Six sighed.
Despite the rather lavish and large interiors of the settlement of Eden, the Spartan felt claustrophobic. Partly, due to his experience in New Alexandria and partly due to the fact his memories of home tended to swing back whenever he visited a city. The technologically-advanced Eden, though, was certainly something else. Vaulted ceilings made of reinforced glass that showed the blue sky, the holographic displays lining the walls and even some of the pillars and the vibrant life in the city.
Some of the people, the Spartan noted, were augmented. Their bodies had been modified with bionics hidden underneath their clothing. Others were mere humans. Others yet seemed to be highly-advanced 'Nikkes', the cyborg supersoldiers that provided the military arm of humanity in this strange world per Isabel and Harran's own sayings. Speaking of the two, Harran led Six through the place, while a meek Isabel walked behind him, fiddling with her thumbs, her wings retracted.
The black-haired, red-eyed beauty seemed to be scanning the Spartan, examining him from head to toe, the healthy flush on her cheeks visible. Harran leaned back and whispered to Six, "You actually broke her. Nice work..." making the Spartan double over. He didn't know what he'd apparently managed to do to a soldier that was supposed to be on par with, or stronger than him.
"How?" He asked, "From what you two told me on the way to under the optical camo net, Nikkes are supposed to be supersoldier machines. Especially you Edenites."
Harran smirked, "Ingenuity, Six. You managed to ambush the predator and take her out of the sky, turn her into your prey. You can imagine how that did her in," before they took a right down one hallway, to the salutes of a squad of MP Nikkes standing guard. The group entered what seemed to be the laboratory section of Eden, where science staff in intricate labcoats worked on upgrades, modifications and gear changes.
A young-looking woman with silver hair arranged a strange com piece on her left ear as she looked over a set of experimental items. She hummed, nodded her approval, then tapped in the information on her advanced tablet, before turning about as she heard the footsteps. The scientist's blue eyes locked onto the Spartan and she whistled, "How very interesting. Your communique wasn't lying, Harran."
"I never lie, Cecil," The woman replied, leaning her scythe on her shoulder as to emphasize a point, "Where's the Commander?"
"Should be coming here within the next ten minutes..." The woman said as she approached the Spartan and examined his weapon. She murmured, "Titanium plating. Carbon scoring, probable plasma damage," and then she stopped in front of him, "Visor cracked. Seems like thick reinforced glass. Probably multiple plasma blasts to the helmet..." before she switched to her inquisitive, if slightly louder voice, "You certainly aren't any normal human, are you? No normal human soldier was ever this armed during the First Invasion. Are you modified? And what is this Armor?"
"Classified... Ma'am..." The Spartan replied, wary. Eggheads worried him.
"Understandable, I suppose," She nodded, then looked over to Isabel. Upon noticing the state the girl was in, she snorted and said, "Even that part was accurate, huh. You really turned Isabel a little more docile than normal..." before both heard the girl balk, ready to protest. Six turned toward her and she immediately turned meek again, which made both the Scientist and Harran snort. With a light chuckle, the woman extended her hand to him and said, "My name is Cecil. I'm the head researcher of Eden and I built the Nikkes you see around you."
"Noble Six, ma'am," The Spartan nodded and shook her hand, "... Should've not built her so weird," and he tilted his head toward Isabel.
Cecil let out another short laugh and stated, "That one isn't my fault. Her brain came with it," before turning back to her work, "Commander Johan should be here soon. Until then, feel free to look around. Any new member of Inherit needs to know where their equipment and weapons will be modified and tended to."
Six replied calmly, "I never agreed to join Inherit, ma'am. I have a..." his voice fading there as his heart sank. Normally, a Spartan wouldn't show that type of reaction. Six, however, was not really ordinary by any means. For starters, he had been revived into an unknown world, possibly an Earth where humanity was on the backfoot and using cyborg soldiers like these Nikkes to fight some new threat. Second was he had actually come to really care for Noble, even with just six weeks of working together under their common belt.
Noting the little pause, Cecil said, "It's fine... I understand. My condolences."
He nodded, "Thanks..."
She offered a small, if friendly smile, "You're welcome... I'd suggest leaving your equipment here if it requires repairs. I'd like to get a proper look at it, too."
"... You seem trustworthy enough, surprisingly," Six sighed, then nodded. He breathed in, then set his hands on his helmet, twisting it to the left. A shrill hiss echoed as the armor's few surviving seals disengaged and the Spartan took his helmet off, revealing a blonde-haired young man with bright teal eyes. Several scars, burns and cuts, marked his face, but he seemed like a normal twenty-something.
Cecil, to her credit, held her composure better than the damn Nikke he'd managed to throw to the floor. Isabel was having a bit of a moment, one which Harran observed, mentally preparing herself if the situation deteriorated. Six, meanwhile, simply handed Cecil his helmet and said, "Let's start with fixing my helmet first. Something simple. Afterward, we can go over the rest of the gear."
"Alright..." Cecil nodded.
Harran let out a chuckle, patted Six on the shoulder and said, "Lady Killer, then..." before pausing and grinning. Six hummed and looked up, watching a man clad in a khaki uniform with several medals pinned upon his chest and a jacket draped over his shoulders step in. His piercing blue eyes, white hair and albinism were a bit strange, but stranger yet were his hands. Though concealed behind the jacket of his uniform, to the point one almost could confuse them for gloves, the bionic arms of the man were in full view. Intricate, interesting, but clearly biomechanical in origin.
He spoke, slightly derisive, "This the one that managed to best Isabel?"
"I am," The Spartan replied, marching up to the man. Even with his bionic augments, the Spartan stood a forehead above him, though he seemingly didn't try to emanate an aura of superiority. Rather, the three women behind them felt a moment of attempted equality. 'Johan' didn't seem to take it too kindly, scoffing at the man and casting a glare toward Isabel.
"You let someone like this take you down a peg, huh?" He asked her. She wanted to protest, but didn't find the words, to which he sighed. He looked up at the Spartan, "Quite impressive someone like you managed to down one of our best hunters. Would normally call it a fluke... But there's something in those eyes of yours that speaks of a killer's instinct. You got a name, Newcomer?"
"Call me Six. You must be Commander Johan," The Spartan offered. He didn't take offense to the shit thrown by men like Johan.
"I am," He nodded, "... For all it seems to be worth to you, boy, you've done well. Inherit needs as many pairs of hands as it can get to pull the weight of this place's defense. I don't know who you served with before, but if the survival of mankind is a goal you have, we still have spots open for the likes of you."
"Until I find units from my own faction," The Spartan replied, wary. He wasn't sure if he'd throw his lot in with people like this. Johan seemed like the standard stuck-up, overly-confident officer that didn't much care for other opinions. Even with that in mind, Six replied rather clearly, "I don't really have much of a choice... If you'll have a Spartan on board."
Though Six expected Johan to reply with snark, the man seemed to respect that bit of honesty. He nodded, "Welcome aboard, then. We'll get you the documents to sign for a temporary 'internship' of a sorts with our unit. If and when you find your friends, remember to send them our way so we can talk, Spartan," before extending his hand. Six gripped it firmly, then felt Johan yank it down so they looked eye-to-eye. The Commander told him, "Hope you can obey orders properly..." As he squeezed.
The Spartan squeezed back, a slight metallic creak echoing from the man's bionics. He responded in a low voice, "I can. Hope you know how to lead..."
Cecil and Harran suddenly felt the air chill, while Isabel, uh...
No comment...
... A deadly dance played out in front of the Chief, Sam, Alyosha and their respective teams as they watched Rusty fly through the skies, the weapon mounted to her right arm letting loose volley after volley. Rapture armor plates boiled away as they tracked and engaged her, with the Spartans, Commander and other Nikkes pushing forward to back her up.
Tracers dinged off angled plates, followed by Magnum shots tearing through the thin leg hydraulics of the machine. Sam and Chief let loose with their weapons, now pushing forward with the Luckies. Niner's MG roared as the girl pushed forth past debris. Above them, their air support Nikke laid down the law. She activated the plasma blade attachment on her left arm and charged downward, swiping downward and cleaving a Thermite in two.
She followed up with a burst from her weapon, before jumping back to rejoin the team. Assault weapon fire permeated the air as the squadron of Raptures that had come out to intercept them were being felled. The Spartans pounced on a pair of smaller Raptures and took them out of commission by slamming their fists into their oculuses and tearing them out.
Chief drew his MA5 next and opened fire on another pair. His rounds connected, tore armor and whatever biomechnaical tissue lay underneath it. One Rapture collapsed, the other's gun failed. Pinne finished it off, one blast from her shotgun tearing its oculus out. Another squad of the machines charged her, but Sammy and Layla were quicker on the draw.
Niner noted something and immediately ran toward the Chief, pushing him out of the way as a particle beam lanced forth, narrowly missing both.
Rusty and her weapon system, STEEL HAZE, were quick to respond. Her energy sword flicked back on and she plunged it deep into the oculus of the machine, before putting the barrel of her long-range weapon up to its face and letting loose. She then swiveled about as a growl escaped her mouth, slicing upward and vivisecting yet another Rapture like it was nothing.
Alyosha gave a hand signal to Anis and Rapi, with both loading their launchers. Anis's 40mm let loose first, the explosive detonating against the shield of one of the quadrupedals and causing it to stagger. Rapi's missile burst followed up, with a scarlet laser tracing a path from the sight on her rifle to the machine. She called out, "Synchronize your aim!"
She, Neon and Anis then opened up on the beasts, bullets tearing through the shieldless machine. It collapsed, dead, damaged beyond repair, its oculus's light fading out. Chief and Sam, meanwhile, put down even more Raptures, then turned toward what would be their command unit and charged it. Sam drew two grenades from his belt and threw them, clearing himself and Chief a path.
The Spartans proceeded to awe everyone with their coordination. Even thirty years later, Chief and Sam could read each-other's moves and plans like they had last cooperated mere days ago. Their synchronization was unsurprising, though, to anyone who knew the Spartans. Cortana watched with muted interest as the engagement continued rather brutally, the Spartans sparing not an inch to the biomechanical machines.
As the fight began to die down, the Spartans hummed, turning back toward the teams of Nikkes and Alyosha himself, giving them nods of approval. The cooperation just then had been rather stellar from all Nikkes involved. Chief was about to congratulate their squad, until the ground around them began to shake. Rapi gasped, then all eyes fell upon the source of the sound:A wave of snow fast-descending from the top of a mountain.
"Avalanche!" Chief called out over radio, "All units, find cover!"
Yet even so, the Chief himself didn't have enough time to move out of the way. The avalanche washed over him and Sam with such force that it managed to knock him off of his feet, Cortana crying out to him as he felt the chill overwhelm him. The cold bit through the armor until the systems within adjusted to allow Chief to feel normal again. Still, his mind couldn't wrap his head around being carried off by one of Mother Nature's most terrifying ways to kill.
And yet, here he was. Still alive. Cortana spoke to him, "Chief... Oh, thank God. Thought I lost you there..."
"How bad is it...?" He asked as his armor ran diagnostics. To nobody's surprise, no damage. It had been just frozen water, after all.
"We're oriented upside down from what the armor's gyrostabilizers can tell me. Can't exactly do the spit test here, since you'd just be spitting in your helmet, but..." Cortana hummed, "Turn 180. I'm boosting the scanning power, but I'm not sure if we can pick up any IFFs under all of this..." And Chief turned about. He felt the weight of the snow shifting around him as he quickly dug his way out. He wiped whatever ice and condensation had built up on the outside of his visor and visually scanned the area while his Motion Tracker rebooted and adjusted for the wider range. He hoped the others were okay.
Chief was about to make a comment, before Cortana reported, "Stand-by, John, detecting something on approach, our six o'clock-" and she cut off. Chief spun about, drawing his pistol and making sure it was clear of snow... Only for he himself to pause as he saw the sight before him. Beside two Nikkes present in the AO that the Spartan couldn't immediately care to make out, one other figure, clad in a parka, her silver hair covered by a beanie and glasses fogged up, stared at him.
"John...?"