It had been for Vael ‘Virisusai, quite a long, silent flight in the back of a Pelican dropship. He had spent the past week on Earth at a different one of the Humans’ military installations. He had been selected by the Swords of Sanghelios, with the direct approval of the Arbiter, for this “Aegis team”. He was to serve as the commander of the Swords of Sanghelios warriors underneath him, to represent the interests of the Swords of Sanghelios, and to serve as the commander of the team itself on any mission where the Sangheili were decided to have authority. It had been a simple decision on the part of the Swords, once they had agreed to form this team. However, he had the impression that there was some confusion among the Humans. Vael was not privy to the weeks of inter-departmental discussions and arguments as to who should have jurisdiction over the UNSC contributions to the team, after HIGHCOM approved the plan. Being something of a…unique team, UNSC Naval Command, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and Spartan Operations all had their arguments for taking command. Vael did not have any knowledge of these discussions, but he did know that he had only today been given a direct answer as to who would be his counterpart among the Humans.

Eventually, the hours of silence were interrupted by the voice of the pilot. “Approaching LZ, prepare to disembark.” The two Human soldiers serving as Vael’s escort looked briefly at one another, but remained ever stoic. The rear door opened just as the Pelican was touching down on a landing pad just in front of a large, roughly-conical building in the middle of a massive Human city: HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6. The landing area was in a protected courtyard, surrounded by high walls and security gates. Even still, as Vael stepped out of the back of the Pelican, he could still get a good view of the skyline of the city. He had learned some of this place before coming here. The city was called Sydney: a place that had been devastated by the invasion of Truth’s fleet during the war. Very little of the city had escaped severe damage, or outright destruction, at the hands of the Jiralhanae. Yet, after just five years, most of the city had been rebuilt. As Vael stepped away from the Pelican, flanked on both sides by his two Human guards, his thoughts went briefly back to his own home on Sanghelios. The city around him now was entirely alien to the structures of his own people, or even the former Covenant. Its scale could perhaps be compared to his home, but in Vael’s eyes, its many skyscrapers were cold and utilitarian. On Sanghelios, their cities were built into mountains, valleys, and caverns, becoming just as much a part of the landscape as the stones themselves. In this place, there was hardly any landscape to be seen, just metal and glass. Still, if nothing else, he supposed he could respect the Humans’ resilience to be able to face such losses and recover in short order.

As they approached the entrance of the building, they were met by two, black-armored security guards that wordlessly took over escorting Vael into the building, while the other soldiers returned to the Pelican. His new guards escorted him into the building; although, they did not make it any farther than the atrium before one of his new guards had him stop and wait where they were following a short conversation with one of his superiors. As patient as he usually was, Vael was growing frustrated with the continued delays the Human bureaucracy tended to cause. For today, he knew that he was meant to be meeting with an agent from the organization known as ONI, Major Alice Robinson, as well as the Captain of the vessel to which they would be assigned for their first mission. He knew that all of the members of Aegis Team had been selected and were on Earth, though he was unsure if they had all yet arrived. They too would be meeting for the first time today. In any case, Vael could continue to remain patient with the Humans for a while longer. He could tell that his guards were anxious to get moving as well. The sight of a Sangheili warrior in the middle of a Human city did draw some attention, especially from civilians who had reason to visit the UNSC’s headquarters.

Vael might have been more irritated had he known the true reason for the delay. Approval had not been given to reveal the existence of the facility’s underground complex to the non-Human members of the team. Normally, there would be no issue using one of the secure meeting rooms in the skyscraper above-ground. However, someone had neglected to consider the fact that they would require a secure room specifically on the ground-level, owing to the fact that one member of the team weighed approximately 5,000 kilograms and could not make use of any space not accessible by cargo elevator.

Grikgar /Grik/ Seeker

// Unggoy Ultra // Demolitions and Artillery //

A bumpy ride, it was really the only way to describe the pelican ride. Grikgar did not have the physiology to properly sit in the seats like the two humans that accompanied him. He had only arrived the day before and had been staying in a makeshift room on top of a space elevator. The Unggoy had been pulled from active combat with direct orders to get his gear and board a frigate heading for earth. At the very least he was briefed on what he had been chosen for by his commander on the way out.

Now he was on his way to meet his new commander and serve with the humans that helped them to end the Great War. It was a strange job in an ever changing world of new possibilities something the Unggoy jumped at the chance for. Another adventure to chalk up to his many accomplishments. At least the humans, although wary didn’t out right try to bully him. He can’t blame them though, it’s not every day one would see a grunt like him. Taller, more robust, no look of fear or being timid towards the humans around them.

At the very least he was able to get some sleep on the ride down somehow. The human that was tasked in taking care of him while on the station was a brute of a man with red hair and an accent he called “Scottish” it was always interesting to meet new humans, they were all so different. This one called Sargent Abernathy, was strict around the other soldiers however the man did let Grikgar go through the more recent human music files. This activity kept him up for most of the long hours before his departure from the space elevator.

The Unggoy was woken suddenly when the back door to the pelican opened and he not so graciously got up from his spot and looked at the two new soldiers dressed in black. He did catch a quick chuckle from one of the marines in the pelican, more than likely because he was being clumsy. Stepping outside the pelican revealed a grand city, tall spires that reached into the sky one not matching another. It reminded him of the cities of their planet Reach, the engineering of the humans and their ability to build such buildings was always something to be admired.

“This way.” One of the men in black spoke to him in a gruff and annoyed voice. They definitely were not amused by him being here and didn’t seem to want to wait around for the grunt to stop ogling the sky scrapers. Soon he found himself being led through a few corridors only to wind up in a large bright room with many humans moving around. They all looked to be very busy with whatever it was they were in such a hurry for only a couple of wandering eyes found themselves glancing toward him or over to a much larger figure in front of him.

He couldn’t quite make out the red armor at first but soon it became clear as his escort met up with two others that were escorting a Sangheili in red and white shining armor. By the looks of him and the description of the elite that would be his new commander this one matched the description. “Vael ‘Virisusai? Grik has been told a lot about you, it is an honor to have a Sangheili such as yourself as our commander.” Grikgar spoke using the Sangheili language in a formal tone as he looked up at him.

@EliteCommander

Tasuma was... happy. That is what the ODSTs said. Yes, it was looking forward to it, and it felt pride, when the medal was pinned to its breastplate. Like it felt when Iteyimeyokosa, its bond brother, taught it the traditional meditations and poems. This pinning of the metal was also traditional, to humans, and the Lieutenant told him the history of it and the meaning. Pinned to the breastplate of the black and grey camouflaged armor was a silver winged parachute, with a large golden star in the middle. Five plus combat drops with the ODSTs. The Lieutenant said Tasuma had earned it, and there was a celebration. Then Tasuma had to leave, and go here, to Australia. Though, the platoon he had fought alongside with for so long strong armed their way into ensuring Tasuma had an escort there.

Tasuma had already been in the city for a week, and the UNSC kept it and the five ODST escorts in a nearby base. But today was the day. The truck Tasuma was riding in was dark, with no windows, and the driver went slow. Its companions sat in hastily mounted seats, and they conversed casually, talking about the local food and booze. Some of what they were talking about seemed appealing to Tasuma. Soon the truck halted, and the door opened, revealing the building surrounded by walls. The five fully armored ODSTs quickly unbuckled, one picking up a satchel, and filed out of the truck. Tasuma followed at his own, slow, pace. There were other humans there with a forklift, presumably to transport the box containing Tasumas equipment, one was talking to the ODST Sergeant with a clipboard in hand. As soon as they saw it, they stopped what they were doing, and the man dropped his clipboard. The Sergeant promptly shook the shocked mans shoulders.
"I said, do not even scratch the paint," The Sergeant pointed at Tasuma, "of his Assault Cannon and shield!"
The Corporal chuckled, and then walked over to the Hunter. He opened his satchel, "So Tas', me and the boys got you a lil' somethin'!" He pulled out a crimson bundle of cloth, and unraveled it in front of the Hunter. It was a shoulder cloak, meant for his right side judging by the leather shoulder pad, and emblazoned in the middle of the large cloak was the symbol of the Swords of Sanghelios in ivory. Tasuma stared in silence. "Alright, alright now don't get all teary eyed on us, you gotta look your best for your new boss." He said, he approached the Mgalekgolo and the other ODSTs helped the Corporal clip the leather pauldron onto the massive colony. The Corporal rubbed some grime off the Hunters helmet before turning to the Sergeant, who was standing with his arms crossed. The Sergeant nodded with approval, and they began to move towards the tower.

The people in the courtyards of Bravo-6 gave the Hunter a wide berth, and the five ODSTs surrounding the Hunter ensured it. It wasn't long until Tasuma stopped in its tracks, and the ODST escort halted with it. The six spikes lifted slightly from its back, then it turned and began walking in a separate direction. The ODSTs followed without question, and it became rapidly apparent as to why. As the group rounded the corner of the building, they saw that they were walking towards an Unggoy and a Sangheili.

---

Vael had been tolerating the wait, though it seemed like he would be meeting at least some of his team before the Humans actually brought them beyond the atrium. The presence of an Unggoy had few other explanations at the headquarters of the UNSC. Of course, the Unggoy also wasted no time in confirming that fact. Vael had been, to his knowledge, the first chosen by the Swords of Sanghelios for this team, but he was not the one choosing those who would serve underneath him. He did not know what the composition of his team would be and simply had to trust that his own leaders were making the correct decisions. However, it did seem like those being selected were at least being told about him.

“I have not yet been informed of the members of my team.” Vael replied, also in Sangheili.

One of the Human guards beside Vael looked up towards him. “You shouldn’t talk about anything unti-”

Before the guard could get close to finishing his sentence, Vael’s gaze darted down to the Human, followed by a growl. So far, Vael had, from his perspective, given the Humans far more patience than had ever should have been required. Had most other Sangheili been given his position, there would already have been “incidents”. But, even Vael’s patience was not unlimited.

The guard’s firm demeanor had diminished almost immediately. He hesitated for a few seconds, weighing in his mind how important it was to push the issue. Ultimately, as long as they were speaking in Sangheili rather than English, he decided to back down.

Ignoring the guard entirely, Vael took out his personal data pad and looked down at Grik. “Unggoy…ultra.” He said, observing the Unggoy’s armor. “What is your full name and specialization?” He asked. Vael’s tone was dry and his question straight-to-the-point. He was not dismissive nor irritated towards the Unggoy, but neither was he friendly. He was simply professional.

The presence of either a Sangheili or Unggoy who were obviously not refugees was unusual on Earth. At least in a place like this. Civilians passing through the atrium who happened to see them would usually be surprised, and give them a wide berth. However, the approach of a five-and-a-half ton Mgalekgolo could be felt through the metal floor before it could be seen. When the Hunter stepped into view, all eyes were already upon it.

The same guard that had tried interrupting Vael stepped forward with his alarmed gaze on the nearest ODST, rather than the Mgalekgolo itself. “Don’t bring that…thing in here! It’s going to give a civvie a heart attack.” He said somewhat frantically in a hushed voice, though he also offered nothing in the way of an alternative. The atrium was essentially the only area on this floor that a Hunter could stand without mostly blocking passage around it.

Another Pelican made its way through Sydney's skies,touching down outside of UNSC HIGHCOM. As soon as the dropship's ramp touched the ground, a tall, armored figure stepped out into the sunshine, flanked by a single, unaugmented soldier. He immediately felt eyes on him. Spartans always caught people's attention, it was a fact that he had come to accept. He didn't like it, but he accepted it. However…

Why the gaudy paint scheme? he thought. The Spartan's armor had either been a plain, olive green, or black. I look like a damn hingehead.

"That's the point," came a feminine voice, partly through his helmet's internal speakers, partly through his neural interface. "Though, minus the slur. You'll have to bite your tongue and watch your language. The last thing we need is you angering a teammate during a firefight." The Spartan sighed, keeping his external speakers off.

"I know, I know, Suiko," he said. "Don't know why you even argued I should be part of this team." The AI's avatar, a young woman dressed in a simple kimono and a red and white fox mask, popped up in the corner of his HUD.

"My sole purpose right now is monitoring your mental state, and trying to prevent any violent outbursts. Consider this part of your therapy." The dumb AI's tone had the typical calculated tone of others of her kind, but there were hints of emotions in her tones at times. "But, yes, the reason we changed your armor's color scheme is to help with relations between the Swords of Sanghelios. Wear their colors, and maybe they'll be a bit friendlier."

"Last I checked, the Covvies have more subtle armor color schemes."

"Refer to them as 'Swords' when speaking about them. And speaking of…"

Suiko set a waypoint, and Rex turned his head. He was more than a little shocked to see, of all things, a Hunter walking around Sydney. Given its armor scheme and the ODSTs around it, it was safe.

Hopefully.

He could also see a Grunt and an Elite, but Rex had expected that. "Your heart rate and adrenaline just spiked," Suiko said. "They're blues."

"Reds."

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of humor."

"Alright, big guy, time to wake up."

Yalu's vertical eye slits dilated open to see a human marine's grin disappear. Yalu was still short of practice understanding what the expression meant but he could guess enough from the tension in all of the marines when he was around.

"We're, uh..." the marine continued. "We're about to land."

Neither of them blinked for a moment.

The marine coughed. "About ten minutes out." He turned and walked back along the deck of the cargo hold, running one hand on an overhead bar.

"Thank you, Stefanovic." Yalu spoke at a much deeper timbre.

The marine tensed up even more. "How do you know my name?"

"The word is written on your harness," he responded. "If I pronounced it incorrectly, I would hear its proper sound from you, should you prefer."

"Naw, I just...didn't know you learnt to read English."

"Why do you think I asked you how long an hour was, human?" Valu said. "It is because I learn."

After counting it all up based on the timepiece on his own HUD, Yalu had sat in his small canvas seat with legs cramping for fourteen hours straight. He had nothing to do and no one to talk to once the humans left him alone, save for the food and drink they brought him. 'A few hours,' was what they said about the flight time. Yalu did not think that one 'hour' was anything to complain about once it had passed. Their lack of honesty was irritating. Yalu thanked his ancestors that sleep and meditation were not beyond him in such an environment.

The cargo bay door opened to bright yellow sunlight contrasted against black tarmac. Yalu strode down the ramp with his equipment over his shoulder, being sure to duck under the low headroom. Marines with their rifles were on his left and right. His eyes adjusted to see another human with a front-brimmed cap and even more guards. Probably someone ranking. A few words and it was not long before he was lead across to one of their non-combat land vehicles.

From that point the extra time did not pass too slowly. Yalu had never been around so many humans before. He wondered if they were as unsure about him as he was about them. How many sangheili lives had they taken? As many human lives as he had taken?

"You seem kinda quiet back there," the driver said. "Y'nervous?"

"Is it your custom to speak of fear?" Yalu retorted.

"Sometimes."

"It is not mine."

They were silent after that.

Everything blurred together until they pulled into a compound with a group that stood out like a boil. Yalu saw an unggoy, a hunter, a sangheili, and a...Spartan, if he remembered correctly. If there was one creature he preferred not to need to outnumber, it was one of them.

Yalu was let out of the vehicle. "Right over there," the human escort said as if it was not obvious.

Yalu approached and only slowed his gait when he noticed the markings of the sangheili in particular. He was checking the dossier of the unggoy, which meant Yalu's history would soon be on display as well.

"The joint operations team rallies here?" Yalu said simply. "I am Major Yalu 'Suumko."

While others had arrived via Pelican, Spartan Lucas Ryker was flying into the facility known as Bravo-6 in a Falcon from a nearby Army base, his rifle across his back, pistol holstered and spare jumpers in a back under his feet. Spartan Command had sent him orders to head to Sydney and await further command and that from there the UNSC HIGHCOM would give him his assignment. In retrospect, vague wording with a specific location should have been a warning along with the command transfer... He had opted to stay on base instead of in a hotel in the city was simple enough; he was a Spartan, the pinnacle human warrior and IVs especially drew crowds somehow, likely due to not being as anti-social. The view of the thus far assembled team was the best he could hope for from above and he shook his head.

However, before the SPARTAN could even voice his thoughts, the marine across from him did. "Two Elites, a grunt, a Hunter and another SPARTAN. Quite the shindig down there." Lucas chuckled as the Falcon slowly lowered down and set down, grabbing his back and starting to stand.

"We're going to be working with the Swords of Sangheilios on this one. Course it's a party." The Marine and his battle buddy step off along with the SPARTAN IV who lead the way and waved to the pair as they were traded for a pair of the black clad guards everyone else seemed to have. Nodding to each of the assembled team, he introduced himself. "Spartan Lucas Ryker, pleasure."

“Spartan Aviza, we are thirty seconds out from Sydney.” Said the pilot of the D77-TC Pelican over the Gunships internal coms. Aviza, who had been sitting in one of the seats near the front of the Gunship, quickly stood up and moved to the cockpit to view the massive UNSC city as they broke through the mesosphere. As soon as the moisture cone on the front of the Pelican dissipated, the whole gunship slightly jolted from the rapid deceleration. The pilots were quickly making adjustments on their control panels to compensate for this, though Aviza had barely noticed. She was more focused on the view of Sydney than slight turbulence, after all, flights in Pelicans were rarely smooth. The co-pilot glanced over at Aviza, who meet his gaze through her visor before speaking in the all to common emotionless and cold tone that most disciplined soldiers of the UNSC had.

"Spartan Aviza, we will be landing shortly." Aviza silently left the cockpit, moving to the rear of the Gunship before reaching above her head and pulling on the rear doors control mechanism. The two part door slid open, half of it moving upwards, while the other half moved downwards, creating a ramp that could be used to enter and exit the Gunship. As soon as the pressurized interior had been unsealed, a deafening roar surrounded Aviza. The Pelicans engines, even though having their power greatly reduced, were still creating an incredible amount of thrust. "You still with us Spartan Aviza?" asked the Co-Pilot as he glanced into the rear of the Pelican. What he saw was Aviza holding onto a safety bar above her head with her left hand, gripping it tightly. The Spartan turned her head to the left or to the right every few short moments, taking in the birds eye view of the city they were now entering, from the rear of the Gunship.

"What goes through that woman's head?" thought the co-pilot as he returned to focusing on the control panel in front of him. Landing Pad [AZ-188] had been assigned to them before they even entered the atmosphere, and now the brightly blinking lights upon it could be seen coming into view. The Pelican pitched up slightly to prepare for landing, its VTOL engines had their positions adjusted to ensure a gentle and accurate landing. Aviza felt the gunship shake lightly before the main pilot informed her that they had touched down and it was safe for her to depart. The interior lighting that had been flooded with red and blue had changed to a soft green and white, reinforcing the pilots statement. The hum of the Pelicans engines powering down was an oddly comforting sound to Aviza, she did not fully understand why but pushed the thought aside, there were more important things at hand.

Just as she had expected, two ONI personnel were waiting at the exit of the landing pad, wearing full armor and equipment, their sleek black outfits and their militaresque stance sending a message to any other UNSC or civilians in the area. After approaching the two ONI personnel, they both saluted Spartan Aviza before who she assumed to be the leader addressed her. "Spartan Aviza, please follow us to the UNSC Headquarters." Aviza did not speak, she merely nodded her head once tailed behind the two ONI personnel as they began walking. As they made their way through Sydney, Aviza took notice at how quickly and how well the city had been rebuilt after the war, it was an impressive sight, and a testament to how humankind could rebound after such extreme losses.

"Spartan Aviza, a number of other members from Aegis team have already arrived. My superior has informed me that you will find them in the atrium of HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6." Once more, Aviza did not reply, but merely nodded her head once in acknowledgement, though the ONI personnel had their backs turned to her and would not see this gesture. Once they arrived at the massive towering building, Aviza could not see through the heavily tinted glass that hid the UNSC Headquarters interior. The two ONI Personnel approached the doors of the building and opened them for Spartan Aviza with a salute, which they held until she had stepped inside, far enough for them to close the doors and return to their normal duties. Once inside, Aviza felt the all to familiar rush of cold air that came from the interior of buildings of the such. She had disabled her suits internal environmental systems at the moment, seeing no need to have them on unless actively deployed.

"One Mgalekgolo Hunter, two Sangheili, one Unggoy, two Spartans." Aviza took mental note, she would have to review the biological information for the Alien species present, just in case they needed medical attention somewhere down the line. Stepping forward into the group that had gathered in the atrium of HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6, Aviza bowed slightly in acknowledgement and respect to Aegis Team before speaking, "Spartan Aviza Morgenstern, an honor to meet all of you this morning." If one looked close enough at her Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor/Argus [GEN2], they would notice the small advanced medical emblem upon the upper left part of her chest armor.

Grikgar /Grik/ Seeker

// Unggoy Ultra // Demolitions and Artillery //

Grik continued to watch his new commander and his mannerisms for any sign of disdain. After not picking up on anything from his speech patterns, the Unggoy straightened his posture continuing to look up at the Sangheili in front of him. Continuing to answer him in Sangheili despite the marine next to them, “Grikgar Seeker, Demolition’s and Artillery specialist, fluent in all former covenant languages including Huragok sign language and three human languages. Served on the Capitol ship seeker of truth in the fleet of particular justice until the destruction of the holy ring then tasked to other covert operations.” Grik really doesn’t care if any of the others over heard him, he was well aware that their alliance was shaky at best.

A slight repeating tremor through the floor drew his attention towards a group of more human soldiers surrounding a Lekgolo in an odd armor configuration and a rather bright attachment he could only assume was ceremonial. Grik smiled under his helmet, he was rather fond of the Lekgolo and often enjoyed their company. The same marine from earlier spoke up again, this time referring to the hulking alien as a ‘thing’. This upset the grunt slightly, Grikgar was normally level headed but he had been subjected to enough mistreatment in his life that it sometimes got under his skin.

Stepping in front of the marine and scowled at him through his helmet. “That is a Lekgolo, it is not a thing.” Switching from Sangheili to English was almost flawless for him. Grik was doing something that he knew most would not expect out of an Unggoy, being confrontational. He was well aware of his surroundings and knew he could not just touch the marine and would have to keep his temper for the most part. “Lekgolo have saved Grik more times than Grik cares to remember.” His helmet shifted between the marine and the other soldiers then over to a taller figure walking their way.

The Spartan was rather tall compared to some of the others and wore a crimson red armor set combined with gold. A flashy color scheme that he wondered how it helped him in combat, “perhaps a physiological effect?” he thought before returning to the marine. “Grikgar is not afraid of any of you, not even that one.” Motioning towards the Spartan.

Feeling that he made his point the Unggoy returned to his position in front of Vael. Only to look up to meet the gaze of another elite, a major Yalu 'Suumko. His name did not sound familiar, but an ally all the same. Grik also did not recognize the armor pattern the Sangheili used, it seemed old and outdated compared to the more modern harnesses. At the very least, Grik could gleam from the likely family heirloom that this one did honor the old ways at least and he likely could be trusted to keep his word.

Another Spartan joined them from outside, this one had bright markings that distinguished it from the other. What those markings meant Grik did not know, at the very least these demons didn’t look too intimidating just yet. This one seemed to be better suited for recon. Then the third Spartan approached the rest of them and actually spoke, introducing himself as “Spartan Lucas Ryker, pleasure.” Grik was unsure what the pleasure was for, some human expressions still escaped him.

@Skyrte

“Don’t bring that… thing in here! It’s going to give a civvie a heart attack.” One of the guards scolded. The Corporal was the closest to the HQ Guardsmen, and he tilted his head in confusion. Who in the armed forces didn't know about the Hunters? Tasuma itself was silent, and slowly moved its head to face the frantic guard. Before the Sergeant could knock the guard down a peg, the Grunt stepped up to do it instead.

Meanwhile, behind the Hunter, the three ODST privates saw the Spartans disembarking their transports and walking towards them. They tapped each other with their elbows and pointed at them. One of the Privates gave a friendly wave. Usually Spartans and ODSTs had a fairly tense relationship, but these troopers accompanying the Hunter didn't seem to mind the genetically enhanced super-soldiers.

Grik, as the group learned from his rebuttal, even pointed at a Spartan and declared that he wasn't afraid of them. The ODST Sergeant laughed loudly and slapped Grik across the shoulder. "Ha! Grik? I like you!" The Sergeant proclaimed with equal volume.
The Corporal leaned over to the Sergeant, "If scaring civvies is a concern why don't we do that thing we did on Sonov III? With the... well without the guns... yeah you know. Cuz' when you think about it, it's pretty absurd."
The Sergeant put his hand on the chin of his helmet, thinking for a second. "That's a good idea." The Sergeant grinned, "Tas'?"
The Hunter finally spoke, of a sorts. It was more like a short thrum. Tasuma leaned forward, placing both of his fists on the ground, his spikes rising from his back slightly more. The right forward most spike rose to be completely vertical. The Sergeant grabbed its cape and draped it over one of Tasuma's spikes, to ensure it didn't drag on the ground, then he climbed up Tasuma's arm and sat on the Hunters back, using the single vertical spike as a pole to grab onto. The Sergeant turned to the guard, "You ever see an ODST get a piggyback ride from a Hunter?" He said smugly, the trooper turned to Grik, "You wanna ride too? Tas' here once carried five of our sorry asses on his back, so I know he could carry you too." The Sergeant looked back at the Spartans, everyone could practically hear his shit-eating grin, "Sorry Spartans, your squad ain't official yet and Battlebus Tas' is invitation only!"
Tasuma thrummed again in agreement, moving an arm closer to Grik.

Aviza had shrugged off the comment made by Grik about not being afraid of any of the UNSC forces. She understood his reasoning for saying such a thing, but thought it would have been better if he would have kept this fact to himself. They were all going to be working together shortly, and such outbursts were unwelcome in her personal opinion. Crossing her arms over her chest, Aviza was about to ask an informal question to the two Swords of Sanghelios members in Aegis Team. Though before she could, the ODST Sergeant who was accompanying his squad that included the Hunter, only furthered the spectacle unfolding within the atrium of HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6.

"Sergeant?" said Aviza, her arms no longer crossed over her chest, as she walked over to the gruff man on the back of the Hunter. "This is not the time nor the place for such inappropriate actions, you are setting a very poor example for the rest of your squad. Not only this, but you are also making yourself look like a fool and an incompetent leader in front of the Swords of Sanghelios members who are currently in our presence. It is in the best of your squads and your own personal interest to start acting like the capable leader I have heard about. Remove yourself from the Hunter and cease this spectacle or I will be forced to personally remove you from Mgalekgolo myself." Aviza said all of this in a calm, and collected voice. She would even offer the ODST Sergeant her right hand to help him off of the Hunters back.

The Sergeant looked at Spartan Aviza as she addressed him, and he inhaled as she continued. His shoulders rising in tension. The other ODSTs glanced at each other, and at the other Spartans, but stayed quiet. As soon as she finished, the Sergeant retorted. "Now listen here Spartan," he began, all playfulness gone from his voice, "Tasuma saved my life and the lives of my boys by throwing us onto his back. And if I have to look a fool and incompetent leader in front of Lord fuckin' Hood and The Arbiter him fuckin' self, to stop some fuckin' greener than grass guardie who's never seen a lick of real combat," he shot a dirty glance at the HQ Guards, "from freakin' out and shooting Tasuma, I'll do it in a heartbeat. If I have to- h-hey!" The Sergeants tirade was cut short. Tasuma had lifted its arm and grabbed the Sergeant by the breastplate, lifting him off of its back and placing him onto the ground next to him. All of its spikes lowering to a more relaxed position.

"Tas', I was talking." The Sergeant said sternly. In reply, Tasuma placed an armored finger on the Sergeants chest, then his forehead. The Sergeant shook his head. "Fine. When we move, we keep it tight troopers." He said to the rest of his ODSTs, who nodded, he turned to the HQ Guards, "If anyone throws a potshot at Tas', we'll throw hands and someones gonna get punched into next week." The Sergeant pointed an accusatory finger at them.

Tasuma turned to face Spartan Aviza, slow and lumbering. The Hunter lowered its head towards her, which went lower, then lower, low enough that the back of his neck was exposed to her. And then he remained motionless.
"He's uh... apologizing. He did this to everyone in the platoon not long after we picked him up." One of the ODST Privates explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

Aviza stood her ground and merely peered at the ODST Sergeant as he spoke, she was going to allow the man to finish speaking before forcefully but gently removing him from the Hunters back. Much to her surprise though, the Hunter moved, which in turn caused Aviza to take a few steps back to give the Mgalekgolo room to do whatever he was about to do. Tas managed to lift the ODST Sergeant up from his breastplate and remove him from his back before gently placing the man down next to him. The Spartan watched in silence as the scene unfolded, with what could be called growing respect for the Hunter. When Tas lowered his head to the point of where his neck was exposed to her, Aviza watched in curiosity. She was unsure what this gesture meant but was formulating a guess, thankfully one of the ODST Privates explained that he was apologizing. Stepping forward, Aviza spoke once more in her calm and collected voice, but this time to Tas. "Your apology is accepted Tas, though you shouldn't be the one apologizing." Aviza glanced at the ODST Sergeant one last time before returning to her fellow Spartans as if nothing had transpired.

The corner of Rex's mouth twitched upward at the Grunt's comment. He had spunk. That he could respect. As he drew closer, he clarified, "The flashy paint's supposed to be a sign of solidarity, according to my assistant. I'd prefer to have kept my armor black, but most of you… uh, Swords seem to prefer crimson."

He gave a terse nod to the other Spartans and the Sangheili; Rex still had no idea in hell what the proper conduct was with Hunters. He could tell from the way the Spartans spoke— hell, even the way they carried themselves— that they were Fours.

"Sierra-G124, reporting in," he said calmly.

"Or Rex, if you like," Suiko's voice came from his helmet's external speakers.

@Andromedai@ReusableSword@Zarkun@EliteCommander@Muttonhawk

There was no such thing as Epsilon company. Never had been. Never would be. The old SPARTAN-III program only had Alpha through Gamma, and abortive plans for Delta. Any other letters in the Greek alphabet were just fantasy. At least, that's what the databases all said. Since the great war ended, his unit had been retroactively put into being, even as it had no official existence. Such was the life of a Spartan whose generation proved to be something of a disappointment, superseded by the questionably effective SPARTAN-IVs, overshadowed by the SPARTAN-IIs. It was the latter who ended up saving humanity and the galaxy as a whole, while the mantle had been passed to the former. Still, Ben's generation still had its uses. The IIs were few in number and were too important for certain tasks, leaving a number of niches for the remaining IIIs to fill.

Someone had to shoot the cowards and traitors, after all.

His trip to the HIGHCOM facility in Sydney had been uneventful. Ben's last trip to Earth had been over a year ago, and while he wasn't born on Earth itself, he much preferred it to any human colony. Sydney wasn't nearly the largest city around, but he did admire how well the old Opera House fit in with the architecture of the modern city, even after all those centuries. Security clearances had all been pre-arranged for him; even the suspicious guards gave him little trouble, although it was clear they were more nervous than usual.

"Are you here to watch over the hunter?" Ben just looked at the guard, doing his best to look intimidating but not stare. That behavior was something of a negative stereotype for the Spartans, in any event.

"You must be new. Otherwise, you'd know that I could neither confirm nor deny that. Which way is the atrium?" The guard pointed in the direction of the group. Ben quickly proceeded down the hall, turning around a corner and easily spotting the gathering from a distance. If nothing else, the tall frames of the Elites and the massive figure of the Mgalekgolo was a dead giveaway as to where he was supposed to go.

Vael ‘Virisusai and the rest of the Aegis team were assembling, and Ben's position on Aegis had been kept secret to all but Vael himself. Officially, this was a "last-minute" assignment, and the exact details of Ben's mission, including his orders to kill cowards, traitors, and rampants, were known only to him, although part of his instructions were to assist the team in its objectives and ensure secrecy. Exactly what "ensure secrecy" meant was left unclear. "Apply your discretion" was what Ben had been told. Of course, in-person meetings for Epsilon-only missions never happened anymore. Not since the human-covenant war had ended. Part of his ongoing goal was to make sure that war stayed ended. Incidents of friendly fire, grossly undiplomatic behavior, or anything which could restart the war had to be covered up, lest the other half of humanity join the first half which had perished. They said it was "half." The "majority" of the human race had died at least. If a few traitors, cowards, and malcontents had to die in place of billions, Ben had no problem carrying out those orders.

"Lieutenant Ben-E218 reporting for duty, sir." It was strange for a Spartan III to greet a Sangheili in such a manner. His generation was recruited entirely from war orphans who had died fighting the Elites, along with the rest of the covenant. It was the elites and prophets which had held the entire system together; once the Sangheili left, it all fell apart like a house of cards. He looked around the team. It was a mixed assortment, as his briefing had indicated; some Spartans, an Unggoy, a Mgalekgolo, and two Sangheili. He had worked with Sangheili before without incident, even though it took him a degree of self-control not to shoot them with his sniper rifle when he had one in his sights. Old habits died hard; his reassignment as the rank of "Spartan" was something he resented, as if all the work it took for him to gain his commissioned rank had been swept away. At least he could still use the rank as a sort of grandfathered-in designation. In any event, the last thing he wanted would be to cause an interspecies incident himself, an act which would earn him a visit from another Epsilon Spartan very quickly.

He looked over the assembled team, saying nothing more yet, but getting a good look at the other members. Without having to say a word, the AI in his suit completed its assessment.

Phong's reply could only be heard by Ben himself, although he had access to the rest of the network the team would be using. "Examination complete. No kill warrants. No incidents logged in any of their profiles, however, I have two advisory notes in my logs. First, Mgalekgolo without their bonded twin have a tendency to be unstable, often with lethal consequences. Second, you are cautioned that Rex is from Gamma Company and may be susceptible to incidents without regular injections. I have no information on file as to the date of his last injection." He was a "dumb" AI, represented by little more than a yellow circle which pulsed in tandem with his speech. Ben knew that Rex could pose a risk, however unlikely it was, just from the G-designation after his name. Phong's reminder was there just in case it had slipped Ben's mind. It wouldn't, given that Ben had to put down a member of Gamma company once before when said Gamma had gone too long without injections and had an "incident" which claimed the lives of multiple officers and crew onboard a Valiant-class cruiser.

Ben addressed the assembled crowd. "I've been informed about our mission on the same need-to-know basis as the rest of you. You can call me Ben. Of Epsilon company. Don't bother looking it up. I've been assigned as a sniper and recon detail for this mission."

---

For Vael, he did not see fit to immediately join in the conversations, or arguments, that were arising around him. His approach was to listen and observe to begin understanding each of these people who would, in all likelihood be serving in Aegis Team.

The Unggoy was loud, impulsive, and overconfident, but an Unggoy would not be able to reach the rank of Ultra without that confidence being earned. Provided his words on his service history were true, that would make him a veteran of at least two intense campaigns during the war, perhaps more. For an Unggoy during the time of the Covenant, even just surviving such missions was something worth taking notice of.

Even stranger than the Unggoy was the Mgalekgolo that a Human identified as Tasuma. The most obvious detail that Vael noticed was the unusual modifications to its armor. It was painted in colors more often associated with the Humans, there were additional plates made from Human alloys, rather than nanolaminate, a shoulder cloak bearing the symbol of the Swords of Sanghelios, and additional weapons attached to its back. It also behaved with familiarity, even camaraderie, towards the Humans that surrounded it. All of it was exceptionally unusual, but for a team such as this, having members who were already accustomed to working with Humans was a benefit. He was not sure if the other Humans accompanying Tasuma would also be assigned to the team. The greatest concern that Vael had was that Tasuma seemed to be alone. It was rare to see one without a bond brother. The first explanation would be that the colony was too young to have a bond brother, but the presence of spikes on its back denied that possibility. The only other reasons a Mgalekgolo would be alone would be if its bond brother was killed, or otherwise unable to fight. Either situation could cause the Mgalekgolo’s collective mental state to become unstable. It was a concern that Vael would need to address later.

The other Sangheili, Yalu, had remained mostly silent beyond his introduction and gave Vael little to observe. However, Vael did find himself curious about the Sangheili’s rank. He was an officer, but for a specialized team such as this, Vael would have expected more seasoned warriors than Yalu’s rank would imply. Grik would be a superior officer to him. Internally, Vael wondered what it was about Yalu that made him exceptional enough to be considered for this team, without also being accompanied by a higher rank.

More difficult for Vael to make determinations about were the Humans, if only because he was not as well-versed in their general personalities and tendencies. Especially for Spartans. Although not all Sangheili gave it, the Spartans were figures that demanded fair respect for their skill and determination in combat. The one who stood out the most to Vael was the female Spartan, Aviza. She saw the strange display of the other Humans with the Mgalekgolo and was the first to act upon it. She had a commanding attitude and a seemingly serious disposition. Vael was unfamiliar with Spartan rank structure and would not have been able to identify any markings or armor colors, but she might have been a leader among them.

Two other Spartans, identified as Lucas Ryker and Rex, also gave Vael less to observe. Lucas had said little more than a simple greeting, though he did not carry any obvious hostility or suspicion in his tone. Rex’s greeting was terse and calm, but he did seem to have one of their artificial constructs inhabiting his suit. One that was allowed to speak for him. Vael was not sure how much trust he was willing to put into such machines. The last Spartan to be introduced, Ben, did so to Vael directly, and with respect to Vael’s rank according to Human customs. It seemed that he, like Grik, had been informed to some degree of Vael himself.

“I am Vael ‘Virisusai, commander in loyal service to the Swords of Sanghelios.” Vael finally said, both in reply to the Spartan sniper in front of him, and as a general introduction to those around him.

Vael’s initial concern was to establish the hierarchy of the Spartans. The Spartan Aviza was the one who had behaved most as an officer so far, so she was the one he first approached. “Are you the leader of the Human contribution to this team?”

---

The pair of ONI agents walked through the halls of HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6, quickly and with purpose. Their black uniforms had little in the way of identifying markings, apart from small, removable rank insignias. One of the two, Major Alice Robinson, walked slightly ahead of the other. She was a somewhat short, stern-looking woman with short, black hair and tanned skin. She alternated between speaking both to the man trailing behind her, and to someone else in her earpiece. “I don’t care who has the room, Jonas. We need it more, and we need it now. This whole day has just been a circus.”

The man following behind tapped on the datapad in his hand and let out a sigh. “You know how the bean counters are, Major. They can argue with each other for hours over the office chair budget. They insist there’s another secure room open on the twelfth floor. Is there a reason I can give them that we can’t use that one?”

As the man spoke, the pair rounded the corner into the atrium. Major Robinson gave a stern expression and pointed forwards towards the massive Hunter that was drawing eyes from across the room. “Because of that.” She answered simply.

The man hesitated, standing with his mouth slightly agape for just a moment out of surprise. “I’ll…go try to get them to move again.”

As the man left, the Major headed down the steps towards the group. She approached in time to hear Vael’s question to Aviza and decided to answer before the Spartan could respond. “No, that would be me. Major Robinson, Office of Naval Intelligence. We should have a secure room soon, just…keep waiting here and don’t talk about the mission directly.” She said. Her warning was more directed towards the Swords of Sanghelios personnel than the Spartans. They knew better than to talk about classified matters in a public space.

Vael let out a slight grunt. As some consolation, this Major Robinson appeared to be almost as irritated at the wait as Vael had been. After a moment, Vael turned his head towards the Spartans. “At one of your other bases, a soldier referred to this as…bureaucracy. Is it intended to be so inefficient?”

Lucas' face tightening was barely discernable to those who didn't know what to look for, but for those who did, the presence of the ONI agent was clearly a stressor for him. While he knew that ultimately the Office of Naval Intelligence would likely send an attache to join the group, the fact that they may have command jurisdiction over the Human aspects of the team were a bit of a concern. And then there was Ben, the last to arrive ahead of the ONI officer and a Spartan himself. He said he was from Epsilon company, but his designation, a name with a phonetic letter and several numbers, indicated either SPARTAN-II or III, though he wasn't sure this team qualified for one of the dying breed of IIs.

Filing away the name of Ben's Company name for review with one of his analyst contacts within ONI, Lucas turned to Vael'Virisusai as the Sangheili mentioned the hated name of what he'd likely faced for at least a week and smiled sadly. "Yes, unfortunately. ONI calls it red tape, I call it a pain in the ass, the Sergeant and his men I worked with before my transfer called it a waste of time. Any way you slice it, bureaucracy is no good for anyone." Taking his Venator helmet out from under his arm, the Irishman secured it over his head and waited until the visor finished booting up to continue speaking.

"Anyways, SPARTAN Command sends their apologies they couldn't spare anyone with more time working with the Swords, sir. As you're aware, the galaxy is facing an interesting time right now so they're needed everywhere they can be spared."

Once Aviza had returned to her former position alongside her fellow Spartans, she would adjust herself slightly to get a better view of Aegis Team and HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6's atrium as a whole. She was used to having a visual advantage over most everyone else, and this time was no different. Once more, her arms would fold over her chest as she allowed herself to wonder when the individual who had formed Aegis Team would present themselves. Patience was one of her many strong-suits but she felt that the longer they lingered, the more of a chance there would be another occurrence. The others seemed eager to be deployed once more, and Aviza found herself mirroring this. Standing around burning the early daylight was not helping anyone.

What caught her attention and firmly held it was the fact that Vael ‘Virisusai, the commander in loyal service to the Swords of Sanghelios had introduced himself to Aegis Team and was now approaching her. It had been many months since she had been this close to a Sangheili, and felt herself tense slightly before relaxing, a completely unconscious reaction that had been programmed into her since the early days of when she was just a UNSC Marine. Thankfully, Vael would not be able to notice this due to the armor that she was wearing, but in normal civilian clothing, it would have been obvious and that was not something she wanted the commander to see. This was not a sign of weakness or fear, but merely part of her training, she was sure other members of the UNSC were going through the same thing.

Aviza had to tilt her head back slightly to ensure she had the best optimal view of Vael who stood roughly a foot taller than her. Vael had inquired if she was the current acting leader for the present human forces, and Aviza was about to speak though was cut off as Major Alice Robinson responded for her. No, she was not the current leader of the Human contribution to the team, her reply would have been short and simple. The mention of a secure room that they would be able to enter shortly was welcomed news, it was painfully apparent that the civilians and a few UNSC officials were not comfortable with the Alien members of Aegis Team, many of them had lost friends and loved ones to the Covenant, and much animosity still remained. Aviza could not blame them for that, she had also lost friends and family during the war, but times had changed and she was willing to trust the Arbiter and his forces if Master Chief did.

The arrival of the ONI field intelligence officer and his security detail was enough to pull Aviza's attention away from the conversation at hand, if only momentarily. The man who was clad in onyx armor greeted the Spartans with a smile, his counterpart did the same with a two finger salute, this was followed by a less than enthusiastic greeting to the Swords of Sanghelios. Aviza would reply with a slight wave of her left hand, but then motioned towards Vael, Major Alice Robinson, and her counterpart, attempting to inform the two newcomers that she was busy at the moment. She would then turn her full attention back to the conversation taking place.

The mention of bureaucracy and ONI being inefficient caused Aviza to tilt her head slightly to the left in curiosity, she merely observed the exchange at the moment. However, once fellow Spartan Lucas had approached and explained that a bureaucracy was a pain in the ass, followed by other insults to ONI, Aviza felt like speaking but would let the ONI Brass handle the situation however they saw fit. She knew the situation was about to become very interesting.

---

Major Robinson did take the time to properly greet Cohen and Younan, but otherwise soon returned to her irritated waiting, occasionally checking in for an update through her earpiece. Unlike some of the others, she was not one for idle conversation, and most aspects of her expression made her seem unapproachable. As for patience, if she did have that quality, she did not demonstrate it in this case. After just a short while, she muttered under her breath and gave a look around, both to the gathered team, and others watching them who happened to be passing through the atrium.

“I…believe I have us a room, if you could all just follow me…” Major Robinson said, despite not having been contacted with any new information, before she started walking towards one of the halls at the back of the atrium. Vael followed close behind, somewhat curious about the amount of anger she showed in her stance and walk. At least, he believed that was what he could see in her demeanor. Each species showed their emotion differently through action and movement. He was less experienced with Human emotion than most other species, but what he saw from her now was something akin to a Human soldier rushing forward into battle.

Eventually, the Major guided them through the corridors to a large set of double doors, though she stopped them all just outside. “This should only take a moment. I just need you to come in with me, Vael. You need not say anything, just…stand behind me.”

Curiosity, perhaps more than anything, prompted Vael to nod in agreement to Robinson. That, and the desire to begin their mission. There had been enough waiting and inaction; their enemies out in the rest of the galaxy were not going to wait for their team to be ready before advancing their own goals. Robinson swiped her security card and the two doors slid open, revealing a rather sizable conference room with a large table and a holographic projector situated at its center. About half of the chairs were filled by a collection of, mostly older, men and women, not all of which were wearing military uniforms. The man that had been accompanying Major Robinson before, Jonas, was in a “conversation” with a UNSC officer. Though, considering that the officer was technically a superior to Jonas, it was a fairly one-sided conversation.

“...tolerate this interruption. We still have important decisions to make here…” The officer was saying just after the door opened, though he quickly took notice of Major Robinson. ”Major, this is most irregular, I…” The officer cut himself off quickly once Vael came into view behind Robinson. He had, at first, looked like he was starting to stand, but he quickly fell back into his seat.

Major Robinson did not outrank the officer, and as such, she spoke with a distinctly polite, distinctly fake tone. ”My apologies, I thought you were done here. We just have no choice but to use a ground floor room. If you like, I can have my associate here wait outside and…”

“No, no…” The officer interjected, clearing his throat and speaking strikingly more calmly. ”That is quite alright. We have just finished up here. It’s time, uh, to break for lunch.”

With the others at the table nodding in silent agreement, they quickly moved to vacate the room. For a moment as he passed by, the officer’s gaze met Vael’s. In it, Vael saw the other Human emotion he was quite familiar with: fear. For Vael, it illustrated one of the most frustrating paradoxes of Humanity. As a species, they were resilient and fought against their extinction with honor, but their species seemed to be able to simultaneously produce both the bravest and most cowardly individuals in the universe. He could not understand why the honorable among them tolerated such weakness among their own kind.

In any case, the team finally had a secure room to use, and Robinson was already loading up the briefing on the holographic projector. There was plenty of space for everyone, though of course, the ODSTs accompanying Tasuma would not be permitted to enter. Vael remained standing at the table just across from the Major, who took a moment to speak to him. “Vael, I am sending you a data file from your superiors. Don’t worry, my people have not looked at it.” She lied.

Vael took out his data pad and waited a moment for it to decrypt the information. From his first impression, it seemed he had finally received all of the relevant information about the background and qualifications of the team the Swords of Sanghelios had selected for him, as well as information on their upcoming mission.

As the others started to come in, the Major spoke without taking her eyes off of the computer in front of her. ”Okay, this is a secure room, so you can speak freely about the team and the mission here.” She said, again mostly for the benefit of the non-UNSC personnel. Once the door was closed, she continued. ”Once Captain Leroux arrives, we will start the mission briefing. Obviously, this is not a standard composition for a UNSC fireteam, so we had intended to begin with War Games Simulations to allow you to build squad cohesion before your first mission. Unfortunately, certain recent events have accelerated our timetable. You’re going to have to make time for training later; we’ll be deploying on our first mission today.”