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Bad John
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    Operation Toreador (IC)

    Shad0wChas3r
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 4th 2015, 7:40 pm

    Metallic boots echoed through the halls of the UNSC Aura of Armaggedon. With hushed tones, not a word was said between the two individuals. Their rush to the Briefing Room brushed past several Spartan IVs, who ducked against the wall to avoid the pair.

    The tallest of the two, clad in his newest armor , stepped up to the door.

    "Authorization: Colossus." his voice was tense, crisp, and to the point.

    The door hissed completely open, the Briefing room's attendants sitting at their own respective tables. The room itself wasn't much to look at, seeings how the Head of the ship had rarely used it. In general looks, it reminded the attendants of an old Police academy classroom. Stepping in, the mammoth of a Spartan glanced over the room. These individuals would be accompanying him on this missive.

    To his far right, towards the back left of the room, a pair of Spartan III's sat. One had the notorious EVA helmet, yet personally modified, fixated firmly on his head. Beside him, a young woman adjusted her sniper's scope. This woman seemed deftly familiar to the Spartan, and she responded in kind. With a slight nudge to the Spartan beside her, his sensitive hearing could audibly pick up her whispering something.

    To his immediate left, the familiarity of his ODST/Spartan IV squad, consisting of Morgan, Phil, Josh, Scott, and Darryl mingled amongst themselves at a pair of the tables. Morgan sat there, head in his hand, a visible trail of drool running down the side of his cheek. Phil sat attentively, while his twin brother, as always, seemed uninterested. Darryl and Scott, however, snapped to a crisp salute.

    "Spartans. I wish we could have met under better circumstances. If you haven't heard of me, and I highly doubt that you haven't, I'm Admiral Blaine-115. This woman beside me is my wife, Admiral and ONI Operative Autumn Harlowe. As I'm sure you're all aware, you wouldn't have been summoned here if the crisis wasn't severe. I'd like to take this moment for a immediate role-call. Service numbers are not necessary."

    Blaine stood there, glancing amongst the group already present, and glancing at the door, at the idea that more might arrive.

    DM's Note: I wasn't sure who all wanted to make an appearance in the Briefing Room at first. John and I discussed where John and Lucy would be already, but I didn't want to assume full command of your characters.

    If Manuel was already present in the room, lurking in the shadows, now is your chance to post. If Vance wants to come in like some 70's sitcom character, now's your chance.

    The story has begun folks, let's have some fun. I'll provide the mission briefing on my next post. Take this time to introduce your characters, let everyone else know how nice and shiny your newly revamped characters are.

    Also, any discussion about this Collab will be directed towards the topic [OOC] Operation: TOREADOR.
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    Post  Bad John August 4th 2015, 7:59 pm

    Lucy-B055 looked up from her rifle when Blaine stepped into the room. His armor had changed, but she recognized him immediately from months ago. The Spartan II from before. She turned to the Spartan III beside her. However, he appeared to be inattentively staring off into space.

    John-B069 sat with his arms folded, and his helmet on. Underneath the dark blue visor, his HUD was obscured by a transparent game of Galaga.

    A veteran of killing time, the Spartan played the game by subtly moving his eyes left and right to steer the tiny ship, and twitching his brow to fire on the swooping enemy ships. However, he was jarred out of his game when Lucy jostled him, bumping his arm with her elbow.

    "John. That's the Spartan from Requiem. The one who crumpled a brute without making a sound." Lucy nodded towards the Admiral, who had only entered the room moments ago.

    Closing his game, John looked up at Blaine, standing. "Huh. Yeah, he certainly fits your description."

    The two of them walked closer to the center of the room. John lifted his hand to his forehead, revealing dark skin, brown eyes, and black hair, in addition to his brown ALKE variant armor. Offering a salute, John stated his name confidently. "Spartan John-B069, sir. I know service numbers aren't necessary, but it feels like part of my name, really."

    Lucy similarly removed her helmet. A spill of dark brown hair fell around her head. She had bright blue eyes, and black and purple armor. Tucking her DEADEYE-class helmet under her arm, she saluted and gave her name. "Lucy-B055. I'm with John. Can't help but introduce myself with my service number. However, Admiral, we've met before, haven't we?"

    John smirked. "I heard you folded a jiralhanae in half in under a minute, without making a sound or getting a scratch on you. I haven't met you before, but I'm a fan of your work, Sir." The Spartan III stepped towards Blaine, offering his hand to shake. He didn't know it yet, but this would be the beginning of a long history of teamwork between John's inner circle and Blaine's.

    In the annals of human combat, this meeting deserved a special mention.
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 4th 2015, 8:16 pm

    Blaine stood there, a grin adorning his otherwise concealed face. Returning the formality with a crisp salute to the two approaching Spartans, he quickly and expertly removed the fully custom Colossus-Class helmet from his head. Onyx black stubble on his jaw line, and the tender stare of two intense blue eyes met with John's brown eyes.

    "I prefer not to brag about my engagements with the enemy. For a Spartan, killing is business. Though I've been told my business is killing the market." Blaine chuckled, turning his attention to Lucy.

    "We have met before indeed. I was running an Operation on Requiem with my Spartan IVs, one of their first life combat tests. I couldn't help but overhear some of your comm. chatter between the good doctor. Figured I could lend a hand... or a DMR for that matter."

    Glancing down, he noticed that John had offered him a hand to shake. Taking it firmly, Blaine's eyes locked with John's once more, a genuine smirk on the Admiral's face.

    "Always nice to be appreciated, especially with all the controversy us II's are getting nowadays." Blaine sighed.

    "It's straight bullshit." Darryl hissed from the back.

    "Anyways, you can all stop with that 'sir' shit. When you serve in my squad, we act and cooperate like a family. You call me Blaine, Admiral is fine as well, understood?" Blaine asked. "If we've come to agreement, I can see this as the beginning of a grand friendship. Bailey's a good woman, and if what her verbal dossier of you is true, you two will be great teammates to have in this mission."
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    Post  It's Kruger August 5th 2015, 2:33 am

    "I'd be careful admitting your friendship there, blueberry." Vance entered the room, the rim of his inner helmet gripped in his left hand, revealing his light brown complexion and light brown eyes. "Lucy's nice enough, but Johnboy over here'll suck up to anyone taller than a dwarf like him." Vance, who was only slightly taller than John, patted his brown armored friend on the back.

    "I'm Vance-B501. Nice to meet you Blueberry. Whose CO 'round here? I like, just woke up." Vance continued, attention focused on Blaine.
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 5th 2015, 5:16 am

    At the response given by Vance, Blaine turned to the Spartan IV, not entirely amused.

    "That would be me, smartass." Blaine grunted. "I've heard a lot about you too Spartan Vance. I hope your action in combat speaks louder than the perpetual movement of your mouth, eh?"

    "I will admit, though, never been called Blueberry before." Blaine chuckled to himself, before offering a hand to Vance. "It's pretty clever. Admiral Blaine-115, I'll be your CO in this Operation."
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    Post  Manny August 5th 2015, 12:16 pm

    Manuel stood at the back of the room, noticing how the other Spartans were getting along but he was still unsure as to how to proceed. Previously he has been cleaning his rifle over and over again as a way of avoiding conversation. He had considered cleaning his helmet as well, but he didn't want to show his face... It might reveal how he was feeling.

    This was his first time interacting with Spartans outside the Legion. In fact, he was the first Legionnaire to ever be part of a non-Legion squad. The final phase of project LEGION had arrived, and he was the guinea pig. Truth be told, he was fairly nervous but he had to act. He slowly got up, before addressing the Admiral from some distance away.

    "Roger that Admiral. Spartan Manuel, reporting for duty," he said, saluting the Admiral. He thought about calling the Admiral by his name, but he had never called a superior anything but their rank, sir, or ma'am. He certainly didn't think of them as family, as the Admiral suggested earlier. It wasn't hard not to, since his superiors had never shown him much compassion ever. The most he was expecting, and hoping for, was a nod of acknowledgment from the Admiral to end their interaction. When they were in combat, hopefully he'd feel more comfortable around these people.
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    Post  Bad John August 5th 2015, 1:13 pm

    John winced as Vance was chewed out by Blaine. Lucy, on the other hand, gave quiet, dark chuckle. She had a very strong sense of schadenfreude; seeing other people get chewed out typically put a smile on her face.

    "Good to see you, Vance. Here's hoping the enemy likes you more than the Admiral does." John chortled. Lucy rolled her eyes, looking down at her sniper scope and waiting for the role call to be over. All she was interested in was assessing the threat level of the mission and knowing what she'd be shooting at.

    However, John turned his head towards the other new person he hadn't met. The others seemed to be Blaine's running crew, so the Spartan III didn't trouble himself with them quite yet. However, this Manuel character seemed...different.

    Then it hit him. The He was a Spartan II. Something about his movements, and his obvious size gave it away. He was smaller than most S IIs, but exceeded the height of the majority of IIIs and IVs he'd met.

    Seeing a Spartan II always set him off in a strange way. Today is just full of surprises.
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    Post  It's Kruger August 5th 2015, 5:22 pm

    "Cool shit, Blue. I always aim to please in the murder division." Vance chuckled at the situation. For years he'd been scolded and accosted by his commanding officers, never once meeting one quite this lax.

    Vance place his helmet on his head and gave it a slight twist, shifting it into place as Manuel approached. When the Spartan introduced himself, Vance mimicked the the stiff and attentive pose Manuel was in.

    "Hey, Manny. I'm Vance. You might wanna take a vacation from the brooding thing, because with me and John here, you'll look like an asshole." Vance smiled, patting Manuel on the shoulder and half hugging him.
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 5th 2015, 6:33 pm

    "There's nothing wrong with a strong silent type." Blaine nodded towards Manuel. "Glad to have you aboard. I actually had just gotten off the line with your superior, War. He gave a stellar review for your performance."

    Blaine took a moment to give the Spartan a once over. Much like the Spartan III standing beside him, Blaine made the assessment that this Spartan before him was a Spartan II, such as himself.

    "So, you're a II as well." Blaine nodded. "You don't seem like any of Halsey's II's though."

    Taking a moment to stare intensely into Manuel's visor, Blaine eased up. ONI was full of surprises, and Manuel had likely just been taken off of the Spartan II program before Blaine had met him.

    "I won't pry." Blaine continued. "However, I do suppose it is time we actually get to the reason we're all here. This, unfortunately, isn't a spring social gathering we're dealing with."

    At these words, the Spartans in the room took their respective seats. Autumn remained standing beside Blaine, who placed his hands firmly behind the small of his back.

    "The reason I've called you all here is a crisis that's slowly working it's way up from the far reaches of UNSC space." Blaine began pacing. "Autumn, if you would."

    Nodding her head, Autumn placed a pair of fingers to the right side of her helmet, uploading relevant data to the Spartans in the room.

    "What you are currently looking at is the newest face of Covenant insurgents." Blaine grit his teeth. "Sangheili allies say his name is Tuk Nitram. ONI Intelligence says that his name could not properly be translated. Sangheili allies say it translates roughly to Bullfighter. As such, the target is known as Toreador."

    "Personally, I wouldn't give this twisted fuck the time of day, let alone give him the satisfaction of some alias." Morgan growled from the back.

    "Once a loyal member of the Arbiter's forces, Nitram one day decided to make an attempt on the Arbiter's life. Jul M'dama, the old leader of the Storm Covenant faction, managed to save his life. From there, Nitram has been fighting a Guerrilla war with the UNSC for the past few months."

    "He's known for heading kill squads consisting of high ranking Sangheili and Jiralhanae units. Now he persists in hit and run styles of combat, effectively wiping out one-hundred percent of every Marine or Spartan squad sent out for his head."

    "This statistic ends today, Spartans." Blaine clenched his fists. "Earlier this morning Nitram performed a heist on a ONI facility towards the Outer Colonies. Incidentally, it is also near one of the many Halo Rings."

    "If I may, Blaine?" Autumn interjected, to which Blaine nodded.

    "Nitram's offensive on the ONI facility was not for the Index stored there, nor was it for anything remotely related to the Halo super weapons. Peculiarly enough, his target was a lone Huragok, or Engineer, that allied itself with Humanity. He bypassed the Halo Ring entirely."

    "We're unsure what Nitram has up his sleeve, but I can assure you it isn't good." Blaine shook his head. "Last known position was a Forerunner Gas Mine located on the nearby planet, aptly named; Ragnarok."

    "As a precaution not to give away our advances, we have limited the amount of scouting runs over the planet. Most of the surface of the planet is covered in dangerous glass storms. From what we've gathered, the location of the target is within one of the Planet's more habitable zones, though he may try to flee to the Storms if pushed too hard."

    "Our Primary objective is to eliminate Tuk Nitram. However, as this is a Forerunner facility not touched by ONI, our secondary objective is to seize any and all Forerunner technology to prevent the Covenant from getting their hands on it."

    "Simple enough, let's get it on." Darryl said.

    "Not quite, there is still more." Autumn politely said, ushering Darryl to sit once more.

    "This is more of a personal request than an actual objective." Blaine scratched the back of his head. "Around the time the ONI drones marked Nitram's shuttle entering Ragnarok's atmosphere, the cameras picked up this blurred image."

    Shown before the Spartan's visors was the blurred image of a Covenant Supercarrier. Autumn took the moment to enhance the image as best as she could.

    "This, Spartans, is the ass-end of the Covenant Long Night of Solace. A Supercarrier class vessel that I was charged with destroying during the attack on Reach years ago for Operation: Uppercut. Regrettably, in that battle, we lost Spartan-052. I knew him as Jorge, he was a good friend of mine."

    "ONI drones have picked up several pings from inside the destroyed vessel of a UNSC personnel's neural interlace. In other words, Jorge's skull is sending an SOS. We assume he was likely captured by surviving Covenant forces, and stuck within a pod while they run tests. If we can locate the pod that he's located in, our tertiary objective is to rescue Spartan-052. Nitram is the priority though, Spartans. Jorge would understand that."

    "One last thing to note: Nitram doesn't work alone. So far, we only have the Dossier of ONE of Nitram's Lieutenants. A Jiralhanae Chieftain by the name of Harabum. While young and still inexperienced, Harabum fought under Nitram in the war. Do not underestimate him."

    "Like all Jiralhanae, Harabum is a force to be reckoned with. Aptly codenamed: The Butcher, Harabum has a confirmed kill of an entire Spartan IV squadron during the Requiem campaign." Blaine sighed, his eyes casting down to his feet. "Those Spartans never stood a chance, they were some of my best."

    "I'll be feeding you more information as the operation goes along." Blaine continued. "You will all be wondering how this is going to go down."

    "John, Manuel, Vance, and Autumn will be the initial team for insertion. Thermal scans picked up a convoy of Anti-Air Wraiths to the southern entrance to the Gas Mine's numerous above ground trenches. You will need to neutralize those before the real operation will begin."

    "On the side, Darryl, Morgan, Phil, Scott, and Josh-"

    "Hey, why the fuck am I last?!"

    "You're always last." Blaine glared. "You will be running support. Other teams of Spartan IVs will be doing what they can on the ground to the Northern, Eastern, and Western entrances to the Mine. But that's only possible once you've taken down those AA Wraiths."

    "After the Wraiths are down, you will be providing air support when necessary, whether it be stealth or a run and gun. I need you all available for assistance in case the other Spartan IV teams are in need. That being said, you will all be given a Golden Eagle to pilot."

    "Morgan, because you are the only one besides Darryl that can properly operate a Grizzly, I'm designating you as the sole Grizzly pilot. Unfortunately, it's an old model and will require frequent refueling, so I can only send it down in a pinch."

    "You haven't mentioned what you'll be doing?" Autumn replied politely.

    "Fair enough. I will remain on the Bridge until the Wraiths are down, relaying information as I receive it to you guys. Once those Wraiths are down, I will be joining you on the field. As of now, our Sangheili informants only prefer to talk to me, and will likely stick around until the Operation officially begins."

    "That all being said, are there any questions?"
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    Post  Bad John August 5th 2015, 7:01 pm

    John blew through his teeth. He hadn't heard of this Nitram character, but he'd heard of Harabum. He was a rather vicious character, leading a pack of brutes who were known to eat the humans they killed or captured. The thought made his stomach turn.

    "I killed one of Harabum's captains a few years back during the war. A brute named Praetum. If he's as good as his men, and he's leading a PACK, we might be in for a hard fight once we get in the facility." John adjusted his fishbowl-like helmet, giving a grim nod. "Harabum's known to publically eat humans he catches. I heard he made a whole marine squad watch their CO get flayed and cooked. I gotta admit, I'm pretty excited to put the fucker in the ground."

    Lucy bumped her shoulder against John's, equally enthused to get some payback on the Butcher and his pack. "We'll make it nice and dirty. Give him a taste of his own medicine." If I get a clear shot, I'll tap his knee caps, then Vance can work on him with that machete of his. That way the Admiral's boys can rest in peace." Hearing about fallen Spartans pissed Lucy off. Especially ones killed by brutes. Bravo Kilos were her favorite targets. Excitable, slow witted, easily enraged, fun to take apart from afar.

    The sniper turned her eyes towards Blaine, holstering her sniper rifle and looking him in the eye. "Sir, you didn't really mention where I'll be. Am I on the advance team, or fire support like your boys there? I can land a shot from a moving ship, or up close. I just need to know what sort of range I should adjust my sights to."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 5th 2015, 7:05 pm

    "You're right, I completely forgot." Blaine turned his attention to Lucy. "I was absorbed by thought. I'll need your eyes in the skies. You'll be running on the Golden Eagle with my boys."
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    Post  It's Kruger August 5th 2015, 7:17 pm

    "Wait, so, we take out the AA Wraiths, and then wait around to babysit those toy soilders?" Vance's bias against Spartan IV's had gotten more positive after his time on Requiem, but was still very much negative.

    "And, you talked up this putty tat Harabum we gotta deep-six, but what about Nitram? Anything on his skill set or something? Because elite blood is hard to clean and I'm not putting my blade through that if he's a giant, scaled pussy."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 5th 2015, 7:26 pm

    "You don't have to worry about my Spartan IVs, Vance." Blaine shook his head. "That's my job until you get those AA Wraiths down. Your team will be securing a landing zone for me promptly after the Wraiths are nothing but Hunter feed."

    " As for Nitram's skill set, not much is really known about him, as all hostile combat situations against him end in total loses. What we do know is that he, like many high ranking Sangheili, is an expert swordsman. But you should be able to handle that, right boyo?"


    Last edited by Shad0wChas3r on August 5th 2015, 7:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
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    Post  It's Kruger August 5th 2015, 7:27 pm

    "Depends. I might just let John pad out his ratings." Vance chuckled, innocently mocking John, "he needs it."
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    Post  Bad John August 6th 2015, 12:01 pm

    "Eh. Energy swords don't scare me. Who needs stopping power when I got these?" John lifted his fists, tightening them. "You should trade in that shotgun of yours for a real weapon, buddy."

    John gave Vance a playful jab on the shoulder. "When this is over, we ought to hit the ring. We'll see what knocking your ass out does for my service record."

    Turning to the Admiral, John gave a cursory glance around the room. "Sir, I assume we're all ready. Let's get going before Nitram dies of old age."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 6th 2015, 5:10 pm

    "Couldn't have said it better myself Spartan." Blaine nodded curtly. "Everyone, mount up. I'll page you from the Bridge when we've arrived in orbit of Ragnarok."

    DM Notes: Posts following this will involve ALL of the characters in the team *I.e John, Autumn, Manuel, and Vance* inside of the Golden Eagle. For the drop off, Darryl will be your pilot, speak to him if you so wish.

    After you guys have made it top side, you will have the availability to use perks. For now, because you don't want the AA Wraiths to fuck up the Golden Eagles at our disposal, you only have use of the Stealth variant. You will only be able to use it once, however, seeings how fuel was used to drop you all off.
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    Post  Manny August 7th 2015, 12:52 am

    Manuel had simply gone quiet once the Admiral had begun the briefing and then stayed that way. Most of the information was new, but it followed the same pattern as all assassinations. There was some incredibly hard to kill, high ranking, former Covenant member and now Spartans were being sent in to kill it. To him, it just seemed like another standard mission, which is why he supposed he was assigned here.

    Once John and Vance had begun conversing between themselves, he found himself once again simply watching another social interaction. His brief interaction with them hadn't really changed much about his social situation. When the Spartans left to board the Golden Eagle, Manuel began to reflect on his temporary team mates.

    For starters, Vance had made him extremely uncomfortable. Vance's embrace had caused Manuel to put as much distance between them without making it seem odd. Additionally, Vance's "brooding" comment had left Manuel thinking about his introduction. It had been standard military procedure; for Vance to brush it off made Manuel conclude that Vance was simply too lax of a soldier. It was something Manuel would keep in mind.

    John seemed alright; having avoided small talk with Manuel helped give off a good first impression. His partner Lucy seemed more professional, a trait Manuel liked in anyone.

    However, it was the Admiral that Manuel liked the most out of everyone. Being an Admiral he was expected to be professional, so there were no worries there. Since he had spoken with War, and stated that he wouldn't pry into Manuel's origins, that meant there should be less explaining for Manuel to do. The fact that the Admiral simply wanted soldiers who would do their job was all Manuel wanted from a commanding officer. So far, so good.

    All in all, Manuel felt like he could get by. As he approached the Golden Eagle he gave the present Spartans a once over. Perhaps he'd never feel fully comfortable around any of these people, but at least they'd be able to work together professionally. Manuel smiled behind his visor before sitting down in the "Golden Eagle" with the rest.
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    Post  Bad John August 7th 2015, 1:45 pm

    Per Vale's request, I'll be taking control of Vance during his absences.

    Aside from the ambient noise of the Golden Eagle's turbines, there were popping sounds of guns being adjusted. Three Spartan IIIs were locking and loading, so to speak, making last minute preparations before the mission went hot.

    Vance slid shells into his previously unloaded shotgun, and cocked the handle, observing the weapon with a casual appreciation. He placed it on his lap, before checking his magnum. Trusting your ammo counter blindly was a good way to get yourself killed. After observing his firearms, he drew his machete; a gift from a person who he'd rather not name, or think about at the time. Vance held it to the light, like a priest observing a holy relic for wear or damage. The blade glinted, smiling as the sun caught its edge. He holstered the weapon, turning towards Lucy. "You sure you can cover us from a moving dropship?"

    She adjusted her sniper scope, lifting and syncing it with her optics. Her helmet's visor adjusted, the tiny hexagons pulsing and forming a targeting grid as she focused. The rifle was now a part of her world-view. "Don't worry. Name a target, and I'll hit it."

    "There's one," John quickly responded, pointing towards Vance.

    "Hah hah," Vance said rakishly, before turning to Lucy. The sharpshooter was giving him a rather unerring stare, slowly gripping the handle of her rifle. "...Stop thinking about shooting me."

    "Okay," Lucy sighed, looking down at her rifle. She brushed a small speck of dust off of it. Now that she'd finished preparations, she felt rather fidgety. Part of her wished she was putting boots on the ground, but the Admiral felt her aim would be better suited for recon, and that was likely true. The fight would be partially in the open air, some of the mine lacking overhead cover, but a lot of it would be close quarters and indoors.

    John folded in the grip of his M7, pushing the stock in as well. It was likely he'd be using it single-handed the moment he got ahold of a Covenant weapon he could grip with his offhand. He checked his pistol, sliding out the current magazine and sliding it back in. There was already a bullet in the chamber.

    Suddenly, he turned towards Lucy, who was staring at him. The two kept each-other's gaze for a moment. Neither needed to say anything in particular they'd had the conversation a thousand times. Being needlessly fatalistic or romantic before a mission complicated things. It was better to not say anything at all.

    Suddenly, Lucy's visor blinked and a red pulse spread across it, accompanied by a quiet digital whir.

    "...Are you using your spectrum finder?" John asked. Lucy continued staring at him, his body now displayed in a field of blue and orange. "Hey, knock that off. You're probably blasting me with radiation."

    "You're not the boss of me." Lucy huffed, before deactivating her Promethean Vision and staring at the ceiling. "You people are no fun."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 9th 2015, 3:41 pm

    DM's Post: Because Autumn is actually pretty shy/nervous about being with new people, it's to be assumed that she was silent for the entirety of the ride. If someone had tried talking to her at all during the ride, she would have likely replied, albeit quietly.

    The Pelican reaches a small plateau, about 50 kilometers South from the known location of the Anti-Air Wraiths. Darryl apologizes that he couldn't bring the crew further, but figured it might better suit them to go in a more stealthy approach. If he had dropped them any closer, he risked being pinged by the AA-Wraiths, therefore alerting the target.

    The area is pretty open, with little in the way of cover. Blaine's initial scans of the planet show no heat signatures on the plateau, however, it is possible the enemy has patrols in the area. With this in mind, Blaine warns the team to stay vigilant, and to move as quickly to the North as possible.

    As they move, the plateau slowly becomes craggy rock formations, intense cliffs, and hills abundant. Cover is available aplenty. So far, still no Covenant sightings. However, it is possible that one of the members may see something that the Aura cannot.

    "Keep your eyes peeled." Autumn said, tensing, holding her SMG at the ready. "Heat from these rocks are perfect for jamming thermal scans. John, you've got point, Manuel, watch our backs."

    Name: Autumn Harlowe
    Health: Perfect
    Weapons and Ammo:
    Primary: SMG: 20/20 Clips
    Secondary: Modified M6B MK VI: 15/15 clips *30 dual clips*
    Frag/Plasma/Pulse Grenades: 2 Frags
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    Post  Bad John August 9th 2015, 4:52 pm

    John clenched his hand around the handle of his SMG as he moved between the craggy, broken rock formations. "Roger that, boss." He somewhat appreciated Autumn's volunteering of him as the point-man for the mission. Perhaps his pedigree as a combatant was more appreciated than he realized.

    He stepped over a craggy rock, hopping five feet onto the ground. He soon stood before a fairly remarkable, if troubling sight; the way ahead was obstructed by a sheer drop. The other side was lower, its walls lined with sharp, jutting, multicolored stones, similar to some form of quartz. John holstered his submachine gun. "Gonna jump this one. Should be easy enough."

    The Spartan III stepped back, popping his neck and dipping into a low stance, his muscles contracting as he prepared to explode off the line. He sprinted, the gritty earth crunching under his feet. He made the jump, his thruster pack flaring to stabilize his jump arc. He landed without incident on the other side, rolling over his shoulder and ending up on his feet. "There. Piece of cake."

    Before he could say much else, he noticed a shadow falling over his shoulder. Before he could react, a powerful four fingered hand wrapped around his throat. The Spartan III found himself lifted off the ground by the neck, as a jiralhanae major held him over the cliff.

    The brute made a large mistake by handling the Spartan carelessly. In an instant John retaliated. His fist came up and under the brute's chin, the uppercut breaking the brute's jaw and snapping his head back. The brute lost consciousness instantaneously, and John was dropped off the side of the cliff face. The Spartan snatched at the air, grasping one of the crystal formations. Fortunately for him, it held together despite the force of his grip and the weight of his armor. The brute tumbled off the cliff past him.

    A second jiralhanae appeared, pointing his spiker over the side to shoot John in the face. John snatched his SMG, prepared to shoot the spiker out of the brute's hand. However, fortunately, he didn't need to take the risk. Vance leapt across the cliff, his boot colliding with the jiralhanae's face. Vance landed on the other side, looking for targets. However, all he could do was listen; there were roars and bellows, challenges from inside the hazy pathway of craggy rocks.

    John pulled himself up the cliff face. He yanked his submachine gun into his hand. "There are brutes all over in there. They must have known we were coming and set up a response team."

    Vance nodded. "No telling how many apes are in there. It'll be real close quarters."

    "They ain't getting that lucky again, I'll tell you that right now." The brown armored Spartan III was ready and willing for the brutal venture. "If they know we're here, we need to speed things up. No telling what they're preparing at that gas mine. Let's get through these brutes, tear the AA wraiths apart, and get our Spartan IVs in there so we can get off this miserable rock."

    John quickly inspected the brute that Vance had kicked. The blow crushed the jiralhanae's thick skull. Blood leaked onto the ground around his head. He carried a spike rifle and two spike grenades.

    "...Don't mind if I do." John snatched up the spike grenades with his free hand, clipping them to his belt. They might come in useful.

    Name: John B069
    Health: Feeling pretty good.
    Weapons and Ammo
    SMG: 20/20 Clips
    M6: 15/15 Clips
    Grenades: 2 Frags, 2 Thermite, 2 Spike
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    Post  Manny August 10th 2015, 3:54 pm

    Manuel looked over at the two Spartan IIIs and the dead brute, having missed most of the action. He had been watching the group's rear, as ordered, walking backwards while keeping pace. Now he began to scan the area around him, checking to make sure there were no Brutes on his side of the gap.

    His thermal scans were pretty much useless with all the heat coming off the rocks. The cracks that released steam weren't helping either. Flipping through other spectrums, Manuel saw no nearby hostiles. He then turned to Autumn.

    "You should go ahead; I'll go last. I was ordered to watch the rear," Manuel said, turning towards the path behind them, and signalling the end of their conversation.

    Name: Manuel-324
    Health: Fine.
    Weapons and Ammo
    Rifle: 60/60 Clips
    M6: 15/15 Clips
    Energy Trident: Full battery
    Grenades: 2 Frags, 2 Thermite
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 10th 2015, 5:21 pm

    "Right." Autumn nodded.

    Bracing herself for the jump, she lowered herself onto her haunches, then dead bolted for the cliff. Jumping as far as her augmented ligaments would allow her, she, much like John before her, used her thruster pack to help elongate her air time. With a roll over her shoulder she landed with little more than a ding in her armor.

    "Blaine, this is Autumn, how copy?"

    "Solid copy." Blaine's voice echoed in the team's comm. "What's the sitrep Admiral?"

    "A couple of Jiralhanae bogeys. They've been dispatched though, and I don't think either of them had time to warn the others. At this time, we are still frosty."

    "Wilco. Anything else to report? It might take some time before the Golden Eagle can be dispatched again."

    "Nothing more to report, continuing on foot to target location."

    "Understood, faster we get this done, the better. All-Father over and out."

    "Nice work you two." Autumn smiled beneath her visor at the two Spartan III's. "Seeing your actions is much better than reading them on paper. Let's keep moving, we got a lot of ground to cover."
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    Post  Manny August 10th 2015, 11:00 pm

    Manuel heard Autumn land before turning around to gauge how far he should jump. Taking one last look behind him, he put his rifle away and sprinted towards the gap before jumping. Unlike the others, he had landed on his feet and without the aid of his thruster pack. He found that to be a curious detail, which he kept in the back of his mind. Perhaps he shouldn't ask too much of these Spartans; their augments were not the same as his.

    Regardless, they were his allies now and they had to work together as best as they could. Once Autmn had finished speaking, Manuel spoke.

    "I'll watch the rear once again. Keep on eye on your motion sensors, we don't need to be ambushed in there," Manuel motioned his head towards the pathways ahead. The Brutes inside had gone silent, most likely to catch the humans by surprise. There was still a long way to go, he just hoped they didn't get caught up fighting here.
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    Post  Bad John August 12th 2015, 5:56 pm

    John led the way, expecting the others to fall in behind him. He travelled between the halls of jagged rock around him. The jiralhanae were indeed silent, and his motion tracker was clear. He turned a corner in a fairly rapid motion, keeping his submachine gun raised in case he caught one of the brutes with their pants down.

    "These brutes have power armor. Like in the latter months of the war. Not exactly the best stuff, but they'll stand up to a few shots." He spoke quietly, his comms relaying the message to the team. "Their shielding can't recharge for shit, so one good punch is usually enough to compromise it. Just a pro-tip."

    Leading on a bit longer, it appeared the Jiralhanae had retreated from the canyon in order to warn their packmates. "All clear up front, Boss."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r August 16th 2015, 3:33 am

    "Team, this is Admiral Blaine Harlowe. Spartan IV recon teams in the area spotted tangos leaving your general area. Tangos were neutralized, and you are clear to approach the HVTs. Good luck. "

    DM's Post: With Blaine's announcement, the team maintains their formation. John and Vance to the front, Autumn keeping watch of the flanks, and Manuel taking up the rear. The trudge to the target location was generally quiet. The occasional rock tumbled from the walls of the canyon, but there had been no contact.

    Finally, the team finds themselves on a cliffside towards the end of their 'plateau/canyon'. Below them are the targets, a convoy of four AA-Wraiths. Each one was stationed several meters away from each other, facing separate directions to cover the most air space.

    Autumn, along with any of the other Spartans with a trained eye, immediately catches sight of their Primary target; Tuk Nitram. Silently cursing themselves for not having Lucy along to peg the target, they observed the massive Elite snap orders to his loyal Jiralhanae and Sangheili warriors. Grunts were smacked around by their superiors, and the Jackals snarled wildly at the boss' orders.

    Within moments, Tuk approached the main door. The massive Forerunner built mechanical door opened in it's usual high functioning, intricate ways. Pausing for a mere moment, the Elite raised his mandibles to the wind. Sniffing for a moment, the beast of a Sangheili sneezed, walking into the door, the entrance closing firmly behind him.

    "We have positive ID on prime suspect." Autumn whispered in comm. "Quad AA-Wraiths, heavy defense line, a couple of Ghost escorts."

    "Understood, blow those bastards to pieces, and let's get this lizard bastard."

    "I'm open to suggestions." Autumn turned her head over her shoulder to discuss with the team. "How do we want to take em out?"

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