Reach.

“When all hope on Planet Reach seemed lost, Noble Team stood united in defense of humankind. In honor of their heroism, we come together. Remember Noble. Remember Reach. The monument to Noble Team burns brighter with each who remembers their courage.” –Monument to Noble Team.

Not even a week ago, Noble Six was deployed to the planet as a replacement for the previous Noble Six, who was killed in an explosion aboard a Covenant Battlecruiser. None of the other team members gave much insight to his death, nor his actual name. Probably the only one who talked about him was Kat, who felt responsible for his death. Thom-293 was his name. He took the action of delivering a detonating nuclear weapon, knowing he would not escape. It looked like for Noble Six, his situation was the complete opposite.

Just days ago, the lush green forest planet was just that. Its wildlife was abundant and flocking. The plants were fragrant and beautiful. The rivers ran for miles. This entire planet, Reach, was almost a paradise of sorts. But that all changed when the Covenant invaded.  What they thought at first to be an Insurrectionist uprising, was actually a scouting party of Elites, Jackals, and Grunts. Noble Team would have no idea that this was the point in which the planet would fall, in which its doom was guaranteed.

They all called Reach their home, Jorge being mostly noted of it. The big and intimidating Spartan was reliable, on Noble Six’s part. He was loyal, brave, and courageous. He stayed behind to detonate a malfunctioned explosive on the Covenant Heavy Corvette Ardent Prayer, much like Thom-293, and allowed Noble Six to escape. That was the last any had heard or seen from Noble Five.

“We honor him as the fighting spirit of Noble.”

That was the starting point of the fall of Noble Team.  One by one, Six watched his teammates fall before him. After Jorge’s death, there came Noble Two’s death. While running through a hallway to get to a radiation bunker, an Elite Field Marshall in a Phantom fired his needle rifle, killing Kat instantly. Her death wasn’t even the most surprising thing. What surprised them was how she had died. It was mysterious how one needle was able to penetrate their shielding.

“We honor her as the true genius of Noble.”

Not long after Kat’s death, came Carter’s. Noble One died giving Six and Emile a way past the Covenant Scarab. He crashed his Pelican into the large Covenant vehicle, knowing that what Six carried was of the upmost importance. With the final words, “You’re on your own, Noble. Carter out”, Noble One ended his life.

“We honor him as commander of Noble.”

With the two left, they made their way to the extraction point. Unsurprisingly, someone needed to go and use the Mass Driver on the nearby cliff to cover the UNSC as they evacuated. While he managed to fend off many of the attackers, a Phantom slipped by and deployed a group of Zealots. Six could do nothing but watch as his last teammate killed the two Elites, being impaled by an Energy Sword as well. And with his death, Six was the last Noble on Reach left.

“We honor him as the merciless wrath of Noble.”

Noble Six. None know of his origin, or his name. His past has been covered in documents, seals, and fire. Whatever once was recorded about his younger life, his beginnings, has been lost to the sands of time. Only few know of the history that has been saved. Only some know of the mysterious Lone Wolf and his actions as an assassin for his previous commander. Who his previous CO was, has been stricken from all documents as an act of secrecy. As for what he is, many debate whether he is a Spartan-III or Spartan-II. Only Catherine Halsey knows, and even she refuses to answer the question.

But it is known that Six has been able to make entire militia groups disappear. Six has proven to his team that he is a formidable ally. But they didn’t know about his ability to be alone for extended periods of times, silent as a mouse and deadly as a tiger. They didn’t know that he was hyper-lethal vector.

His addition, in Jorge’s words, completed Noble Team. He made Noble Team…a family again.

“Noble Six. The team’s most recent addition. Hyper-lethal vector: There’s only one other Spartan with that rating..” –Catherine Halsey

So now, Noble Six stood atop a turret emplacement, alone and surrounded by Covenant forces. He looked at the red sky and the landscape in the distance. The once clear blue sky had become littered with the plague and brutality of war and bloodshed. The once green fields had become stained with the colors purple, blue, and red. They were strewn with the once-breathing bodies of people and alien alike.

Rivers were no longer safe to drink from. Bullet casings, metal, and dead bodies flowed down the stream in an endless amount. What Reach was once had become a thing of the past. This was no longer the planet that Noble Six would remember. This was no longer his home.

Off in the distance, he saw the white flashes and the fireworks that followed an explosion. Reach was being glassed. All around the Spartan were the hums of Phantoms and Banshees alike. If this was truly his final stand, then he would give the Covenant everything, including his dying breath.

He looked all around him only to be met with the unpleasant sight that has pursued him days without end. All around the Lone Wolf were the bodies of his brothers and sisters; his fellow Spartans. He bent down on one knee and looked at the one next to him, practically hanging off of the turret emplacement. Plasma burns were organized erratically all around this deceased Spartan’s armor. Noble Six bowed his head in respect and got onto the machine gun.

Already, the forces of the Covenant were enclosing on his position. He had almost no bullets left to spare. Within seconds, he began to fire the turret nonstop on the encroaching Elite. The bullets barraged the Elite’s shield, causing the blue aura to slowly dissipate. Six did not relent. Within seconds, the shield shattered and the Elite was bleeding a bright purple as he collapsed to the ground.

Six checked his current weapon, which only had a hundred or so bullets left. He continued to use the entire chain gun on the rest of the Grunts that had followed, causing each of the midget aliens to go flying in different directions, each landing with a soft thud.

*Click*

The sentry gun had run out and Six was forced to use his DMR. Quickly, he ran off of the open spot and into the cover of the nearby damaged building. Inside were more Spartans, all dead. He peeked around the corner and saw Jackals approaching his position. He leaned out of the cover and fired off ten rounds, each connecting with their torsos or beak-like heads. Their mini-shields disappeared upon their deaths.

Six checked his remaining magazine. He had three bullets and a full magazine left, meaning he had in total eighteen bullets. He scanned the room thoroughly for any weapons that could be of use. Cracks, and openings filled the walls. There in the corner, something green caught his sight. He lunged for the weapon as quickly as possible.

A Spartan Laser? Looks like I still have some luck..

He dragged the weapon in his left hand, his right carrying the DMR. He moved to the back door and checked for any enemies. Just as he thought, three Elite Ultras came charging at his cover. He hastily dropped the large laser weapon and aimed his precision rifle, firing off the remaining three rounds. It was able to penetrate the Ultra on the right’s shield. He switched to his M6G Pistol and shot the unguarded Ultra in the head three times. The Ultra fell to the ground with a thump as the other two jumped over his body, still intent on killing the Spartan.

B-312 shot the rest of his Pistol into the Elite on the right, taking his shield down as well. The Ultra still charged, even faster than his remaining brother in service. Six took advantage of this and butted the close Ultra with the end of his Pistol, killing the furious alien once and for all. All that was left was Six and the single remaining red Ultra. He seemed to give Six a final glare of hate before charging, shouting a battle cry as he charged.

Realizing he was out of loaded weapons, he grabbed the nearby Spartan Laser and held down the trigger, causing the readying mechanism to slowly disengage.

Just a little more…

The Ultra came upon Six faster than he expected, knocking the Spartan to the ground and the weapon out of his hands. Six heard the Laser clattering to the side. The Elite tried to stomp onto Six’s head but was met with the cold floor of the destroyed building they were fighting in. Six, doing the most he can, tried to pull the heavy alien off him. The Ultra laughed at his futile attempt and aimed his Plasma rifle at Six’s head. Six maneuvered his arm so that he could reach the large knife on his chest, pulled the blade out, and jabbed it right into the Elite’s thigh.

It shrieked in pain as Six stood on his feet and jumped for the Laser, aiming at the Ultra’s head. As the weapon was about to fire, the Ultra turned his head to see the red dot on his own mask and spoke in an accepting voice. He limped towards the human in a last attempt to kill him. “I die for the Great Jou-”

The Ultra was cut off as a large beam of red met with his own head of the same hue. His lifeless body collapsed to the ground as Six threw the weapon near it. After retrieving his combat knife, he moved to his Designated Marksman Rifle and loaded his last magazine. He ran outside, and fired with whatever he could find. It was about twenty minutes before Six has used every single explosive and automatic weapon in the vicinity. Now down to a last magazine of his Pistol and, after scrounging for more DMR ammo and finding none, his Assault Rifle, he acknowledged that this was to be his final resting point.

Noble Six had taken down at least sixty of the Covenant forces during this time, including the two Wraiths that he had used the rest of the Laser on. He knew that he could not keep this up for much longer. His visor was cracking with each shot and he could barely see out of it. The Spartan’s health was dangerously low and he was fatigued from the restless days of warfare. He took his helmet off and threw it thoughtlessly to the dirt floor.

As a nearby Elite fired endlessly with his Plasma Rifle, Six bent down and took his automatic gun. He fired nonstop in return, dozens of casings bouncing on the floor with each second. The Elite that was shooting at him fell to the ground as another Elite, golden in color, tried to sneak up on the stealth master. Six quickly turned around and repelled the attacker who had an Energy Sword, finishing him off with a single round to the head from his Pistol. More Elites came upon him, all firing relentlessly on the human.

Noble Six staggered for a moment, as the injuries were hard to sustain. He shot his weapons in the line of fire’s direction and killed two more Elites, an officer and an Ultra, as another charged at him and knocked him down to the ground. Six kicked the Elite off his person as yet another Elite Field Marshal came from the side. On instinct, the Spartan knocked the Field Marshal’s Energy Sword out of his hand as the previously kicked Elite came back for another attack. This time, his attack was successful, as it grazed Six’s abdomen. A huge spurt of red flowed upwards into the assaulter's mouth, causing said Elite to go mad with bloodlust.

The Field Marshal, now recovered from the melee attack, brought out his Energy Dagger and lunged down, eager to end the last member of Noble Team. And so, dust filled the air, distorting any vision within this battle scene.

"We honor him as the hope of Noble, the one who delivered them to the end."

"It didn't take long for Reach to fall. Our enemy was ruthless, efficient. But they weren't nearly fast enough. For you had already passed the torch. And because of you, we found Halo, unlocked its secrets, and shattered our enemy's resolve. Our victory - your victory - was so close... I wish you could have lived to see it. But you belong to Reach. Your body, your armor - all burned and turned to glass. Everything...except your courage. That, you gave to us. And with it, we can rebuild." – Catherine Halsey

Many years later..

All of Reach was glassed, and all its inhabitants, killed. No life remained on the planet and all previous rebelling humans were quelled by the Covenant. None of the Spartans of Reach lived to see another day. The once-thriving planet was silent. The arid air flowed as the memory of this once great place vanished. What this home once was, would no longer be remembered by the future of humankind. Children would not know the previous true beauty of the planet, only its plight and fall. Almost all of Noble Team had died. Jun, who had been assigned to the safeguard of the Doctor, had lived to see another bright day, one in which the Covenant did not win.

And the other? Who is the other one who lived? That is a mystery shrouded in itself. For if one wished to know who the victor was in that last, desperate stand, they would have to go back to its occurrence. To its beginning.

The Fight

The Field Marshal, now recovered from the melee attack, brought out his Energy Sword again and lunged down, eager to end the last member of Noble Team. And so, dust filled the air, distorting any vision within this battle scene. Thinking their leader had subdued the human, the Elites began to walk away. Had they stayed long enough for the dust cloud to clear, they would have saw what exactly happened.

As the Field Marshal brought his sword down, Six remembered words that echoed through his mind. They were not of any that he could remember, but he knew that they were right.

“This isn’t your time, Spartan. Live to fight another day. I know how to pick ‘em, and I chose you. I chose you because you have something that I’ve only seen in another Spartan. This isn’t your end. No, this is your beginning. So stand, fight, and run. Luck hasn’t failed you yet, and I don’t think it’s going to start anytime soon.”

The voice…it was feminine, but unfamiliar to him. He was soothed by the voice’s words, but still could not place a face with the name. He felt compelled to follow her orders, as if she was a cheerleader of sorts. Her words had caused him to find a well of raw adrenalin that dulled his pain as he moved to the side of the Energy Sword. He then wormed for his nearby Pistol, firing a round into both eyes of the two Elites. They fell to the ground and their weapons dematerialized. The pain was bearable for now, but he would have to get a medical kit soon.

The others were leaving the site. He thought it best to drag the bodies to a hiding spot. He brought them to a nearby ditch and tossed them inside. He rushed for cover as the remaining Banshee checked the perimeter. With no humans in sight, the flying vehicle left the Spartan alone. Now that he was alone, he moved to his helmet that was dug into the cracked earth.

He dusted the top off and the sides of any loose foliage. After inspecting his helmet, he concluded that a new visor was needed. Seeing as how any armories were destroyed or captured, and a armor repair station was out of the question, Six reluctantly inspected the bodies of his fallen comrades, looking for any who had the same visor type as he did.

It amazed him how many helmet variants there were. It ranged from Recon, to Hazop, ODST, EVA, EOD, and so forth. But none carried the same he had. He let out a discontent sigh as the pain in his side shot up again. He gripped it tightly, remembering that a health pack was somewhere inside of here. He turned on his flashlight and checked the ground.

Here it is..

He picked up the health dispenser and injected the healing syringes inside. He was proud to have lived in such an advanced time. He breathed in deeply, ensuring he was healed up. No pain or sting followed, giving the Spartan a sense of relief. He put the container down and continued inspecting.

Perfect…

There before him, was a blue and white Spartan that had the same helmet variant as he had. He bent down and removed the helmet, revealing a young woman who had her eyes wide open, most likely dying with a final stare. Six brought his fingers over her eyes and closed her lids, giving her a final sleep. He took her helmet in hand and examined it for the latching system. The small knob in the corner turned when he pressed it, causing the golden visor to detach from the helmet.

“Thank you,” Living and breathing, Six checked her armor for any indication for a name. “N-07. I wish this could’ve ended differently.”

Six discarded his damaged visor for the deceased body's. The remaining Spartan put her helmet on her chest, folding her arms to grip it in a respectful manner. He took her dogtags in hand, planning on making a memorial for her. He stood up to his full six feet and nine inches and inspected the meager weapons outside. He stealthily walked to them and picked up the most useful of all.

“A Sniper Rifle..still has two mags.” He disposed of his Assault Rifle and picked up the powerful precision weapon. He latched his Pistol to his thigh and began to walk, admiring the many armor capabilities on the sides. This ship graveyard had to have some kind of somewhat operable ship. He could repair it and get flying to a nearby UNSC ship. He ran but stopped when a bright blue orb glowed. He turned and nodded his head, thanking whatever luck that he had.

He went over and took the armor capacitor in hand. He knew that Invisibility Cloaking would be of great need in this situation. So he kept it along with Armor Lock, which would also be handy. He used his developed stamina and ran into the dead center of the ships. All of them had been possibly inoperable for years, decades even. He was starting to doubt himself on whether or not he had the right idea.

I just need something that can go into space..

He knew that a Sabre was out of the question. There were barely any at the secret facility from a few days earlier. He shrugged off the thought as he began to check the back of the graveyard. There just had to be one ship that would work, just one...It was his last hope.

He rummaged through some of the ships controls, hoping one of them was active. Nothing but the sounds of his gloves smacking the control pads filled the air. It was almost deathly silent. It only meant one thing to Noble Six, Reach was going to be glassed soon. He searched for a final time at a lone Pelican off at the end. He went inside and found it…operational?

“This can’t be right..” He said to himself.

Inside, the entire Pelican looked as new as a recently made one. The sides were stacked with medical stations, grenade belts, and a few weapons and ammo cartridges. He was seriously beginning to think that someone was on his side or something. At this rate, he might as well sign up for the lottery and hope for the best. He laughed at his mental joke and pressed on to the cockpit. As expected, it was ready and fueled to go. There was a transmission log on the side and he curiously played it.

“….You hear me? Good. Control wants you to land near the old ship graveyard and provide support for the nearby Spartans that are holding the position off. If we can hold this point, we can get all of you people out of there. Just hold that position for a few hours and we should be fueled up and ready to go. Good luck, N-07. Keyes out.”

Six remembered her, N-07. He shook his head to stop his momentary delay and began to ignite the engines. He would have plenty of time to contemplate when he wasn’t on a planet about to be glassed. He flipped on the manual override, the brake controls, and the safety belts. After strapping in and closing the bay opening, to which te ship shook for a moment, he scanned the ship for any irreparable damage. Some clattering behind him was ignored as he focused on the task at hand.

“Signs show no major damage. Minor force on hull, and dents on bay door. Fuel is full and ready.” The Pelican’s auto voice explained.

Good…just need to get out.

The Pelican began to rise off of the ground. Six knew that the sudden appearance of a human ship would garner the attention of Covenant forces; he just hoped the UNSC was still in the airspace. The sounds of the shaking ship filled his ears as he looked out the cockpit glass, hoping for the sky to be clear. He knew Pelicans weren’t able to use Slipspace travel, but it was able to enter space. So long as a UNSC ship was there, he would make it.

The sky was approaching fast, shockingly with no Covenant Banshees following. He was about to laugh when the voice spoke up again.

“Plasma damage to ship’s exterior. Please exercise caution.”

Noble Six looked out his side and saw a lone Banshee firing at his vessel, almost in a mocking way. It was as if it was taking its time on him to make his final moments a trophy of some kind. The Spartan would not tolerate this. He guided the ship, moving it left and right and avoiding most of the Banshee’s fire. It was still following, albeit at a slower rate. Wanting to avoid an explosion in the air and space, Six used more fuel to make the aircraft go faster. He was doing it, he was losing the Banshee! And that’s when it hit him.

A large Covenant Cruiser hovered a medium distance away from the small Pelican. Its core was turning a bright blue as it began moving. Since he had put more fuel to make the Pelican’s pace quicken, he was near the large ship in no time. He knew what was happening; the Covenant was going to travel using their Slipspace drive. He looked for any UNSC ships and found hundreds of them alright.

They were all destroyed, made into giant heaps of scrap. Six just sat back and accepted his fate. His luck had to run out sometime. The Cruiser opened a large blue rift and buzzed right in, the force of exertion causing the Pelican to follow. The ship was spun in chaotic spins as the ship was being torn apart by the sheer force of Slipspace.

“Hull dangerously damaged, evacuate immediately. Engines are not present, leave at once. Hull is now almost nonexistent, evacuate. Ev…at…e..” The voice was shut off as the entire cockpit was lit up by a single red beacon. Outer space was cold and dark. Noble Six had walked in space before and it wasn’t at all what he had imagined. And now, he was going to die in space. He was about to take control when a part of the roof collapsed and hit him on his head, rendering him unconscious.

The ship drifted in a dark blackness while the Spartan slept. It travelled in a single path. It kept on moving, not stopping due to the lack of breaks. It entered the orbit of a planet, lush and green, just like Reach. As the ship began to descend, a large flame pylon formed around its shape as the widely damaged exterior of the ship withheld the scorching heat. Last it was headed was a large and green forest that was nearby a village.

“But Fluttershy, I thought that you liked Nightmare Night!” Pinkie pleaded.

“GO AWAY! I have no candy for NIGHTMARE NIGHT!” Fluttershy yelled.

“…Okie dokie..” Pinkie left Fluttershy’s cottage in a sad manner and began to walk back to Ponyville, ready to don her chicken costume.

Fluttershy hated Nightmare Night. Well, to be fairer, she really really really really really really disliked it. She didn’t like how ponies dressed up as monsters for fun and went around scaring others. She didn’t like being startled, you know. She decided that on this night, she would spend time reading fun stories with her animal friends while her pony friends went out and had fun on their own.

“Now where we, Angel? What? I don’t…okay.”

Angel scolded her for being so mean to Pinkie and made her promise that the next time her partying friend came back, she would apologize.

“So what about the candy?” Fluttershy motioned at a nearby jar of sweets. “Oh that’s nice, Angel. Thank you for doing it for me..”

Angel just smiled in return and waved at the other animals nearby.

The rest of Nightmare Night went off without a hitch. Princess Luna came to Ponyville for the first time and attempted to turn Nightmare Night into a feast instead of a celebration of her previous evil form. Obviously, she was met with..mixed results. After many misgivings, foal’s play, and outright redundancy, Princess Luna learned the meaning of Nightmare Night. She learned that the people were not scared of her, but enjoyed being scared by her. She learned the meaning of fun and how to spread it. Overall, she learned that her ponies loved her and adored her as much as they did with her sister, Celestia.

During the course of this however, Princess Luna paid a visit to Fluttershy in an attempt to mimic her gentle and quiet voice. It was successful in a sense, after Fluttershy had been denied access into her home by Twilight. Fluttershy was still frightened all the while, mostly on account of Luna’s appearance and Royal Canterlot Voice. She was still as frozen as a statue when Twilight and Princess Luna left her to go back to Ponyville. Because of Luna'a arrival, she was being cared for by her pet, Angel.

“Thank you, Angel.”

The bunny nodded and smiled in response.

“Where are the other animals?”

Angel just pointed towards outside.

“Oh, okay..”

A loud thumping came from the door, which caused Fluttershy to squeal and duck under her covers. Angel shook his head in disappointment and went to the door and opened it. At the door, was Mr. Bear. He was stricken with a face of bewilderment.

Angel spoke to him and the bear spoke back. They exchanged an emotional conversation while Fluttershy still ducked under her covers. After concluding his story, Mr. Bear sat down on his read end and began starching his back. Angel started hopping towards his caretaker. He pulled the covers from her face. He pointed out the door and made a fist and crashed down onto the ground with it.

“Something…outside…crashed?”

Angel nodded, and then started making wavy lines with his small paws. After this, he started running around and waving his arms erratically.

“Something caught on fire?”

Angel nodded once again and then mimicked other animals like Mr. Bear, birds, and others running away.

“And it scared the animals away?”

Angel nodded and patted himself on the back.

“Well…I want to see if anypony is hurt..but it’s still Nightmare Night. Who knows what it could’ve been? *Gasp* It could’ve been Nightmare Moon!”

Angel face-palmed and grabbed Fluttershy’s face. He then began to pull her face with him towards the door.

“Angel…this isn’t the best idea…if you don’t mind me saying. It’s….scary out there..”

Angel jumped on Fluttershy’s back and smacked her side, prodding her to go to the Everfree Forest. She very hesitantly trotted to the first tree.

Noble Six woke up to the smell of oil, metal, and smoke. A loud beeping was starting become music to his ears, in a sense. He rubbed the side of his helmet and felt for any breaks. Apparently, he had suffered no damage, save for being knocked out by a dismantled cover board. He took full note of the damage. Atmospheric force had destroyed or damaged most of the Pelican, so unless there were spare parts near him, flying was not an option.

As for the windows, well it was all cracked but a good chunk of the middle part stayed centered. Everything else was chipped, cracked, or just missing. The entire remnant of the Pelican was dark and quiet; the only light source being the moon and the red light.

The moon?

Last Noble Six remembered, he was in space where the only lights were stars and the ships. He looked back out the cockpit again and was just baffled at the sight. The forest, from what he could tell, was perfectly serene. It looked much like Reach, though there were key differences. One of which was that Reach didn’t look like a cartoon or some kind of hologram. He took his helmet off and slapped himself on the face a few times to make sure he was awake. Yep, he was definitely awake.

After placing his helmet back on, he ducked under the ceiling of the crashed aircraft so he didn’t inhale the smoke. The wires of the ship were practically dangling in his face. He saw little sparks here and there but other than that, the ship seemed to be fine. By fine, he meant it wasn’t going to explode hopefully.

He looked at the seats of the Pelican carrier, surprised that some were still intact. Most of the medical stations were still there, though being covered in oil or leaking its medicinal contents, while the many of the ammo cartridges and weapons were nonexistent. Thankfully, he still had his Sniper Rifle, his Pistol, a barely operational Assault Rifle, and a seemingly working Spartan Laser.

He had hoped for a better supply of weapons, but this was as good as it would get. The Invisibility Cloaking module was still on his side so he equipped it, because upon inspection of his Armor Lock capability, he saw that the module was damaged into a bent piece of metal, causing him to discard it on the ground. The Mongoose was intact, save for a few dents and scratches, and would help him if he needed to travel long distances. The Pelican was surely not moving anywhere soon.

This Pelican would have to serve as a temporary base for now. Six ducked his head under the hanging piece of metal overhead and stepped outside onto the cold, wet grass. Even though he had armor on, it felt good to be on natural greens again. He inhaled deeply through his helmet, enjoying the exotic smell of the flora.

The Sweet Sounds of Triumph and Survival

He looked up the beautiful night sky, something that he could actually stop and admire for once. He loved the sight of the bright stars shining in unison with the crescent moon. Its luminescence warded all thoughts of failure on his part. This was truly a sight that one would never see in the city. The lunar body’s light shined onto Noble Six’s golden visor, being deflected into the forest before him.

He held the top of his Sniper Rifle in one arm as he looked up to the sky for a while longer. This experience felt much like Reach, the same experience he had before he held his ground from the Covenant. Only that time, the place was being attacked, ravaged, and destroyed. No, this place was savored, cherished, and calming. Under his helmet, the silent Spartan smiled as he turned his attention back to the forest.

The sounds of the wildlife stirring from his presence was soothing, almost like the old times when he would spend days in the forest waiting for the militia leaders to show up. He moved his hand to his head and turned a knob that was well concealed. His night vision optics activated as everything in the forest came to life, green and white. He gave a small chuckle as he activated his active camouflage.

His body began to disappear and in its place was the sight of the forest behind him. It was like an eraser was starting from his feet upward. He started to walk silently forward as his body was quickly made unseeable. As the bottom of his helmet was starting to follow suit, he looked up once more at the moon. The visor gleamed with a shine of yellow before disappearing entirely.

“Remember Reach.”