ARES:Gods of War

The New Guy

All seven present members of Noble team snapped quick salutes at the Chief, who saluted them back in turn. Carter spoke, "Sir, Noble Team, reporting for duty, as ordered..." as he prepared himself mentally to be asked several questions by the Chief. Though, when he noticed Doctor Halsey in the back, wearing a surprisingly calm smile, he sort of relaxed a little.

Chief nodded in greeting, "Good to finally meet the team that was helping the fight in New Alexandria and that got Cortana to me. At ease," before he turned and motioned for them to sit themselves down on the reinforced furniture in Chief's room. As they did so, Chief noticed Jun among the crowd. The man he'd heard had helped start the Spartan-IV Program and find recruits for it. Jun noticed the Chief staring at him and gave a quick, snappy, but quirky salute as he cradled his SRS-99 rifle.

"Sir, permission to speak freely?" Carter asked. Aside from the briefing they were given to read by UNSC Personnel present on-site regarding the Rejuvenation Station that basically raised them from the Dead alongside that chunk of the Long Night of Solace, the man had a multitude more questions and things to say. He wasn't even sure where to start.

"Granted," Chief replied with an air of authority, though he was still peering through some of the paperwork they had left. He was ready to answer their questions or assuage any fears they had in regards to the situation. Honestly, the same team that got that Cortana fragment to him being alive was a boon, considering Doctor Halsey's continuous and open praise for them. Carter and John looked to Kat and the Commander gave his XO a chance to speak.

"We're..." Kat was the one to speak, then, as per the silent request. "Shocked to see UNSC troops on this planet, sir," She clarified really quickly, noting the momentary pause had caused all eyes to fall on her again. She told them, "Especially a presence like that of a Phoenix refit. Even if they're apparently stripping her for parts right now to up the defensive capabilities of the Ark," though it was obvious in her tone that she was glad they were there.

"Doubly so with you being here, John," Jorge quip, much to the Spartan's joy. Honestly, Chief had missed his upbeat view of the world. Jorge added, "Good to see you, by the way," with a smile. It wasn't a surprise to Chief that he'd been reassigned to probably shepherd the group of Spartan-IIIs, seeing as he was one of the more open and warm Spartans. Doctor Halsey had also given him a briefing(conflated with Kelly's own word on the matter) about this new generation of Spartans.

"Likewise, Jorge. Been a while," Chief replied kindly.

"Someone had to help keep this world in check, Jorge. It wasn't going to be anybody else but John," Halsey stated rather proudly, to which Jorge snorted. She looked over to the group and spoke softly, "It is good to see you here, Noble Team, though you seem to be missing one member, if only to have added two more..." and she motioned to Thom and Rosenda, both of whom nodded in greetings.

"We're still looking for Six," Emile added, getting affirmative replies from the rest of the team. He stated rather bluntly, "We ain't leaving that bastard behind."

"Another Hyper-Lethal would be useful," Chief affirmed, then added, "Though, since we can't exactly track him until the connection to the Rejuvenator Station in the North is built, we will have to hope we meet him and whomever else he may have gathered in the midst of this world later down the line..." before lifting a tablet to see the latest reports from the Northern Outpost.

"And that connection's gonna take... How long, sir?" Thom, of all people, asked, much to Chief's surprise.

"The Northern Base has been under sustained Rapture attack for the past few weeks, so it will take a while longer," Chief nodded, raising a brow at the man. He then explained to the group, "We've deployed SeaBees alongside an armor unit there, though, so it should hopefully hurry the process along," then he looked to Thom and added, "I didn't think you'd ask us to find the man bearing your Callsign, though, Spartan. Weren't you the original Noble Six?"