Spartan archive

The skyscrapers that litter the city are almost indistinguishable from one another. The city is a
thriving metropolis and one of the few to escape the notice of the Covenant many years ago. However, the debris from several ships did penetrate the atmosphere and rain upon the city cause widespread panic and destruction. The remnants of that are quickly forgtten when the sun sets and the neon comes on. The night side of the town is always busier then the day side of the town bringing in plenty of money to the shop and club owners and then for the city

The shuttle came in quick and fast, soaring towards the docking platform where it made a quick but soft landing. A voice came over the intercomm of the ship. "Welcome to New Tokyo! The time here is about dusk and all the bar owners are salvating at the thought of you all coming in and spending your hard earned paychecks." This comment got several cheers and hoots as the boarding ramp opened and let everyone out.

"We're not allowed to get drunk though... are we?" Tavish asked, one of the first things he wanted to get out the way "I mean we got told that we have to be perfect because we're the first ones for shore leave..." He straightened up slightly in his suit, checking that all his medals were in place on his chest; after a while he'd figured he'd pull them out and shine them, after all these could be long flights and if he looked disheveled he at least wanted his chest to look impressive. He'd thought something about Spook right then, but he'd let the joke pass with just a fleeting smirk.

"The Admiral didnt exactly say that, he just said behave. So I think as long as you dont level the bar your fine." Aaron said, glancing around as they walked across the tarmac to the doors.

Spook had become increasingly quiet during the ride. Sure she was a battle hardened Spartan sniper, dealing with normal military folk was one thing, dealing with civilians was another. All she knew was the first guy who smacked her ass was going to end up in traction, orders from the admiral or no.

"Gotcha, so, no alcohol" Tavish chuckled, eyes straying to Spook; she had been very quiet lately. "Hey, Spook, how about you and me hit the town? See what's going on around here? I think it'll be easier to deal with the civies if I've got back up... so to speak."

"I do believe the lady said she would accompany me to a movie." Scorch reminded Tavish as he moved up beside the female Spartan. He held out his arm to her, "Shall we?"

"I did already promise." Spook told Shaft "What if we catch up with you after?"

As they approached the doors, a little Asian woman appeared infront of them. "Hello Spartans! My name is Kasumi and I will be your guide today."

"Well..." Tavish said, seeming a bit disapointed that Spook was going off with someone else. That is until he let out a beaming smile at the small woman in front of them, thinking maybe this wasn't SO bad after all. Standing up quickly he offered his hand to Kasumi, who he dwarfed beneath his size "Nice to meet you, I'm Shaft..." he remembered he was a civilian right now "uhhhh... Tavish. Call me Tavish."

"Nice to meet you Tavish, nice to meet all of you." she said i an almost too happy voice. "I hope that I will be very helpful in assisting you in enjoying your shore leave."

"Where is the nearest theater house?" Spook asked the tiny woman. She felt suddenly grotesquely over-sized all of a sudden. Her team mates dwarfed her yes, but seeing the little woman made Spook feel how tall she really was.

Kasumi's eyes lit up at the opportunity to serve them so quickly. "There are several theatres to choose from. The best one is 4D theatre which takes the customers and almost literally puts them in the movie. the there are several more of less fantasticness all the way down to a classic reel ran movie theater like they had a few centuries ago."

"What kind of movies are playing?" Scorch asked curiously. He wasn't even sure what type Spook might enjoy, but he was up for just about any type of movie

"Let me see." She said as she flipped open a little device attached to her am and punched in a few commands. "Well, there are two comedies, three dramas, an action flick or two, four romances which include a romantic comedy, and a documentary which you wouldnt be interested in as its about Spartans."

"Ha!" Tavish could let out a barking laugh at that "Go see that, just... heckle it the entire way through." Anything but the romances... he didn't want to think about those two going to see soppy movies with the latest foot faced british guy fawning over a horse faced american...

"Before the group seperates I have been instructed to take you all on a small tour of the main street attractions and several other spots in the city. That way you can optimize your enjoyment and minimize boredom." Kasumi began to say as she waved for them to follow her.

"Woo hoo" Tavish mumbled in a voice that showed all the emotion and excitement as an imputent sloth; generally anything that had to do with the words "optimize" and "minimize" that wasn't an advert for viagra or guns was boring. He hoped this wasn't going to be a bunch of tourist spots, where a lot of people would gawp at buildings with cameras, then gawp at the Spartans with cameras. Still he followed the small asian woman, with all the faith of a puppy and the attention span on one as well.

Aaron did a lot of grumbling as he fell in line behind the tiny woman. His and Tavish's concerns where similar, as he didnt want to see a bunch of statues and memorials to long lost, heroic cats or to a barn fire several centuries ago. He just wanted to try and enjoy this as much as Spartanly possible.

Spook had the little woman by the arm and appeared to be ignoring her. She was checking out the arm device, scrolling threw the films and designated rout she was intending to take them on. A sniper at heart the city map fixed it's self in Spook's brain for later use. "We should get these boss." She said indicating the arm device "It's like VISR mode 2.0." 

Kasumi watched her thumb through the info but didnt say anything or try to stop her. "This town has turned into a bustling nightlife oriented city since the debris fell, killing many and destroying much. Seems everyone realized time is to short not to have fun and so they turned to the nightclubs and gambling parlors."

"they consider that safe in such a dilapidated section of the city?" Spook asked still fiddling with the woman's computer.

"How wonderfully decadent" Tavish said with absolutely no indication that he was talking sarcastically. For all Kasumi knew, and the others for that matter, he was speaking in pure support of decadence and mayhem; he'd driven them all somewhere after all, they knew what he was like.

Scorch didn't want to say his choice in front of the others, but he had always been a fan of the romance novels and movies. If nothing else, it reminded him of what he didn't have andw hat every living thing wanted deeply

"This part of the city has been deemed safe by the city board and the safety committee as more then 84% of the damage in this part of the city has been repaired and all major systems and 92% of secondary and redundant systems have been brought back online." Kasumi said without missing a beat. "There are still large portions of the city that have not been opened due to extreme damage and those portions are marked so that you will not accidentally wonder into them."

Aaron looked around as he partially listened to the guide. He didnt see what was so spectacular about this place that was supposed to make it a reward for their hard work, but if all the other Marines and soldiers liked it then there must be something to it.

Well if Tavish wanted solitude... or to do someone against a wall without it looking suspicious when it fell down... he knew where to go now. Humming softly to himself he looked around at all the people flooding the area "So where do all the marines go?" he asked Kasumi "Why is this place so popular?"

Spook relinquished Kasumi's arm and regarded their surroundings. It was only a week right? Surely they wouldn't find too much trouble to get into.

"Well most of the Marines go to what they term the "Red Bed" district which has services that upstanding Spartans like yourselves would not be interested in. But once they are done fulfilling those wants they usually turn to the Main Street district that has all the entertainment from movies, dancing, drinking, and almost anything that tickles your fancy."

"Right" Tavish translated that to keep away from the Red Bed district and Spartans will get more time off; he didn't mind to be honest, he wasn't a big fan of those sorts of girls. He scratched his chin slowly... a movie might be nice, but maybe hitting a few bars...

"So what else are you gonna show us on this tour?" Scorch asked curiously. So far it hadn't been all that big of a thing

"I have been instructed to show you the Main Street districts attractions and highlights before taking you to your hotel rooms and handing out your necessary supplies." Kasumi said as she gestured in the general direction of straight ahead of them.

"Necessary supplies?" Tavish asked, raising an eyebrow slowly and rubbing his forehead slowly as he wondered what was in these necessary supplies. This place seemed so... odd, they were on vacation but they were treating it like a new mission.

"What kind of necessary supplies would we need for a night on the town? You giving us money?" Scorch asked curiously. It seemed to just occur to him that they haven't really been getting paid, had they? He didn't have any cash that was for sure

"We'll be getting clothes right?" Spook said "I certainly don't want to go around in my A's all week and I bet they attract attention with the common folk."

Tavish watched the civilians around them, eyeing them up and seeing if they'd really noticed that Spartans were walking around in their ranks. A few were noticing already he could tell, or at least were suspicious that something was up but had no idea what was actually happening. "I would be nice to not stick out like sore thumbs."

"I am to give you all Identichips and a Credchip to fund your time here." Kasumi responded to their questions. "And I was not informed of alternative wear for you all. You may just have to be very careful and wear a bib." she added with a small cute little chuckle.

"Hey, they stuck us out here trussed up like this, it's their fault if we get'em dirty." Scorch pointed out with a smirk, hoping he'd get that chance. He hated being out of his armor. He'd spent what seemed like a long time going through the channels in order to even get that type of armor. The sheer thought of it sitting back at the base empty was absurd to him.

Kasumi took them through the Main Street district and pointed out all things that may interest them and keep them occupied and entertained through out their stay here. The tour wrapped up in the main lobby of a 5-star hotel. "Well, this is where I take my leave of you for now." She pulled out a package and opened it up pulling out a few small bundles of cards and began handing them out to the Spartans. "These are for identification purposes and for paying for anything you do or need. And these are your room keys, you each have individual rooms on the 4th floor." She then handed them little communicators, "If you need me you can reach me with these, my number is hotkeyed to the first button."

Tavish nodded slightly, examining the card he'd been handed minutely before switching his attention to the door key. "So, what are you guys?" he asked, indicating the room numbers on the key, but his eyes paused on Spook at the moment they passed over her. He wanted to know what room she was in really.

Spook took her bundle and immediately began going threw it. Itching already to get out of these uncomfortable class A's and into some civvies. If she had to stay out of her armor she at least wanted to be comfortable.

"I got room 439." Aaron said to Tavish as he looked over his cards. "God, think they could have gotten a worse picture for the ID?" he said with a grimace as he looked at his.

"At least you don't look stoned." Spook said looking at her identification card.

Scorch sighed and quickly put the ID card into a pocket. He hated the fact that he couldn't be wearing his armor and to have photos of it was just making it worse. He looked at the keycard for his room. "Looks like I'm in 440. Lovely, right next door to the boss man."

"I'm 442" Tavish chuckled softly, spinning his keys in one hand as he determinatley hid that photo of him "Come on Spook, which room are you?"

"I duno, you tell me." Spook reached into her breast pocket and acted as if she was pulling out her key card. Instead she pulled only her hand with a specific finger brandished for Shaft, telling him he was going to have to figure it out on his own.

"Alright alright, jeese" Tavish shook his head and rolled his eyes at Spook "You sure know how to treat an old friend huh?" He wasn't going to let this go, he'd never agreed to what she'd suggested; he wasn't the kind of person to just act as if nothing had happened.

"I have no idea who you are!" Spook exclaimed, ether she truly had no clue who Shaft was or she was hiding something. For all Shaft knew she may have received minor brain damage on an earlier mission.

"Spook you already blew that story when you knew I'd be your pilot" Tavish sighed, shaking his head slightly and wondering when she'd be dropping this farce "You had my name, then immediately knew what I did and where I went for training. You. Blew. It."

"In that big shiny helmet of yours I'd be a moron not to know your a wheelman." Spook told him. "And I'd be even more stupid not to read your service file." She turned to Aaron, sick of Shaft and what he thought he knew "When we get back to base I think you might wanna order him up a catscan, I think one of those flood spores must have sucked his brain out."

Tavish just sighed and shook his head "Fine." He took his key and headed for the stairs, he didn't have to wait to be dismissed, he didn't have to hover around and listen to Spook insult him some more.

"Oh crap, can they really do that?" Scorch asked Tavish curiously.

Aaron gave Spook a shame on you look. "You should be nicer to him. You have to spend a good long time with him. Not only here but back on the base,"

"He's the one that keeps insisting he knows me." Spook told Aaron. "I wasn't the only chick in sniper school, he's got me mixed up with someone else."

"Uh-huh." Aaron said with an unbelieving look. "You looked at his file, but yet you did not look at his mission files?"

"I didn't have access to his mission files at the time." Spook told him.

"Well. I did, and I looked." Aaron said with a grin.

"If there is anything else that you need feel free to contact me on the communicators." Kasumi said. "Otherwise have fun and enjoy your time in our great city." With that she did a curt bow, turned and left the hotel.

"Nice lady." Aaron said as he watched her leave. He looked again at the number on his passkey, "Well, im going to head up to my room and get my stuff situated before heading out. I suggest you all do the same."

Spook felt the bottom drop out of her stomach when Aaron said he'd looked at Shaft's previous mission files. Of course he did, he looked at all of theirs and that meant he knew... Great. she thought and decided to not think about it now. "Scorch, I'm heading up too, room 1337 when your ready and no chick flicks please." She headed off for her room to square away her gear and slip into something more civilian.

Scorch grinned when he realized she hadn't forgotten. "ALright, I'll be by to getcha in a little while." He bowed dramatically and then looked at Aaron, "Well, sir, if you don't mind, I've got to go make myself a little less presentable. No one wears this kind of attire to a movie." With that said, he turned and headed off to his room to get changed

Aaron could see the discomfort in Spook's face as she left. He smiled as she left and nodded to Scorch as he left too. He looked around the large lobby for a few seconds, "Ah, screw it." he said as he left without going to his room.

Spook found her room with little trouble and immediately began searching threw her gear for her auto-mag, Lil' Buddy. She was violating a direct order by bringing him along, but she wasn't one for being on a strange planet without backup. She put her gear away as she changed, glad for the civilian selection of jeans and t-shirts. A complimentary black leather jacket comfortably hid Lil' Buddy against the small of her back while (what the girls at the academy called) an ass holster made sure he wouldn't go any where. Civilian clothes felt strange, especially after being trussed up in her class A's for the duration of the trip.

Tavish was face down on his bed and listening to the timber getting used to a Spartan weight; he was naked right now, after getting out of his dress uniform he'd decided to just lay on his face on the bed for a while. It helped him cool down. He knew why she was doing it, he knew too much about her, it probably made her feel vulnerable and she decided to keep saying that they didn't know each other until he gave in. Either that or she was messing with him for kicks, which was still an option with her.

Scorch wasted no time at all getting out of his Class A's. He folded them neatly and placed them atop one of the dressers in the room. The last thing he wanted was for them to get damaged. He may not like wearing anything other than his armor, but he took pride in all of his possessions. He opened the bag that he was allotted and slowly took out each individually packed, perfectly folded, article of clothing. He made his decisions quickly and decided to just go with the cargo pants and black t-shirt with the UNSC Spartan logo on the front. It was a little cheesy to have on the base and most soldiers simply bought them as a laugh, but he enjoyed the shirt and the meaning behind the logo.

Spook found the television rather boring, she'd never had a taste for mindless entertainment. Moves where different and she was waiting on Scorch to show up so they could go see one. There weren't many distractions in her room and she was getting bored.

Having satisfied himself with his appearance, Scorch adjusted his shirt just slightly and headed out to find Spook's room 1337...When he reached her door, he knocked softly

Spook was laying on her back counting the cling tiles when scorch arrived. She stood, checked her holster and opened the door, taking her key with her she locked it behind her and said "So what are we seeing?"

"I looked over the listing and there's something called Live Free or Die Hard showing. Definitely doesn't sound like a chickflick and there's an explosion in the background behind some bald guy." Scorch explained to her. He shrugged, "I guess it's an action movie?"

"It sounds old." Spook said as they traveled back down to street level. "I bet it was before digifilm."

"Maybe if we're lucky, it'll be shown on good ole fashioned tape reel...man that would be nice." Scorch said with a sigh

"I'd just be happy if they kept the advertising to a minimum." Spook said as they walked "Last time I saw a flick you couldn't follow the stroy for all the commercials."

"The previews are half the fun, though they'd probably be previews of movies long ago put into archives..." Scorch deduced with a chuckle

"Yeah, the kind of stuff you see on the youtube channel." Spook said as the theater came into view.

"You know, I've gotta ask, why did you agree to come along?" Scorch asked her as they approached the ticket window. He took out his payment chip and handed it to the teller, "Two for Live Free or Die Hard."

"I like old movies." Spook said as if that was it. "And popcorn."

"I can believe the simpletons we have to associate with on a regular basis, preferring the holovids to good old fashioned movies." Scorch chuckled, enjoying the fact that there was someone else who shared his tastes. "Popcorn on the other hand, I'll have to give you that one. I'm not a fan of it, always tastes burnt to me."

The teller took the payment chip and gave it a quick swipe. When they handed it back it was grouped with two tickets. "The movie is supposed to be good, especially since they restored it."

"Fuck..." Spook said, expecting the same lame ass commercialism that came with the world these days.

"Come on Spook, it's not gonna be that bad." Scorch assured her with a smile

"Tell that to Singing in the Rain." Spook said taking her ticket and tearing off the corner like she did every time she went to a movie. She had quite a collection of tickets.

"Singing in the Rain?" Scorch asked her curiously. He hadn't actually heard of that one before

"It's a musical from the 20th." Spook as they went in to find their seats. "It's about actors who can dance and sing, playing actors who can dance and sing."

"Sounds...redundant." Scorch said truthfully. It sounded utterly ridiculous to him, but he imagined it must have some quality that appeals to someone, seeing as it is still being spoken off all these years later

"Front or back?" Spook asked, wondering Scorch's preference for their seating arrangement.

"I actually prefer somewhat in the middle of the theater myself. Too close to the front and you have to strain your neck to see and you don't see the whole picture. Too far back and you see so much of the picture, you don't see the little things." Scorch replied as he lead them inside

"I hoped you would say that." Spook said choosing the most center isle and sliding in sideways and heading towards the middle.

Scorch couldn't help but smile. Here was a girl who had similar tastes as himself, now if only he could convince her that gruel was so much better than the fatty foods everybody else kept eating, he might start to think of mating possibilities with her.

Spook took one of the center seats and ordered popcorn and a soda from the arm console menu.

Sitting down beside her, Scorch looked at the menu console and selected a chilled beverage as well, staying clear of the popcorn however. The stuff was vile in his opinion. Couldn't quite get past the smell of it really

"So when did you say this thing started?" Spook asked hiking her boots up on the seat in front of her. She was tall for a chick but short for a spartan and therefor her knees neatly hung over the back of the seat, making this cramped theater just a bit more comfortable.

There was a beeping from the speakers as the countdown began on the screen. When it hit 1, the previews began to roll.

Midway through the movie there was a sound from the back as if the door had opened and then closed, but there was no one else in the theater and there was no other sounds after that.

Scorch turned his head around sharply when he saw the beam of light move across the screen as if the door had been opened. When he looked and saw no one, he grew perplexed. There should have at least been someone coming in, or going out. But there was no one there at all...

Silence returned to the movie theater as Spook left the viewing room. Then from the row behind Scorch came a pair of strong hands and a funny smelling rag covered his face. The hands held him down and the other pressed the rag over his mouth and nose hard enough to press his head back into the seat. Scorch's vision began to blur as the chloroform was beginning to take its effect.

As Spook entered re-entered the theater she saw someone holding a rag over Scorch's mouth and nose. Obviously with ill-intent.

The automag was in Spook's hand again her feet sped her down the isle. She leaped over a set of seats and nearly tripped, forgetting that she wasn't in her armor at the moment. But she reached Scorch's attacker and brought the pistol down against the back of his neck, atempting to knock him out.

With Spook's enhanced strength she damn near separated the mans spine from his skull. He did collapse into a broken heap behind Scorch's chair.

Aaron came into the theater quickly with an assault rifle in his hand. He saw the man laying on the floor at Spook's feet and looked back up at them. "You two ok?"

When Aaron burst in Spook nearly shot him but seeing the expanse of his massive silouet she gathered that it could only be one man. And when he spoke there was no more doubt. "There's a body in the girl's head." She produced the security badge she'd salvaged and checked on Scorch. "He's alive, unconsious but looks ok. What the hell's goin' on here chief?"

"Dont know." Aaron said simply. "I bashed Kasumi in the head with a table before I could find out exactly what was going on. But you two are the only ones I have been able to find."

"So Shaft is missing?" Spook asked, not liking the sound of that at all. She looked at the unconsious man sitting directly behind Scorch "What do you wanna bet he's got answers?"

"Doubt he'll talk though." Aaron said as he walked around ti stand infront of Scorch. He saw that the man was breathing so he wasnt greatly worried. "We need to get moving, because if Shaft is missing there is no telling what could be happening to him." With a quick movement he slapped Scorch in the face.

With a resounding smack from Aaron's slap, Scorch jolted awake, looking shocked at first and then he saw Aaron in front of him. "Did you just hit me, dude?"

"Nope." Aaron said quickly. "Must be hallucinations from the fumes." He said as he walked back around to the guy on the floor.

Spook kept a close eye on the door, the other stayed on Scorch's attacker should he decide to wake.

"How come you both get to carry guns, and I ain't allowed to carry my weapon?" Scorch asked him as he got to his feet, swaying a little.

"I'm in violation of a direct order." Spook told him, then added to Arron. "Sorry boss."

Aaron shook his head to Spook in a dont worry about it way before addressing Scorch. "Well for one your gun is a 50Lb flamethrower and for two, I commandeered these guns from my attackers." The latter was accompanied by Aaron tossing Scorch the pistol he had taken from Kasumi. "Not much ammo, but it'll do."

"I never did say that I would have brought my flamethrower." Scorch retorted as he caught the pistol and check it in one fluid practiced motion

"The guy who attacked me only had a plastic bag." Spook said wishing she could have salvaged an extra pistol for Scorch.

"Well, they really made it seem like they wanted us alive. For what reason I dont know." Aaron said as he scratched his head with the cocking bolt of the assault rifle. "We have to find Shaft before they do something to him."

"Would be alot easier if we had our armor." Scorch told him as he loaded the pistol. "Follow his gps marker."

"We could do that if we had that the tour guide's arm console." Spook said. She'd gotten a good enough look at the thing when they'd first arrived. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind considering it's an emergency... I could always shoot her arm off is she argued." By the expression on Spook's face it hard to tell if she was joking or not.

"If she lived through the table to the face then she is probably gone by now." Aaron thought as he looked at his phone. "But we can follow the GPS, these phones can give you a map and exact directions to your destination."

"So how do we follow his GPS on it, if we don't know his location?" Scorch asked carefully. It sure sounded like a stupid question, but it made sense to him

"Here, let me." Spook said and took the boss' phone without permission. "It's useless unless you know the persons tracking number." Which she just so conveniently happened to know. After a moment she handed Aaron back his phone, a red indicator light flashing between the streets on the map.

"Well according to this thing he is deep in restricted area." Aaron said with a frown. "Well that makes perfect sense, no one really goes out there except for workers rebuilding." He looked at the other two, "You wanna head out now or do you wanna talk to this guy first?" He asked as he gestured at the man still laying on the floor.

"Seeing as we'd have to wait until he were conscious again, I say we leave him." Scorch replied with a shrug, though he certainly did have questions for the man. Questions that could probably be answered by the people who sent him, who apparently had Shaft at the moment anyway

Spook preferred having a bit more information but she
d never forgive herself if Shaft got killed because they were five minuets too late. "I agree with Scorch." She said "But I'd like to pick up Baby if we can." The automag in her waistband was probably good enough but she had extra ammo in the room and one never knew when they'd need a weapon that could take a guys head off at 900 metras.

"No, I dont think we will have the time." Aaron said as he bent down and used the man's own shoe laces to tie his wrists and ankles. "I will see if I cant get a hold of the local forces to give us some back up." He added as he started to walk out of the theater.

"The only backup we need is our armor." Scorch told him smugly. "Gah, I feel naked fighting without it."

"Our armor is in Antarctica so that's not an option." Aaron said as he peered through the door to make sure there weren't people waiting with guns on the other side, there weren't. "We grab the first vehicle that can fit us and we get our asses to Shaft."

Spook didn't like being without Baby but she wasn't going to complain about it.

"There's gotta at least be somewhere we can go to get some more decent battle gear? I mean these civvies aren't exactly battle ready." Scorch pointed out bluntly. Even if it meant he'd have to wear an iron pot on his head, it would be better than nothign

"They're better than being naked." Spook told him.

"How do you think I feel? I'm wearing the dress uniform which is like cardboard wrapped in plastic wrap." Aaron said as he pushed through the crowd.

"Can we at least make a quick stop somewhere where I can get a more suitable weapon?" Scorch asked carefully as he waved the minuet pistol in the air. "Really not my style."

Aaron smiled as a sudden thought hit him. "Yea, but its gotta be quick, and no other side-stops." With that he lead the two of them off to the weapon store he had spent his night in.

(where do we post)

(here)

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Scorch said proudly as he hefted a double barrel shotgun from the shelf. "So beautiful..." He whispered softly to it as he ran his fingers along it's workings.

Spook was scanning crates, looking for something long range that she could feel comfortable with.

"You buyin, sir?" Scorch asked Aaron as he looked around for an additional weapon. Having the pistol was alright, but the petite weapon was not really his style. He doubted they'd have a flamethrower for sale in a standard gun store however, and so he'd have to settle for something a little less flashy

The shop keeper had grown quite concerned at the three of them looking through his stock as if it was nothing. "Welcome back...um...who's your friends?"

"Don't worry about them," Aaron said as he walked over to the counter. "We're in need of armaments and we're looking for anything that would help out."

Scorch slung the shotgun under his arm and moved along to select his secondary weapon. Something with a little range wouldn't hurt, but he wasn't known for his marksmanship...

"You do know there is a waiting period for all weapon purchases?" The store clerk continued nervously. "I cant let you bypass those just because your military!"

"I think ya can make an exception for us." Aaron said as he picked up a few extra clips and ammo boxes and set them on the counter. "Come on you two, we haven't got much time."

At this time Spook took the liberty to ask the clerk, "You have anything that can explode a man's skull at say... three hundred metras?" She didn't think anything more long range than that would be beneficial where they were going. "Something that a man ... much like your self, wouldn't see coming? Something that would make him fear exposed windows for the rest of his life? Ya'know, if he were to do something silly like worry about a measly little waiting period."

As he looked around for a better gun than the pistol slung in his belt, Scorch spotted on the wall a far superior gun to that which he was already carrying under his arm. He had to stop his mouth from drooling, setting the double barrel shotgun aside, he reached up and took it down. "My gods....an AA-12 automatic shotgun..." He turned to look at Aaron, "Sir?"

The clerk was unable to answer Spook as he was busy sputtering incoherently in both anger and fear.

"I doubt it Spook." Aaron said as he turned around to see what Scorch was asking about. "It looks like a bit of an antique Scorch, but if you want it go ahead."

Scorch looked at him in disbelief. "Sir, this may be an antique, but they have yet to improve upon it's design. It is the only Automatic Shotgun to ever come off the market. It can take a standard clip, or the round barrel clip like you'd see on say a Tommy gun. To make things even better, it can be mounted onto a robot and control solely by a video game controller from the 21st century."

Aaron just shook his head and waited for everyone to acquire their weapons before he threw his cred chip on the counter. "There ya go, charge what you feel like charging." He said as they walked out of the store. "Ok, now we need to take these directions to Shaft's location and get him out."

"Just let me see the Mouzer behind you." Spook told the clerk. It was much more antiquated than the shotgun Scorch was now drooling over but it was better than anything. "And I'll take these." She dropped a few pistols on the counter. None of them were as nice as her auto-mag, but she'd rather have them than an assault rifle. One bullet could be mroe effective than a shower.

Scorch was busy fondling the AA-12 as they walked out. He had somehow managed to affix enough ammo cartridges upon himself to take on a Flood horde with this gun. "So how are we getting there?"

"Well, no taxi or public transport is gonna take us to the restricted zone. So...it looks like we're hoofing it." Aaron explained as he crossed a busy street quickly.

Spook brought up the rear, slipping her three extra pistols into her clothes and pockets while she slung the mouzer across her back. The rest of her pockets were filled with magazines. "What about the security drones?" She asked, knowing that if they shot too many of them down it would draw even more attention.

"We shoot 'em down if they get too close." Scorch told her nonchalantly.

"No, we dont shoot down any drones." Aaron said as the approached a turn off on the road that led to the restricted area. "If they stop us we tell 'em what is going on and that we dont need their help. If they try to stop us after that...then we shoot them."

The three Spartans quickly and quietly made their way through the ruins of Old Tokyo to an old wore down warehouse. Aaron stopped them at a safe distance and sent Spook up a tall building to scout the place for any signs of resistance.

Aaron sat behind the still smoking husk of what was once a vehicle. "Spook, do you see anything yet?" He asked through their communicators.

Spook needed a moment to adjust the Mouzer's scope and took a glance around the neighborhood. "I've got a sentry." She said spotting a man in a dark jacket several meters from the freight entrance to the warehouse. "He's alone, but this rifle isn't exactly quiet. It'll give us away if I take him out."

"Well...we may not have much of a choice..." Aaron started when suddenly he heard a noise that sounded like a vehicle approaching. "Sounds like a new contact's approaching. What's up Spook?"

The noise turned out to be an old Army transport with several people in the back. It pulled up in front of the building and then pulled into a garage door on the side. A few minutes later a man stuck their head out the door and pulled the guard in, seemed like something was getting ready to happen.

Spook replayed this to Aaron and begun scanning the windows. They were decidedly grimy but Spook managed to count at least five men inside. "Can't be sure though, there were at least four in the transport."

There was a single loud crack that came from inside the warehouse that they could all easily identify as a gun shot.

"Fuck!" Aaron shouted rather loudly as he stood up and began running towards the warehouse. "Scorch your with me. We hit the door and breach, get in, kill everyone but Tavish, then get out. Spook, the second we hit the door you start picking off targets of opportunity."

"Now you're talking." Scorch said proudly, slamming a cartridge into the AA-12. He looked at Aaron curiously, "Should we kick it in or blow it down?"

"I kinda planned taking it with us." Aaron said as they approached the door. He didnt slow down any as he crashed full on into the door with his shoulder and ripped it from its hinges. Before it fell he grabbed it and used it as a makeshift shield and peered around the side of it to place his shots as him and Scorch entered the rebel warehouse.

"Yes sir!" Spook responded and shouldered the strap of Baby's replacement. It was time to find out how well this relic was going to work out for her. She didn't like the idea of charging into battle with an unproven weapon.

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Halo C.E. RPG