[IC] Νιgнтғαℓℓ |ΗΑLΟ|

[Monster]

So far, the day was a complete disaster. As Commander, Mira had a four star badge on her chest that might as well count for jack-shit now. She may be high in the chain of command, but when out on recall, the woman was just another spartan. One with a fancy badge. She'd run into a fair amount of paperwork as well - as a Spartan IV, rarely did she get to see the front-lines. Spartan II's were always the go to, but ever since the Chief had gone MIA, that had drastically changed.

Now, the short-haired red-head was constantly overseeing the take off's of multiple Spartan IV platoons. She'd even gone out on a few recon missions, scouting out new territory on the ring, tasked with reporting any covenant findings.

Her footsteps were loud and pronounced, drawing any nearby to glance over at the familiar sound. Mira, in her armor, was about 7'0. Something she regularly teased Palmer for when she had the chance. Either way, her steps always had a certain pronounced limp in them - due to her early service in the UNSC corp, during one of her first encounters with the covenant. Suffice to say, she'd taken quite a beating, endured it - but at the cost of her lower right leg. Now, she was outfitted with quite a high-tech replacement. It offered a lot more than a normal one ever could, at least in it's movement capabilities. Though, Commander Sanders had her moments when she missed it. It was, after all, a piece of her. Or it had been, before the ligament had been blown off.

Her Spartan armor was definitely one of the most recognizable features to her - besides of course, her prosthetic leg. It was specially outfitted for her, mostly in part to her leg, or lack thereof. Though it was also a gift to her due to her rank, she was glad for it. It was a comfortable layer of skin, like wearing a warm blanket just over her. Well, an assembled blanket made of metal...

"Commander, Private. Miller reporting." The voice brought the white knight to turn to the very small, unarmored cadet next to her. It was a comical scene, in all honesty. With a nod, she urged the small man to continue.
"This is for you, I... I wish you luck out there - not that you need it. But..." He paused, searching his brain for the next few words that seemed to be endlessly escaping him. With a light shrug, he handed over the tablet in hand. "It's just that there seems to be something going on out there. A storm raging. I don't know what's going on, but I know that whatever it is, it's going to be big."

The dusty white Spartan stared after the man's disappearing form until he faded from view completely, turning a corridor on the ship and blending in with the crowd of UNSC officers. Slowly looking down at her hand, now full with the presence of the tablet, Mira considered the boy's words. If she had been sought out - no doubt there was something big going on. That in mind, she headed off to the hanger bay, anxious to read the contents of the tablet.

---

She had taken to sitting near the launching bay, head hung low. Helmet off to her side. This was it. Her eyes were dull and listless as she read through the tablet once more - scanning over the mission she was to lead. Her mind raced back to the beginning of her career in the UNSC. The oath she had taken to protect and serve. How throughout the years, that oath had become so jumbled - so distraught. There were times where she would find herself questioning protocol, laughing at how foolish they had been. The ring that they had once been so captivated over, so curious about.. It had been a second chance, perhaps a salvation. Now - now it was destruction. It was the end of their planet. Their home hung in the balance. All because of the ring's.

Letting the tablet fall from her fingertips onto the seat nearest to her, Mira stood and picked up her helmet, staring into her golden reflection. Lifting her helmet high over her head, the fiery haired woman placed it once more upon her head, swiftly clicking it into place. Marching towards the ship assigned to her, she checked with the pilot, asking over the conditions - doing the regular weapons check, and then boarded, awaiting her squad. Awaiting the launch that would change everything.


The soldiers had arrived, announced their names and rank and sat, awaiting launch just as she had. They were all apart of Fire-squad Endurance now, apart of the tracking mission. There had been suspicion of recent covenant activity, as well as a possible location of the lost Master Chief. All in all, this was probably one of the most important mission's they could have been assigned to.

The squad was made up of eight Spartans, all qualified and skilled in their own right. The pilot would make nine, though he wasn't to be on the ground with them. Mira had also read on the tablet that an AI would be assigned to gather any information they found - perhaps to help them along as well. She wasn't entirely certain of the capabilities yet, but based on the past few encounters with AI - she had been thoroughly impressed with their intelligence and integrity. She'd never met the Chief in person - but she'd heard numerous accounts of his AI - Cortana. She was definitely an interesting tale to hear. Practically a human, capable of showing emotion. Though, she was now MIA as well. No doubt, keeping the Chief in good company.

Mira had to admit, she'd always wondered what it would be like to have an AI alongside you in such a way. To get connected to something on an almost spiritual level, seeing as it was on you practically at all times. The Artificial Intelligence program, however, had been halting recently. So - the commander would have to wait for that opportunity to arise.

Deep in thought, she had almost missed the flashing in the cockpit. Almost. Turning her head, she stood from her seat and went over to check on the pilot. "What's going on?" The Spartan inquired, tilting her head to try and get a better view of the warning light flashing on the control panel. To no avail, as she couldn't see the direct issue. Rather, she was filled in by the pilot, who turned and gave her a grave look.
"We're heading into a whole fleet of Covenant... They just appeared on the radar, but at the rate we're flying, we'll be heading straight for them." The pilot bit his lips before continuing, Mira knew where this was going. "Look - either we land now, or we'll get forced down. I don't know this particular area of the ring though, so it's a risk either way. What would you have me do, Commander?" The pilot searched into the orange lens of the Spartan Commander, desperate to hear an answer. She knew though, that if they landed here, they would be too far off course to recover. She knew that the pilot recognized this too - otherwise their wouldn't be such a grim look on his face. He knew that there was not decision to be made. Only to be carried through. The look of disaster on his face only furthered that - he knew that they would be going through that covenant fleet, one way or another.

Placing a gauntlet on his shoulder, the heavy hand landing gently upon the soldier's military garb, she nodded. The nod that would confirm the course of the mission. The one that would lead to a revelation. To death - and to glory. With a nod of his own, the soldier turned back to the ship's controls, taking a deep breath, he speed the ship up towards it's course.

---

Holding onto the nearby handle for dear life, Mira grunted as the next wave of blaster fire hit the ship's walls. The pilot had been right when he said they would either go by choice, or be forced down. Gritting her teeth, Mira conveyed the order to the other Spartan's in the ship, they were to wait until her command - then jump. Fire had already begun to claim the inside of the ship - heating things up incredibly. It was also burning the oxygen. Feeling eyes on her, she looked over to the cockpit, where a now cut and bruised pilot look back, his face solemn. They both locked onto each other's sights, and then, Mira knew - she pieced everything together. Even if he could get the ship out of the line of fire - the fire withing the ship would've burned the oxygen by then.

That moment, was when she knew that not only would this man die on account of her decision. But because of his death, they would be stranded without a pilot to bring them back. Even if they managed to gather the information - managed to relay it... She took a sidelong glance at the other Spartan IV's here with her, all suited and ready for deployment. She remembered each of their smiles, eager and proud before they were covered by their helmet - one last time. All of them would be stranded here - with the covenant army in place, it would be futile to send a rescue mission out to save a mere eight, or less Spartan's on the ring.

This would be their final stand. Their final mission - the ring would be their grave. CRSHHHHH The flames were rising higher now, spreading through the ship, almost reaching the small army inside. With one last look to the pilot - who gave her a nod, the confirmation to leave him. To continue, to survive what little time that she and the other's may have left, he turned back lowering them as close as he could to the ground. As the next wave of fire rained over the ship, the Spartans jumped. To what, they were unsure. Mira adjusted herself, placing her arms at her sides, lifting on hand t her helmet to switch on the mic, she relayed one more message as they were hurtling towards the ground. To do as she was now - and furthermore, survive.

Just ahead - an explosion rang out. Debris scattered around the falling Spartans. Mira closed her eyes. It was the remnants of the UNCS ship. The remnant of their survival.
*

[datadogie]

Geoff knew there was trouble from the moment he saw the commander walk into the flashing lights of the cockpit. Flashing lights were never a good sign, he had learned throughout the time he had spent in the UNSC, which wasn't that long. He began to overhear parts of the conversation between the pilot and Mira. He heard the occasional word; Fleet, Covenant, land, risk. He glanced up at the commander, and knew what was required. He stood, and prepared to jump. He hadn't even finished thinking about what hell could possibly be on the ground below before he saw the others start to jump, and followed suite. "Helljumpers will never know what it feels like to do this." He said over the COM.

Aria could spread herself across hundreds of systems, monitor hundreds of things and still have plenty of space left in her processors. However, she was surprised that she hadn't detected the plasma shooting straight at the ship, and gutting it. Many compartments got damaged, and as she opened the communications software a second bolt of plasma was already slicing into them. She knew the ship was going to go down. Aria even knew that nobody was going to make it to the escape pods. She only had thirty seconds. She had to act quickly to survive. Quickly, she enacted the Cole Protocol on the ship, then began to tear herself apart, pushing herself into each of the escape pods' computers. Twenty seconds later, she programmed a virus to destroy what was left of her programming on the ship, and ejected all of the pods of the ship, sending them all hurtling toward the ring at high velocities. She kept in touch with herself using each of the escape pods' COM units, but struggled to keep them all aligned on a course of which they would survive the transition into atmosphere.

[Monster]

The ground was fast approaching, wind whipping sharply against the metal of Mira's armor. This was it. Bringing her arms close to her body, she dove like a swan, flowing freely through the air towards certain death; to any other human, that is. She, was a spartan. There was no way in hell she would allow herself to die here, before the mission could even begin. Drawing in a sharp breath, she spun in the air, flames from space licking at her suit, begging to singe the light skin that lay underneath.

Passing through the dark clouds, and bursting into the atmosphere, Mira clenched her jaw tightly. As much as she'd have liked to check on those behind her, she couldn't risk turning her head without the possibility of her whole weight transferring over, the other's were as alone as she was, in a state of free fall. The black of the abyss sky painted itself into green, forming a treeline and growing a seemingly impossible world. They were entering the ring.

---

She had landed only about three minutes prior. It had taken about a full minute to recover from the shock of the landing, as she had roughly crashed against the side of a hill. That kind of thing can do things to a person. Shaking her head, and thanking whatever god there was for her sturdy armor, Mira hobbled off in search of the other recruits. Hopefully she wouldn't have to search too far. Clicking on her mic, which had been damaged during the crash, she fought through the static trying to catch any sign of life from her team.

[datadogie]

As Geoff descended rapidly, he changed his position so he would not fall so fast, using his head to change his weight so he would steer himself to where he believed would be an area he would land softly. Well, as softly as he could. And that was in the treetops, where the branches would slow his descent. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to alter his trajectory in time, and began rapidly descending to a clear spot of grass.

Geoff closed his eyes before the impact, and when he felt it, he struggled to open his eyes. He felt a second impact on top of him, and a burst of pain. His vision was filled with black, but he could see spots of light. The spots of light slowly resolved into numbers and images, parts of his HUD. Other parts was light shining into his viewplate. At first, he thought he had somehow bounced into a cave. Then, he realized something was on him, and lifted whatever it was and moved it to his side. Whatever it was, it weighed a lot, and as soon as he moved it he could see the sky above him.

For a few moments, Geoff was staring up at the sky, a grin on his face. He had survived a fall from a very high altitude, and lived to tell the tale. He suddenly realized he was in the middle of a warzone, and got up, drawing his sidearm and sweeping the area around him. He then looked down, and his eyes widened, the grin from his face instantly fading to a sad frown. Right at his feet, the 'object' he had shoved off of him, was one of his old friends, Angel. "Shit, shit, shit!" He drops his sidearm and checks for a pulse. Nothing. Yet, Geoff refused to believe she was dead. "Angel? Angel? Come on, you can get up. Come on, you're not dead." He says, shaking the woman. He picks up his sidearm, puts it in it's holster, and lifts Angel up, draping her over his shoulder. He then pulls out his sidearm again, and begins to walk carrying his burden. On the COM, he can hear what appears to be the squad leader, and tries to get through. "Squad lead? It's Geoff. Angel is down. Repeat, down." Geoff says through his mic, however it had been damaged, only every second word getting through and broadcasting through several channels at once.

Descending through the clouds, several lifepods fell, many carelessly spiraling off and burning up. As soon as the pods touched down, Aria began to develop protocols that make her survive such a situation. Firstly, she began eavesdropping on many COM channels. She quickly discovers the COM discussions between Spartans, and realizes that they had survived and could possibly get her out of the life pods. However, through the combined power of many sensors on the lifepods, she was beginning to pick up signs that the Covenant were going to finish off the UNSC and take the ring, so she had to ensure that she would be able to tell the Spartans she was alive and not pinpoint her position at the same time. She downloaded herself into a chip on one of the lifepods, and began to broadcast an SOS. However, as she knew that there were no UNSC ships left alive in the area, it wasn't a proper SOS.
Three short beeps, three long ones, and then three short ones.
Aria began to process this, and then continually broadcast this. She bounced the signal between all of the lifepods and made the signal so strong it bounced off of the surface of the ring. She hoped that she wouldn't be pinpointed, though the Spartans would know that the lifepods held her. After a quick analysis, she realized that she was going to need to add something. She added in a small beep, a long one, and then two short ones.
SOSAI.
Aria hoped that she would get rescued before the Covenant got to her. She held a lot of information that could not fall into enemy hands, and she could help the Spartans get off of the ring. How, she did not know, but she would try.