Noble 7

"Contact with Visegrád relay was lost last night. All signals flatlined at twenty-six hundred hours. I responded with trooper fire teams which have since been declared, MIA."

"And now you're sending us," Carter stated.

Colonel Holland continued, "The Office of Naval Intelligence believes deployment of a Spartan team to be a gross misallocation of valuable resources. I disagree."

Suddenly, from behind Carter, Kat interrupted.

"Commander."

Jorge raised his eyebrows and Carter turned to see what the big guy was looking at.

"So that's our new number six," Jorge said.

"Kat," Emile called from where he sat on the floor sharpening his kukri. "You read her file?"

"Only the parts that weren't covered in black ink," she answered back.

Carter looked over at the new addition. A slender figured female Spartan in white-on-pink Mjolnir powered assault armor and a CQC helmet stood there. She had at least a dozen fragmentation grenades strapped to her torso.

Thom's replacement.

A brief image of the 'cowboy' Spartan's face came to mind but Carter quickly pushed it away. Allowing it to stay would be taking the first step of a painful stroll down Noble Team's memory lane.

He had been made aware that the new Noble Six was en route in a call from CPO Mendez an hour or so before Holland had contacted him with the mission briefing. In the same call, Mendez confirmed that his request for a seventh Spartan on Noble team had been approved, and that Noble Seven would arrive in less than forty-eight hours. Apparently, Spartan-032 was currently leading a small team on a mission involving Insurrectionist Space Pirates that successfully captured a UNSC Frigate and crew near one of the outer colonies. He'd be reassigned upon his return to Reach.

Carter turned back to Holland's image on the screen in front of him.

"Anyone claim responsibility sir?" he asked, getting back on track.

"ONI thinks it might be the local insurrection. They pulled a similar job at Harmony a few months ago. Hit a relay to take out our eyes and ears and stole two freighters from dry-dock. That can't happen here. Reach is too damn important. I want that relay back online Noble One."

"Sir. Consider it done."

"Then I'll see you on the other side. Holland out."

Carter picked his helmet up off the table and the other Spartans all grabbed their gear and dispersed. All except the pink one.

"Lieutenant," he acknowledged.

"Commander, sir," she spoke, clear and confident with a step forward.

He introduced himself and the rest of the team, "I'm Carter, Noble team's leader. That's Kat, Noble Two. Emile and Jorge, Four and Five. You're riding with me Noble Six."

Carter slid on his helmet as he followed Emile out of the bungalow and said to Six, "I'm not going to lie to you lieutenant. You're stepping into some shoes the rest of the squad would rather leave unfilled."

Up ahead, the propellers on both UH-144 Falcons were starting to spin up. Carter and Six climbed into Jun's Falcon, then Carter leaned out and signaled to the Falcon carrying the other half of the team to take off and sat down next to her.

"Me, I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength. Just one thing. I've seen your file, even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. Glad to have your skill set. But we're a team. That lone wolf stuff stays behind. Clear?"

"Got it, sir," she said.

She looked over to Jun, and the sharpshooter simply said, "Welcome to Reach."