A Hero's Sacrifice: a tale about Noble Six

Homeward Bound

POV: Spartan Buck

I pulled back the hammer on my magnum. There was a heavy footstep in front of me and when I looked up, I saw the Master Chief.

I gave him a small nod. "Sir."

The silent Spartan looked at me, then turned his attention to the holographic display before everyone in the troop hold. Captain Lasky came on.

"Blue Team. Fireteam Osiris. We have a mission for the two of you."

Locke stood up. "What's the op?"

Commander Palmer came on. "We've heard rumors of an insurrectionist base on Reach," Blue Team obviously flinched. "We want the two of you to go and investigate. Try not sparking a war there; we don't have many troops to spare. You're on your own, Spartans. Palmer, over and out."

The display turned off and Fred sighed. "Reach, huh? Didn't Noble Team go MIA there years ago?"

The Master Chief looked at an AI chip hanging around his neck. "Yeah.... They did."

Everyone watched as the Spartan climbed back into the cockpit. I subconsciously ran a hand along my gun.

What's got him so worked up?

The Pelican dove down and entered Reach's atmosphere. We landed a ways away from the suspected camp and took off, following behind our respective leaders. After sprinting for around thirty minutes, we dropped to our stomachs and crawled to the edge of the cliff.

Down below, the camp smoked like it had just been attacked. The eight of us slid down the rocky wall and snaked our way into the camp. There were several plasma burns, bullet holes, and grenade explosions here and there, but otherwise, it looked like the place was a ghost town.

Slowly, I lowered my rifle. "What happened here?"

Locke brushed past me, our shields flaring up. "Looks like the work of a hyper-lethal operative. But who would go out of their way to destroy a town while leaving zero bodies?"

Vale grabbed something off a wall. "Think I just found a calling card. Recognise this, by any chance, Locke?"

Locke turned to look at the symbol in Vale's hand. He took it from her and gazed at it for a while. The Master Chief took the symbol from Locke, glanced at it, then tossed it aside.

"Noble. Someone must be trying to play us."

I felt a cold gaze on the back of my neck, like Rookie was glaring at me from the afterlife. I turned around and caught a glimpse of someone, but they ran away before I could do anything. Linda noticed.

"Something wrong, four?"

I mentally winced. "Kinda? I just spotted someone running away. Couldn't get a good visual. Let's get back to the others."

"Right."

Try as I might, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. We continued to explore the town and a sound to my right made me draw my pistol and take aim. A girl around six or so years old in an ashy dress gazed up at me in awe, not fear.

I sighed and holstered my pistol. "Just a kid."

She took a step forward, making all of us Spartans look at her. Vale stepped forwards and took off her helmet.

"Who are you?" She knelt down to look the girl some-what in the eyes.

"H-hope. I-.... I survived big pincer mouths."

I tilted my head. "Big pincer mouths? What?"

Vale ignored me. "What do you mean?"

The girl grabbed a stick a scribbled something into the dirt. The Master Chief looked at it for a long while before taking a jab at what she was trying to say.

"You survived Elites?"

"Mhm."

I felt my body tense up. Covenant? On Reach?

The girl swiped away her drawing, then drew another one. This one was of a tiny girl holding a giant man's hand. We looked at it for a while, unsure of what it was supposed to be. She sighed, then drew big blobs in the "sky" of her drawing, then waited. We still couldn't get it. With a final sigh, she drew lines coming down from the blobs and Tanaka sighed.

"Did you survive a glassing?"

"Mhm!"

Tanaka ruffled the kid's hair in a rare show of emotion, then returned to her normal cold self. I knelt down to ask the kid something, but I noticed my motion tracker flash. Fast as a Banshee, I drew my pistol and let off a shot in the direction of the movement. My bullet hit a metal pole.

"What the -?"

Suddenly, a fist obscured my vision and I was thrown to the ground. I heard my fellow Spartans blindly open fire, but it seemed that all they were hitting were empty buildings. After a moment of shooting, they paused to reload.

"What was that?!" Fred seemed worried.

I moaned. "A human, that's for sure. And a buff one at that. That fist just appeared in my vision in the snap of a finger. Crazy, if you ask me."

Locke looked down at me. "You okay? How are your vitals?"

"I've experienced worse as a Helljumper. Can I have a hand?"

I reached out for some help from my fellow Spartans, but the girl grabbed my giant hand and pulled with all her might. The Master Chief shook his head, then pulled me up with one hand.

"Thank you, sir. Now, doe- wait a tick. What's that?"

I walked over to a scrap of paper that wasn't there before and examined it. The same exact symbol.

"Another Noble calling card. What is going on here?"

My fellow Spartans crowded around me, gazing at the card in my hand.

-----------------------------------

POV: ???

I slung my pack over my armored shoulder. Those Spartans were gazing at my calling card, allowing me to make a discreet exit. Hope looked at me and winked. I placed two fingers to my comrade's helmet and then turned away.

Man, do I hate leaving that girl. She always knows how to make me tear up.

I shook my head, then set off for my next destination: Noble City.

Time to take back what's rightfully mine.

Okay! Hearth here!

How do you like the first chapter of A Hero's Sacrifice?

Who is that person who punched Buck to the ground?

What were they doing?

Find out next time!

Until then, take care.