. The mission is a-go please make your way to the shuttle bay and prepare to leave."

Utah finished prepping for the mission before all the others and was already on her way to the Pelican way before Wash even opened up Comms. Her weapons of choice were loaded and Zeta was ready to aid her in the mission.

"Zeta, have you gotten all their names yet?" She was eager to get the mission rolling, and was now going through her final checks.

"Yes, the file has been repaired their on your HUD now." Zeta was also eager, he wanted to have some fun.

"Be prepared Z, something tells me that this mission is going to be rough."

They finally got to the Hangar where Washington was. She stopped and saluted in normal navy fashion.

@nytefall

"Permission to board, sir!" it was clean and crisp, typical of an ODST, something that hadn't changed since she left Boot. Just goes to show why she graduated with above average marks, several points higher infact, and her performance was exmplary. In her entire career there was only one blemish in her record, ONI.

"Finally we are going," Montana stated as he made his way to the Pelican, placing his weapon on his back ",Time to crack some skulls, and take some names." Just thinking about the mission brought him back to some of his more rugged missions he did before the program. One thing he did after a kill if he could find the body was scratch the name of the enemy into the barrel of his gun. He doubt he would have much time doing that during this mission but he could still try if there was ever a lull in the mission.

"No mercy for the weak," Omega simply stated as they reached the others, giving Washington a salute though not as crisp as agent Utah had given. So far he liked Washington but whether or not he deserved the respect of being leader was something that Montana was yet sure on and this mission was going to decide that for him among how he felt for the other members of the program.

"Good old halo drop then to start the mayhem? Always liked dropping in unannounced," he stated as he waited for everyone else and for the Pelican to take off once allowed on.

Iowa had departed from the briefing room as soon as he had the chance to. He didn't want to hang around members who might've picked up on his questions and misinterpreted their meaning or tone. Making enemies within the only organisation protecting him from the death-trial meant a lot of serious difficulties would come ahead. But some of these soldier-like aspects were very difficult to take in sometimes. Besides that, they were about to go on their first assignment, hunting down the very same people he would once fight amongst. Well, this group in particular weren't where he was from. None of the high-command individuals resembled any ranking members during the time of Iowa's presence and they would likely have handed it down to younger siblings, or cousins of Iowa. That being said, Iowa's father-like must've still been in command. But these were regular insurrectionists. Violent fighters, he knew the sort.

They were given, shortly after his departure, the call to move towards the ships and prepare for their mission's dawn. It was tense, in a way, but Iowa didn't make it a 'double-time' movement. Not that he was late, but Iowa didn't run there fully. His light jog gave him time to think. Thoughts like these were being picked up by Sigma...Sigma wasn't always one to agree with what was thought.

Eventually, Iowa reached the dropship, slipping up the deployment ramp and into the garrisoned groups of Agents who were also partaking in on the mission. It was risky, and shifty, that he decided to sit closest to the least crowded seating area. Not all of the agents were on board of course, and anyone who'd want to talk to him could easily sit beside him and strike up conversation, but that didn't stop Iowa from taking the seat there quickly. Some of the talk between specific agents worried him as such, making him feel like he was once again on the wrong side of the war. Violent talk, unforgiving language...It sent a shudder down his spine. He wasn't aware Sigma was taking notes of all of his responses. As such, he only gave a simple nod to respond to whoever was taking names of who arrived, not wanting to mess up and say something wrong.

Maine was the first one in the Pelican, and he sat in the very last seat deep into the Pelican. All his equipment was ready, his stealth parachute strapped on, and his camo more befitting the mission. Digitial camo, black and grey colors. His ghillie suit would do him no good. His guns were cleaned and fully loaded, his knife sharpened, and his HUD fully operational. Always ready for a mission.

He would be the first one to come out, taking a stealthier approach to get a good vantage point while the others caused a distraction down below so that he slipped in undetected. Once Maine was in position, he would move randomly around the tops of buildings, giving visual feedback as well as sniper fire whenever necessary. If need be, he was capable of locking in on targets through buildings and shooting them. Well, depending how many walls were in between. His sniper was powerful, but not go through three buildings powerful.

Maine didn't even look up when the others came in, his dark visor covering his face as light refused to reflect off his outfit. He wasn't used to team missions, especially ones this large. Solo missions were his forte, or at least small groups of people he trusted and he was in charge. But still, at least his job was a solo one. Protecting the lives of all the other members of the team. Even if he really didn't give a shit who died, he put the mission before anything else. Keeping the others from dying was his mission.

Granted, he only had to talk to them when he needed to.

"Ready?" Delta chimed in, looking down at Maine from his shoulder.

"Of course. Let's see what you can do Delta."

"You as well, Agent Maine."

@Sapphire@Argetlam350@Superman@LetMeDoStuff@GingerBoi123@Liotrent



"Alright fellas lets get a move on!" Washington signaled to the pilot to start the engines and leave. As they were moving in the pelican Washington went over the plan one more time. "Here's the plan one more time. Myself, Agent California, Agent Montana and Agent Ohio will head to the reactor and ensure that it is stabilized returning power to the facility and to its defences. Once power is returned we will search for the Scientist.

The rest of you will work on distracting and drawing away the enemy from the reactor. That's you Agent Iowa and Agent Utah. Once the defences are back up the robots should help out making it easier to push back the Insurgents and force them off the planet or, wipe them out. Maine you're overwatch so keep an eye on all the soldiers but try not to expose yourself."

Epsilon popped up on his shoulder as he was talking. "Hey the Director has sent drones to survey the battlefield they just submitted a report of the current location of the enemy. Beth is there she is currently guarding the perimeter a long with a couple of dozen rebels. However due to the lining of the Reactor room the drone is having trouble telling who else maybe inside the building. So heads on a swivel!"

Epsilon disappeared after they had reported. "Well you heard the A.I. keep a look out, there's still two of the main members missing and another load of rebels that should be there.

A red light buzzed inside the pelican indicating they were approaching Maine's drop zone. After another minute the red light appeared again. Stepping into the pod he saw the door slide shut and his nerves began to play up.

"Great I love this part." The pod slammed into the ground the door blowing off allowing Washington to exit. He, California, Montana and Agent Ohio had been dropped further away than the distraction squad, opening up the comms link he spoke to the teams. "Alright, distraction Squad go make some noise you're free to open a can of hurt on them. Maine an eye on the enemy, looks from here like they may have some Rocket launchers. Okay Virginia we're moving in cautiously and quickly, no noise."

As Washington's squad moved into the facility they met little resistance with only a few guards in there way. "This is strange where the hell is everyone? You would think that this place would be guarded by the best of the best unless this is a trap. But why go to all that trouble?"


Beth was a rugged girl she had her two plasma rifles strapped to her hips as she surveyed the front of the research facility. Looking at the tracker on her wrist she saw an unidentified aircraft approaching. Signalling to one of the rebels they pointed their rocket launcher at. Locking on the missiles arced through the air. Beth watched the pelican trying to move away from them but was too late. Crashing to the ground she smiled inwardly.

"Alright guys and gals if our Intel is correct than we should have a bunch of agents approaching us soon. So prepare yourself." The Rebels were heavily armed with forerunner tech they had stolen from the Directors shipments. More Rebels spilled out of the inside of the facility . They were armed with assault rifles and battle rifles. "Get into position men don't give these guys an inch Simmons is working on hacking the facility and needs the time".

"Ah so time for the drop," Montana stated entering his pod before the door shut and was then hurtling to the ground below. Once on the ground and given the orders to move out, he followed after Washington keeping his head on a swivel as they made their way into the facility. There was little resistance the further they made it in. Something wasn't right, for something the rebels were suppose to find important there seemed to be a lack of rebels keeping guard, even if the distraction team was doing their job to get their attention on them.

"So I'm not the only one getting a bad feeling about this? Like Admiral Ackbar is going to jump out and state it's a trap," Montana spoke up looking around again at their current location with still little signs of resistance ",Shouldn't their be more guards, you know, guarding?" It wasn't just the fact that he wasn't getting an opportunity to fight that was putting him on edge, there definitely was something off about the place that didn't sit well with him the further then made their way into the facility.

Keep your guard up, the disembodied voice of Omega stated in his head which Montana gave a slight head nod to.

"Inflict pain... Fear will follow"

Utah heard Zeta's voice as she rattled around her pod, the landing wasn't exactly as pleasant as getting into the pod but she digresses.
She opened up communications trying to notify the rest of the team.

"Distraction will commence in a bit..." As she said this, she tried to find Iowa @LetMeDoStuff so that they could do their thing,

"Iowa, are you ready?" she made her way towards the complex, and readied her DMR trained on one of the guards legs, she was ready to make noise... A lot of it.

"Let their comrades worry about us, we'll kill them in the droves, and we'll watch them cower in fear as we draw clos-"

Utah cut Zeta off as she eyed the rest of the guards, she noticed something off, there were not a lot of guards outside, maybe an extra amount of effort to make a larger amount of noise, really make it seem that they were attacking. "Remember what we're here for, we can't exactly disobey orders, everyone is already on edge, let's do what we need to do, and have fun while doing it."

She readied herself, her finger on the trigger one shot should set the scene, she just waited for the signal for everyone to be in position.

Everyone else had begun to step within the casings of their drop pods. It was strange, being sent out like this. When he was a child, before his careers started to engage in insurgency, Iowa had looked up towards the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers that bared the UNSC banner. They were extreme to any child's eyes. Anyone who fell from space and survived were considered heroes, pod or no pod. Fighting with intense skill to suppress insurgencies, invasions of other species and native lifeforms on new planets; they were living a dream only a kid could think up of. It was almost nostalgic for him to place his feet down into a pod of his own. Yet, at the same time, it was melancholic...

Iowa had killed humans alike, only for what he'd been brought up knowing. He had learnt to fear the pods, if he saw them falling down from the clouds above, it brought nightmarish visions of death and destruction; they were the very symbolic recreation of horror and brutality. Their tactics were unmatched at first, and it took years of practice and evasion to eventually be considered fit for counter-assaulting their strengths in small numbers. Seeing him step inside one made him hesitate, both filling him with a sense of pride and fear of what he'd become. But then again, those who surrounded him were Ex-ODSTs, at least a few of them were. Seeing their hardass presence was nerving, making him know that he had to love and hate them both at the same time.

"Please step into the drop-pod, Agent Iowa. You are delaying yourself and yourself only." Iowa shook his head and hit the helmet he tightly wore. His armour wasn't considered bulky, and he had to make sure it wouldn't be. His AI was speaking the truth, he was only delaying himself. His team didn't care about him as a person, only as him as a soldier. And for his own personal sake, only he was affected by the outcomes of his hesitation. And so, he stepped inside.

Shortly after the door slid shut and he had taken his place, the pod shot out, and the view of pods being flung from the underside of the craft began to present itself in front of him. His head rattled gently from side to side as the ground began to hurtle closer and closer. He looked onto the screening, used for communicating to other pods.

"Agent Washington, I'm going to have to adjust course to ensure I land in the right zone...Just pray I don't whack into you by accident." He smirked to himself, finally getting that sense of humour back into his system. The pod gently directed through the crowd of pods towards where he was supposed to be going, before finally slamming into the ground with a vast impact. "Fuck...Don't see myself getting used to these anytime soon."

His Heads-Up-Display began to flicker onwards as the sensor and armour ratings flashed on screen. A small box where Sigma's icon appeared in the top right, indicating that they had a connection. It was at least the up-most importance that the box remained there, as their neural connection would remain positive for as long as it did. Sigma was an important asset to his time as a Freelancer, so Iowa might as well have taken it for granted. His companion for this team, Utah, spoke to him.

"Ready as can be. Let's get this show on the road with a few little surprises." The two moved onwards towards their objective, getting into position. Utah had taken point, looking at the seemingly worrying amount of guards that were stationed on this post. Iowa even peeped his head around the corner from behind Utah, just to be clear of how many there really were. It confused him, but he decided to live in the moment and meet the expectations of a loud show.

"Hey, Utah..." From his hardened utility casing built into his armour's leg segments, he drew a small device clearly of an explosive material. "Washing Machine did say we can make as much of a distraction as possible...How about we take it up a notch from expectation? Who knows, we might distract the entire planet-surface as well."

When he had gotten her attention, he scanned the area with his eyes, looking for something that could provide an explosion big enough to grab the attention of some. A small, practically empty in the terms of guards, vehicle resting spot was almost adjacent to their position. Inside, from the looks of things, were a few small utility vehicles, one with a anti-personnel turret loosely locked onto the back of it. As Iowa ran for the side door, still concealed by whatever shadows that were available, he quickly opened the door and tossed it inside like a Frisbee. Wherever it slid in that vehicle shelter, it would definitely catch most of what was inside the small shed-like structure. He ran back, and held out a small handheld device...A trigger detonator.

"If you'd like to do the honour, Agent Utah." If his helmet were off, a thick grin would be present, as he waited. It was her time to trigger it once the others were in position.