War for Freedom

(Chapter 2)/New Gear

Rena's POV:
March 2nd, 2093, 08:30:
Alliance base of Carway:

In our own private gym, I was lifting weights to gage my strength. Right now, I was able to lift 2.5 tons with difficulty, a pretty good feat, but not enough to challenge a Spartan II. There was a total of, besides us, 250 Spartans who switched sides, 90% of them being Spartan III's.

Hearing the gym door open, I turned my head and saw Zero enter the gym, wearing shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt. He started walking over to the other bench press I was next to, and upon seeing me, he said,

Zero: "Hey Rena, lifting weights I see."

Rena: "Yeah, you plan on doing the same thing?"

Zero (starts picking up weights): "Yep."

I then watched as he loaded his bar with enough weights to make it weight 895 pounds. He then laid on the bench and started lifting the weights, doing two sets of 15. Afterwards, he loaded more weight, and not wanting to feel like not doing anything, I laid back down and started lifting as well.

For the next few minutes, we both went through multiple machines to train our muscles, until we heard the door open. Turning to it, I saw it was Helena, and we both quickly saluted her as she raised her hand and said,

Helena: "At ease, I'm informing you of your new mission today, I want the both of you in the command center in thirty minutes."

Rena: "Understood ma'am."

She nodded before departing, leaving us to clean up. After fixing the gym, we walked back into our new Alpha quarters before going to our rooms. Going through a quick shower, I quickly start putting my gear on. After placing my helmet on my head, I open the door, seeing Zero leaning against the wall, seeming to have waited for me.

He then got off said wall and started walking away, with me right behind him. Leaving the Alpha Quarters, we walk to the elevator before Zero pressed the number 5 button. The doors then closed and after a few dozen seconds of ascending, the doors opened again, showing the command center. As we left it, I didn't see anyone else from the Alpha Team in here, making me wonder where they are.

Standing in front of a holo-table was Helena, along with commander Bailey, and after doing our salute, Helena waved her hand again before saying,

Helena: "At ease, you both must be wondering where the rest of the team are."

As if on cue, the large window behind Helena showed the pelican flying off, making me wonder what we're doing today. Helena then clicked on a button on the table, and the holo-globe changed into a screen, showing a base being attacked by a large military force. As the video played, Helena said,

Helena: "As of yesterday's raid of the Alliance facility, two bases were attacked by a force we've never seen before. The first base belonged to the Corrupters Armada, and the second belong to the Alliance. When we sent forces to investigate, they only found a destroyed base in rubble. We've attempted to locate them, but just as quickly they appear, they're out of sight before we can even see any identifiable features."

While she said this, the video showed pixilated soldiers, tanks, and by the looks of it, mechs attacking a base. Then, the screen changed to a view of a stealth drone, flying behind a force entering a small forest. But when it went to the other side, there was nothing in sight. Where did they even go?

Walking forward, Zero placed his hand on his helmet where his chin would be and asked,

Zero: "Is Cerberus claiming credit to this?"

Helena (shakes her head): "Surprisingly no, if anything, their upset that this army isn't on their side."

Zero: "I see, so you want us to investigate these sights and maybe find something?"