Halo: Fireteam Phoenix

Chapter 1: Phoenix

The Falcon flew low over the boggy lands. Thankfully, the soldier's helmet rebreathers guarded them from the noxious smell. Bogs weren't uncommon on the planet, but this particular one was once used for waste disposal before they had completed terraforming. "Richard! How long?" Sarah B133 spoke over radio. Their voices were inaudible over the vehicle's stereo, blasting music loud enough to drown out the hum of the thrusters. "Hmm? Sorry, 'bout 10 minutes. We did good today though, right? Hell of a story to tell."

"Quite," Sarah replied. The mission had been a success, no-one had been hurt, so why was she so on edge? The mission had her feeling uneasy and in her experience, one trusted their instincts. She'd ask the CO when they touched down. "Alright, we're not far out now, we did damn good today! The CO will be happy, so relax and enjoy the flight!" Murmurs of content filled the airways, soon sinking back into uncomfortable silence.

On the gun sat Derek B221. He surveyed the scene, as did Marie B256 "What do you think of this, Derek?" she asked. 

Derek shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever we hit, it wasn't insurrectionist. Brass must have thought it would be though, else Aaron would be here. Covenant? I don't think so." He paused, squinting down at the misty marsh."Not enough purple for covvies. Plus, they don't leave stuff abandoned."

"I find it most peculiar that this mission warranted a spartan fireteam," Marie admitted. 

Derek leant forward, resting his chest on the stock. Marie winced at a glint of light from behind the hills. The involuntary twitch vanished beneath the armour. Her suit was uncharacteristically clean. Often, she slathered it in mud to mask her appearance. Derek coloured his heavier duty armour dark umber. It had now faded down to the bare gun-metal grey in places from constant erosion by equipment. He always carried the countless explosives, launchers and detonators they inevitably needed on missions. Comparatively, Marie looked almost dainty. 

She stripped her armour down to the bare necessities. Derek often joked that she might as well fight naked and Richard once noted he would pay to see that. The red flush it had brought to her cheeks made Marie thankful for her armour at the time. 

A dark cloud encroached, smothering what little light streaked onto the brown earth below. Drizzle pattered against the steel of the falcon. Rivulets ran down Marie's visor, obscuring her vision. At least her armour was waterproof.  As her hand brushed some scoring near her hip, she was, not for the first time, glad of her second skin. 

At last, the base was in sight. An oppressive steel structure loomed over the surrounding lands, bare but for small patches of grass. Defiant, they remained like islands of greenery in the unending ocean of mud. Steel barricades arranged in lines, manned by sparse deployments of soldiers glanced up at their arrival. They glared at the spartans with barely concealed jealousy. One muttered a crude remark to his friend and they both grunted. Comedy didn't come easy when one was ankle-deep in a marsh and soaked to the skin.

Further from the base, past the barricades, lay trenches filled with sharpened wooden stakes. Crude and brutal, but effective. Deep in the dark shadow cast by the edge of the treeline sat the staging ground, with falcons, pelicans, warthogs and scorpions. Much of the equipment on show was in disarray. Muddy and scarred, the gear did its job of looking scary, but not much else. Sarah often worried about the safety of the base should it come under attack, but her complaints fell upon deaf ears. Underground housed more equipment in better repair. Mud and silt wrought havoc on gear, with even their weapons suffering. Slings were a necessity. Putting a weapon down for a fraction of a second was comparable to oiling it with mud. The base may have looked crudely impressive but the unfortunate truth was far more depressing. Constant bad weather, a rank smell whenever outside and continual, necessary maintenance ruined morale and kept everyone perpetually moody.

The falcon hummed quietly coming in to land. Aaron B183 strode confidently towards the vehicle. As the occupants dismounted, he gazed at them, waiting for their words. Immediately, Richard B341 and Derek began, discussing the contents of the area, their finds and most importantly, the complete lack of any hostiles. Thoughts raced in his head and Aaron's lip curled. "Commander," He said to Sarah. He didn't need to say anything else. They told you I'm unstable and you listened, didn't you?  he wanted to say. Instead, he whirled around, storming away. The CO had wasted spartans on an area with no hostiles. What had been the point? What had they found that was so important?

Heading inside the blast doors of the complex and into the heart of the installation, the team assembled around a table. Richard flicked on a lamp, ready for Sarah's debrief. "Ok, as you all know," she paused to remove her helmet, prompting all but Aaron and Marie to do the same. "We went out today. We explored new territory, and we did a damn good job. The downside is, we don't get to find out what we exactly found." Sarah could see the team become agitated, except for Aaron. He simply chuckled. "If we don't get to find out, what was the point?" Derek asked, looking to Sarah. When she replied, she ignored Richard's nod of agreement with Derek. "I've said this to the CO. He said they're operating on a need to know basis. I don't think any of you know what was going on in there, so you don't need to know. Right now, all we need to know is if the 'no hostiles' situation changes. Understood?"

"Even if they told you, it'd be wasted breath. If you don't know what it is looking at it, then why would you need to know?" Aaron asked.

Derek cut in. "Aaron you don't get it. This was crazy shit. It was all silver and bronze alien tech! All these flickering blue lights and creepy bongs." 

"It was quite thrilling, I agree. However, if we are being denied knowledge, we must accept it."

"Marie is right," Sarah said. "I can't change it, but if I knew, I'd tell you." With that, Sarah motioned for them to leave.

Later, in the bunk room, Richard was quietly mumbling along to an old tune, irritating everyone. Aaron sat soundlessly, sharpening his knife. The continuous rasp soothed Sarah, who lay reading a scarred paperback novel. It was comically small in her augmented hands. Derek was asleep and Marie observed them all, like a mother hen. In her case, an inquisitive nature drove her watching, not concern.

Richard noticed this, before moving over to her. His singing grew louder and he looked deep into her eyes. "Come on Marie. You love it really!" At first, she ignored him. He was always rather abrasive which drew her to him, she found. As he neared, her posture changed, as did her lips. They shifted from her natural tight-lipped scowl to a gentle smile. "Come on," he insisted. Shaking her head, Marie rose slowly, beaming at him. Ignoring the questioning looks from the others, they began to dance. "You need to relax sometimes, you know that?" Richard said.

"Is that so?" Marie replied. "It can be difficult to have fun in our position."

"Yeah, we're in the army, but we're also superhuman goddammit! If that isn't a reason to enjoy yourself, what is?"

"Great power, great responsibility?" Sarah called out dismissively. 

Richard glared at her good-naturedly. "You could do with loosening up every now and then too. With all due respect, commander"

"I am. That's why I'm reading something other than military reports for once."

"That wasn't my point. We all need a sing and a dance to loosen up."

"You're telling me you see the lieutenant commander over there dancing?" Derek laughed, guffawing again when Aaron shot him a look of pure poison. 

"That's a fair point. Be miserable then, it's fine by me." Richard said. He and Marie continued to enjoy themselves, sometimes humming the tune or singing words.

As the night grew older, more of the team moved to sleep. Sarah snored with the book still on her nose, Marie had left Richard to dance alone and he stopped soon after her. Derek was sat in a chair, his helmet at his feet. All but Aaron slept. He looked around, at the team. What they stood for, how they appeared to the soldiers. Invincible spartans curled up like children at their grandmother's house. Murmurs of doubt ate at his mind, but he buried them for now. If only the world saw them as he did now. Rising quickly, he sheathed his blade, before lying in his bunk, ready for another day.