Prologue
Prologue
UH-144 Falcon on approach to Forerunner Research Facility
Designate: “Starswirl Base”
2557 – One Month After UNSC Discovery of Forerunner Shield World “Requiem”
Fire burned in his still, emotionless eyes. The memories of a past life hidden away beneath his helmet, tucked away safely behind a blue visor. What sat in the UH-144 Falcon air transport was not a soldier. It was a husk.
Whatever life Noble Wing had before had died after the Covenant sacked Tribute all those years ago. He was not a Spartan. Not anymore. That Spartan was dead, left behind and turned to glass. That Noble was buried under the ashes of his fellow Spartans who gave their lives that day.
Though Noble was not the only ghost on this op.
There was a taller Spartan that occupied the seat in front of him. Despite the stature, the physique was clearly feminine. She was clad in orange MJOLNIR Mark VI armor, the Gen. 2 iteration by the looks of it. She checked her assault rifle for what seemed like the seventh time this flight. Noble mentally counted the clicks the rifle made as the Spartan-II disassembled and reassembled the ammo counter and stock of the MA5D. She was lightning quick, her hands moving in a blur of rapid motions. She finished the process with a slam of the ammo magazine, slipping it back into its slot behind the trigger.
“I’m impressed,” Noble spoke up. “You Model Two’s seem to know your rifle more than anything else.”
The fellow Spartan glanced up, her slightly glazed over emerald irises snapping back to reality. She looked Noble’s form over, almost unsure if it really was the Spartan-III that made such a remark. This was the first time she had heard him speak since the briefing.
“Least Ah ain’t one a’ them new bloods,” she finally responded. “Seriously, ya’ll see that Four back at Command? Ah was surprised he wasn’t askin’ questions ‘bout where the shooty bits come out!”
Noble rolled his eyes behind his visor. Her accent seemed to reside somewhere in the deep south, likely from Appleloosa. It had that twangy sound to it. Noble could have sworn he heard a bit of Hungarian as well, probably something she picked up when training on Reach. He was not one to ask such questions, however. He had a job to do after all.
“He was probably fresh off the line,” he replied flatly. He left it at that, tossing the conversation aside as quickly as it was brought up. Noble could care less about the soldiers being recruited into the new Spartan-IV program. He could forgive a few newbies who still thought this line of work was like the Marines or ODST’s. “As for us, we have a job to do.”
The other Spartan nodded slowly, almost distantly. It was as if she was entranced with something. Her green eyes glazed over again as she stared at one part of Noble’s person. “Applejack?” He called out to her with little success.
It was then that Noble realized why she was dismantling and rebuilding that rifle of hers. It was so she wouldn’t address the elephant in the room.
“It’s the arm, isn’t it?” Noble asked her, raising his prosthetic metal arm to eye level. He started twisting the cybernetic limb slowly before her eyes. Applejack responded with a hesitant nod, almost nervous to address it herself. Noble let out an audible sigh at that, returning the limb in question back to its original place at its side. “Don’t worry. It won’t be a liability.” He told her simply.
Applejack nodded again, her stance easing up as she sat upright again. “Right,” she said in a more relaxed tone. “So, what’re our main objectives?”
Noble squared his shoulders and leaned forward slightly. “We’re looking at a downed research facility that went off the grid about two days ago,” he explained. “The place went dark after a science team reported finding something beneath the facility…”
“So th’ folks at Command want us to find out what,” Applejack finished. “Ain’t that a… misallocation o’ resources or somethin’?”
“If you mean sending in a pair of Spartans to a Chicken Coop with the intention of flipping on a light switch and asking the AI what the hell went wrong,” Noble quipped flatly. “Then yes, maybe it is. Something about this doesn’t add up. I can’t put my finger on it…”
Applejack nodded at that and smirked beneath her helmet. “Like a li’l more intel with your intel, don’t ya sugarcube?”
Noble shrugged at that, turning his head a bit to see the rushing mountainside of the canyon valley. “Yeah…” the Spartan-III said distantly. “Something like that.”
Applejack nodded a tad and looked out as well. There was a lot about this op that didn’t add up. Command could have easily sent in a squad of Marines for this. It could have been more effective and cheaper. Why send in a pair of Spartans for a job like this? It made no sense! Retrieving AI data on a seemingly abandoned research facility and bringing it back online seemed too simple. Especially considering that most of the Spartans in the UNSC were lightyears away trying to figure out this Requiem thing. Why were they chosen for this op? Shouldn’t they could be assigned to the Infinity and helping the fight against the real threat of the Prometheans and the Covenant Remnant?
The Falcon pitched and yawed as it raced across the river down the canyon. The mission site neared ahead. Waiting at the end of the river was a pristine set of white buildings, hidden away in the shadows of the rock face. As the sun slowly rose over the valley, the shadows shifted and moved away like parting curtains. It was like a tempting invitation, a request for the Falcon to deliver its passengers before the gates of shadow seal this paradise away forever.
It was an offer too good to refuse.
This place was a garden… and these two Spartans, Noble Wing and Applejack, would have it all to themselves.
Halo:
The Apple of Eden
A Nobleverse Tale
By: Grave Mind
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Chicken Coop
2357148 Price of falling for a sick April Fools prank by the admins, I'm afraid... it's fixed, at least. Feel free to give me your feedback regardless, though!
It's... nice.
2357696 It'll get better as the story goes on.
This is very interesting indeed.
I like to see what will the humanized Applejack (SpartanJack?/AppleSpartan?/AppleSpartanJack?) will do next.
And also, are you sure your timeline follows the Halo 4's timeline? Because as I recall, the six months after discovering Requiem is in the year 2558, not 2557.
2377990 I am terribly sorry about that factual error. Rest assured, this does follow Halo 4's timeline. I had it as 2557 because I was unsure of how Spartan Ops fit into the game's timeframe (from what I recall, all my sources say the first season takes place "six months after the campaign"). I'm currently working on a revised version that will be much more accurate. So rest assured, your feedback is greatly appreciated.
I like it need work but i like it.
keep up the work