//------------------------------// // More Like a Quarter // Story: A Noble Cause // by Sarkastik Menace //------------------------------//           The wind howled through the now soundless town. Fighting from hours before was evident, both sides too bloodied to fight on, nursing their wounds. Almost none of the buildings could be recognized as artillery tore through them leaving nothing remaining. Still, there were some stubborn fighters, refusing to give up the fight in their own way. Recon units scouting for enemy activity, or makeshift fortifications. One soldier was assigned a different task however. Search and Rescue. A teenager was assigned to aid people probably twice her age, in any way, whether it be pulling them out of a fight or medical aid. So far, there was nothing. Dead and dying men, choking on their last breath. It made the girl sick to her stomach. Burnt out vehicles, lighting up the bitter dark terrain. The soldier had to be careful not to step on debris or corpses of all shapes and forms, as both littered the ground as far as the eye could see. Searching out a burnt out building which, judging by the amounts of paper and scenery the girl identified as some sort of office building, very large in space but not even two stories. It was one of the few buildings that withstood the bloody confrontation. She reached a square room, in the center various cubicles filled with paper and some with even blood in them, none that was red thankfully. The girl was carrying her  DMR with one hand down by her waist, taking in her surroundings. The girl looked into the next room and saw a strange light. It was floating in the air. Using her training she instantly realized what it was. It was a jackal sniper. She dove backwards out of the doorway, just as the beam of light past right where her head was split seconds before. The girl had to think fast. The cover was merely a hollow wall. She chose to suppress the jackal, knowing full well only a few lucky shots from her assault rifle were all it took to knock it out. Poking the rifle around the corner she lit up the next room with a blaze of gunfire. Taking advantage of the confusion and her newly issued SPI (Self Powered Infiltration) armour she cloaked and mere seconds later she spotted the jackal running for a window, a bullet lodged in it’s shoulder. Diving the girl stopped the jackal dead in it’s tracks. The girl tackled pinning it to the floor as the jackal screeched in pain as its bones were crushed by the bulky armor. As the girl plunged a knife into it’s throat, she realized something rewarding yet so horrible. This was the first thing she had ever killed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                    “You alright back there?” Six asked. Over the hours Daring started to lag behind. Even with Six carrying Daring’s load it still wasn't showing any signs of improvement. “Not really, but better than when I carried the bags.” Daring struggled to keep a straight face. Her leg was killing her as the medicine began to wear off, and on top of that she was exhausted. She could have went on with little a problem. She had faced worse situations, but the temptation was proving very great. She had a way out, and only at the loss of her pride. And besides, if Six was in the same situation she would have carried her, or at least tried. Still, Daring wouldn’t give up. Maybe if she took her mind off of the pain it would become less of a problem. “So we traveled for seven hours, so we're only two days away.”                                       “Yeah, sounds right.” The pain only grew worse. It quickly became clear Daring’s idea wasn't going to work. “Alright. I give up.” Daring mumbled.            “Ok.” Six chose not to say anything. It was a miracle she decided to agree after all. Hoisting Daring over her shoulder. She walked at a slightly faster pace, almost jogging, but not enough to disturb the wounded pony she was carrying. Six had seen many injured patients being moved go from bad to worse with the slip of a foot, as unlikely as it was for a spartan to make such an error. Daring was exhausted. Struggling to stay awake, and all of her attempts to focus on something else, most of the time through dialogue with the soldier proved futile. Though for all she knew, if she fell asleep there might be no waking up. Daring did think of something, though. Something she hoped would have her new friend regretting her little taunt. Putting a sly smile on her face and mustered up her voice she said, “By the way, you never told me what you do.” Six almost stopped in her tracks. Half cursing herself for when she said she would explain everything when Daring let Six carry her, the other half, digging up old memories long undisturbed. “There’s no escape now.” Six thought.                                    “Search And Rescue.” Six said. It was a half truth after all. Maybe a little less. “More like a quarter,”  the soldier thought in her head Daring decided to continue her questioning, trying to keep her mind focused. “So how ‘bout your culture? I can explain like, a million things about mine. You gotta have some interesting things about ‘Humanity’ I think you call it.” Sighing, Six answered, just above a whisper. “Not much, i guess. We've traveled into space for a few hundred years. We spread out far and wide, speaking different languages, different customs. and despite all of our cultural differences we still got, well, close. “Uh, what do you mean close?” Daring asked, tilting her head “We’re interesting, you could say. It’s kind of funny. A guy named Nishizawa and someone else called Matt could be best friends. Two people on opposite sides of known space could talk daily. I guess that’s just  what makes us special.”                                      “There’s gotta be more than that. It’s an entire race after all!”                        “I'm not explaining our history from start to finish right now. Maybe when we finally get to wherever we're going I'll tell you while you're getting patched up.”                                  “But why would they need someone doing Search and Rescue? Especially with this kind of armour.” Daring questioned, bumping Six’s shoulder piece twice with her hoof. She didn't know how advanced this armour was for humanity. For all Daring knew it was some old worn armour she was given at a training camp. Still Six decided to not lie completely. “Might bite me in the ass later.” Six concluded inwardly. Still what should she say? Granted she could just say there were ‘bad guys’ for the hell of it. There were still innies, albeit much less active than before the war due to them realizing that there was an enemy much worse than the UNSC.      “I've got a lot of training. I guess you could say they don’t wanna risk losing someone with as much experience as me.” Six Delicately explained.                              “So you've fought before then?”           “Who hasn’t? You don't become a soldier and not fight.”         “But you said ‘As much experience as me’. That’s gotta mean you've been fighting a lot right? I mean really, that armor you have has to be cutting edge even for aliens! Err, no offense.”                       “How-” Six cut herself off, knowing full well what she was about to say. “That’s enough. I'm done playing twenty questions.” Six dictated, looking at Daring through her visor. Begrudgingly sighing, Daring silenced herself, slumping down angrily. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                        Twenty minutes later          “Hey swifty? What the hell is that thing?” Rain Runner whispered.                “No idea, but it looks like whatever it is it ain't too friendly with that pony. Long range scout looks like.” Swift Hoof concluded. The pair had been out for hours following orders that practically spelled spooky.                          “Hey, gimme those binocs real quick.”                              “Aren't we supposed to be on the lookout for one of those scouts?” Rain asked, still confused about the patrol’s objective.                    “Yeah, I suppose we are. Haven't seen the poor thing open her mouth since I spotted em’ either. Let’s relay this back to HQ. Something tells me we shouldn't take that thing on by our lonesome.”