Kyle's POV

I watched as the banshees got closer and quickly swerved as the first green plasma bolt flew at me. It missed by inches. I fired at the one that was charging me head on, spinning to dodge its fire, squarely hitting the cockpit with several rounds. I must have gotten the pilot because the Banshee stopped flying as I flew past and began smoking before it hit the ground in a purple fireball. I rolled my Banshee to the right as the one of the others ones that had broken off fired it's twin turrets at the space I had just occupied. I swung around, firing a green plasma bolt at it and managing to hit it with the heavy projectile. The bolt seared the side of the Banshee as it had mostly managed to swerve out of the way, but one of its engines was severely damaged. I couldn't cheer for long though as the last one came at me. I spun to the left, try to come around his back but the last Banshee turned as well, putting us in a circle loop where we were both chasing each other.

This is ridiculous! I was stuck looping and if I stopped I would most likely be destroyed by the other Banshee. I looked around for it as we continued our stalemate and saw the second banshee struggle toward us and start firing. I winced as a round hit the side of the cockpit of the Banshee I occupied. Ok I'm done. I broke from the circle and immediately shut the engines off. My Banshee dropped several feet and the plasma flew safely overhead. I turned them back on and flew up after the two banshees now in front of me. Alright, the weak one's going down. I fired, hitting its right wing. It exploded, pieces spiraling out into the trees.

The other banshee was trying to turn around. I flew straight at it, firing non-stop. We passed so close that I scraped the top of the cockpit of the other banshee. I flipped around and we flew at each other again. This time I fired my cannon. The green plasma hit it right in it's cockpit.

The banshee seemed to float in midair for a second before exploding.

I was too close to turn away so I flew straight through the wreckage. A piece scraped my wing and for the first time I noticed the critical condition of the Banshee I was piloting. Much more strain and I could blow whatever engine powered this thing.

I have to land soon.

I turned back towards the battle, launching another green blob of plasma before flying it straight towards a covenant tank. I ejected and landed hard, rolling and stopping on a knee, automatically saying, "Contact" in my coms. I watched the pilot-less Banshee crash straight into the tank, creating a huge explosion. I shielded my helmet and quickly ran behind cover as plasma fire from the ground caught my attention. Bringing up my rifle I saw some soldiers grabbing a fuel tank and pushing it up towards the Covenant. "Are you crazy, what are you doing?!" I yelled.

One of them looked back and yelled, "Gonna give the covenant a little gift, Petty Officer Steele has a plan!" Then they continued to push it into the midst of the covenant, another soldier joining them.

Steele is here?! That's my mission! But first I have to find my team.

I looked around, spotting a familiar helmet a few hundred feet away, towards the center of the battle now. I breathed deeply... then ran for my life.

I hopped over a group of soldiers and flinched as a few needles shattered on my shield, draining the charge significantly. Almost there! I rolled over a crate and dodged a few slower plasma rounds but then a needle shattered on my shield again, using up its charge and leaving me vulnerable. Of course I still had my armor, but Needlers could do some decent damage. Oh no! I ran faster, sliding into cover next to my squad as a needle nicked my helmet, creating a deeper-than-normal scrape. I had kicked up dust and as it cleared saw my team looking at me. "What? I had a problem." Henderson shook his head and with humor said, "Of course you did. Have you located our objective? By the way nice touch with the Banshee."

I nodded. "Thanks, and a few soldiers told me 118 had a plan for the Covenant so I'm guessing he's near the middle." I said. He nodded and we made our way to the center of the fight on our side. I covered Grey while he looked for him. I took out my rocket launcher and fired into the Covenant's midst, blowing up a group of Jackals. "I don't see him." He said. I ducked behind the cover and looked around too. He should be here. I heard a humming sound, slowly getting louder. "What is that noise? Is that a..." A warthog came out of the base, with the one and only Steele driving. "car?!" I said, and rolled out of the way as it zoomed past. It was carrying something in the back, but whatever it was, he was driving it straight towards the covenant.

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Steele's POV

I raced out of the base, catching a quick glimpse of a group of Spartans, one in Enforcer armor staring at me and rolling to get out of the way. I dismissed it and drove straight towards the covenant with three fuel tanks in the back. I drove as fast as the car could go and sped towards the stack of fuel tanks placed in the middle of the covenant. I was a few hundred feet away now. As I got in range, I slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel as fast as I could to the right, spinning the back end of the warthog out and throwing the fuel tanks out of the back with the momentum. Then I signaled the troops to throw their grenades and slammed on the peddle, rocketing back away from the Covenant as fast as I could. I skidded the warthog to a stop in time to see the fuel crates blow up in a chain reaction, and the soldiers throwing their grenades ensured that the entire chain went off. A few explosions were late but that was ok, the outcome was no less. The effect had been devastating to the covenant. Few groups of Covenant were left standing, and the ones who were still alive seemed shocked or bewildered.

The soldiers cheered, those who helped cheering the most. The rest of the troops charged with a battle cry, quickly obliterating the remaining Covenant or forcing them to retreat. I watched them go and got out of the warthog, looking around at the celebrating troops. My team joined me and Selina said, "Nice job Steele."

Our celebration was a bit short-live however as I soon heard footsteps approaching me and my team to our 6. We turned around and I was surprised to see the same soldier with Enforcer armor from earlier approaching me. He quickly saluted, his team following suit. "At ease soldiers." I said. They brought their hands down and the soldier with Enforcer armor stepped forward. "Sir, I am Third class Petty Officer Kyle. This is my team and my Commanding Officer Henderson. We were sent on a classified mission that involves you and your team. We need to speak with you and the Commander named Silas asap, privately." He said. I nodded, a bit curious as to what they had to say but there was no reason not to trust them. "That can be arranged, follow me." I said and walked towards the hangar. My team walked a little behind me on my left and the others followed up behind me, Petty Officer Kyle coming up to walk beside me. He leaned over slightly and said, "That was a great plan, what you did with the fuel tanks. What people say about you is true." I was a bit thrown off by the change in formality, almost like he was a fan or something, so I simply nodded my thanks and kept walking. We got a few weird looks as we passed through the hanger but everyone was mostly celebrating.

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I led them towards Silas's room and gave them the signal to stop. I walked up to his door and knocked. It opened and I stepped halfway inside, saluting. He was looking at some papers. "Second Class Petty Officer Steele reporting Sir, we have visitors." I said. He looked up from his papers and said, "At ease, send them in." while cleaning up the papers and putting them away. I waved the teams to come inside and walked over to Silas, standing at a military rest with my team. The team of six entered and lined up.

Their Commander stepped forward. "Sir, before we proceed I must as you to please secure the room. What we are about to reveal is of the highest classification and is for no one else's ears except those currently present." He said. Silas nodded and tapped a few things into a panel on his desk. There were clicks and a few other sounds as the room became sound proof and all windows closed, making the room darker. "Go ahead commander." Silas said after the last sounds settled, gesturing with his hand.

Their leader began. "We were sent with a group of Spartans in response to the distress call you sent around a year ago. There were specifications to this rescue that we received only after we departed from slipspace. My team was specifically chosen to respond to those specifications, which were to rendezvous with an officer named Silas, you sir, and defend the base. Should it be overrun, our primary objective would be to escort the subject off the planet, and eventually to another planet. The reasons for this being that your Second Class Petty Officer here is of high value not only to the Covenant, but also to the UNSC. They believe that he could become the next Master Chief, even possibly better than Chief himself. In anticipation of the eventual death or retirement of the Spartan IIs, Halsey had already started to train a replacement for him. They agreed that the troops need a leader and the UNSC needs someone to be a primary defense against the covenant. But, they also know that he is still young and in training so we are here to make sure nothing happens to him and his team." He said, gesturing to the silent Spartans next to Steele. He stepped back into the line.

I looked down. The gravity of the revelation I had made earlier seemed to finally hit me now that it was confirmed by another source. A lot of people were counting on me, and willing to risk their lives for me. Did I deserve their praise? Was I really all that special? Sure I was the commander of my team who have proven time and time again that they are the best on Atrius, but this was bigger than just my planet. The whole galaxy seemed to rest on my shoulders, adding to the responsibility of the safety and well-being my team and my outpost. Could I live up to their expectations? I wasn't even totally sure what they wanted me to do. I couldn't just copy the Master Chief after all, his achievements were one-of-a-kind. Even the Covenant seemed to think I was important. Out of the corner of my visor I saw Selena turn her head to look towards me. That's right. Regardless of my status, I still had a job to do, that I had been training for my entire life. As long as I did that job, everything would be just fine. I would protect my planet and fight the Covenant as those had done before me.

Silas asked, "Why wasn't I informed of this before now? I was the one to send the request after all." The Commander shrugged. "Unknown Sir." Silas walked to his desk, sitting down. He looked at the Commander again. "What happens if the Covenant are destroyed or chased off. Where will him and his team go?"

"Most likely he will be escorted by my team to the UNSC's best training base to hone his abilities until they are needed. This was approved by ONI and Admiral Hood." He replied. Silas put his head on his hand, looking me over with a bit of... sadness? "Very well, what will you do now that the Covenant have retreated?" Silas asked.

"For now, wait until the other teams report in that there is either the all-clear or that the situation is FUBAR(screwed up beyond all repair). If it ever comes to that then we will evacuate the planet." He replied. Silas exhaled. "You really think it could go FUBAR?" The commander stated, "Anything can happen Sir. The covenant do have a large force here. We must always prepare for the worst." Silas took a deep breath and stood up. "Well, we are glad you came to our aid. We can arrange your team to sleep in barracks near one of the base entrances. Or we do have an outpost just outside of you prefer to be alert. I will be communicating with the other outposts in the meantime." He turned off the sound-proof barrier and the other precautions. The room became significantly brighter, though my eyes adjusted so fast that I barely noticed. I could see just as well in the dark as in bright daylight. "I must attend to some things. Steele," he began. I looked at him. "You have full authority to command both teams but this Commander will be the Senior officer. If anything goes wrong contact me through the link I will send to your helmets." He said, and walked swiftly out the door.

We were silent for a moment. Their Commander stepped forward. "Second-Class Petty Officer Steele, I am Sergeant Henderson. This is my team, Grey 278, Rogers 574, I believe you have met Kyle 324, Strang 299, and Smith 486. It's an honor to meet you." He said, reaching out his hand. "It's an honor to meet you as well. This is 245, 489, and 164." I said, shaking his hand and gesturing to each as I said their numbers.

"We are going to take watches at the outpost. Your team can take accommodations inside." He said enthusiastically, but I could tell he was just being courteous and wasn't committed to the idea. Even with armor to keep out the cold and cushioning them, it would be a miserable night of shifting watches and cramped space, making it nearly impossible to sleep. "With all due respect Sir, we are more suited to the task and take up less space. We will take watches." I said firmly. He nodded, and gestured for his team to move to the barracks. I led my team outside and up the stairs to the small open outpost. "I will take first watch." I said. My team nodded and they took off their weapons from their backs, setting them beside themselves and sitting up against the wall.

Scott stretched and slumped down against the wall. "Well that was fun. Reckon' they're any good?"

"I guess we will see tomorrow. They haven't gotten themselves killed yet so that's a start." I replied semi-humorously. He chuckled lightly and leaned his head back on the outpost interior wall. Within minutes they had all fallen into a light sleep, from which a single noise out of place could bring them to full alert status. I sighed and took my gun off my back, shouldering it and leaning against the doorway. I looked out into the vast battlefield that had been created in front of the base, wreckage and some bodies still present. The trees behind the clearing were dark in the moonlight. I sighed again. This is going to be a long night.