• __________________Chapter 3_________________
    0358 hours, March 26 1756/ Pillar of Autumn/ Basement/ sector 308



    Flint and Datar already got their armor replated and Spark’s was next on the belt. So, Spark was stuck in the basement by herself with Milotic bothering her wherever she went.
    “Are you really as strong as everybody says you are? I think you are. You put a whole in the elevator! How many people do you know that can punch through steel? Everybody says that you’re right next to John on the list of Spartan III’s. I think that- Hey! What does this do?” Milotic screamed as she saw the red emergency stop lever on the side of the machine. Spark turned to Milotic as she reached for the lever. “Don’t touch it you-” Spark yelled. Milotic pulled the lever anyway and all the power shut off. The lights flickered off then on. Spark ran over to the lever pulled it back up and then she turned the power back on. Once again the lights flickered off then back on.
    Spark slowly turned her head to Milotic standing next to her, staring sheepishly and embarrassed about not knowing what the lever did before she pulled it. “The lever is red,” Spark said to Milotic. “And right above it, it says what?” “E-merg-ency st-op…” Milotic said as she ran her finger under the words. “Oh!” Milotic yelled as she slapped her forehead. Spark walked to the end of the belt and picked up her suit. She walked out of basement and walked through the glass corridor above the landing pad. She looked down and Datar and Flint were already boarding the pelican. She hustled to get ready, only being able to get her jump suit on that goes underneath her armor on and the top portion of her MJOLNIR armor. She got the rest of it on as she hopped her way down the corridors trying to make it to the launch pad before the pelican left.
    Milotic caught up with Spark at the stairs. “Lets go!” Spark said as she grabbed her by her arm and ran down the stairs. The door to the pelican started closing and they ran faster to try to get to the door. Spark tossed Milotic in and she hit the wall. “Hey, guys! Did I miss-” Spark jumped through the door as well and smashed Milotic between her and the pelican walls. “Ow…” Milotic muttered. “Oh, my bad, kid.” Spark said to Milotic as she got up off of the floor.
    Spark walked over to Flint and sat next to her. “Watcha doin?” Spark asked as she looked over at the tablet Flint had in her hand. “Just looking at profiles about the other team we we’ll be working with.” “Who are they?” Spark asked. “Well,” Flint said. “One of them is a weapon specialist, his name is Tobi. His nickname is Artic Fox. Akido specializes in field tactics. And Joker is a professional sniper, and when she’s not needed she’s part of the helljumpers. Weird, huh?” Flint looked up at Spark. A marine came through one of the doors and said, “This is as low as we are required to take you, looks like your gonna have to hot jump.” Spark Flint and Datar stood up and walked to the side door. “Lets go, kid.” Spark said to Milotic. “Waite, what’s a hot jump?” Milotic asked worried. Spark put her arm around Milotic and the stood with their backs facing the side door. “Just try not to scream on your way down.” Spark said. Milotic looked up at her and said, “What?” the door opened immediately after she said those words and Spark fell out of the Pelican along with Milotic. Spark put a grip on the back of Milotic’s armor so they wouldn’t get separated on their way down. Milotic screamed anyway. “Shut up, kid. Your gonna get us caught.” Spark said to Milotic. Spark loved hot jumps. Datar, on the other hand, also screamed on his way down. “One-thousand feet.” Flint said over the TEAMCOM. “Get ready to land, kid.” Spark said as she bumped Milotic in her shoulder to get her attention. Spark looked to her right. Banshees, northeast, were flying right towards her. Before she could yell out any cuss words, it ran right into her and Milotic was to busy screaming to realize Spark got hit.
    Spark looked up and hung onto the hood of the banshee and it flew miles away from the rest of her team. Spark reached for her right pocket for a grenade but ended up sliding to the edge of the banshee, holding on with one hand.
    Flint and Datar landed and looked around for Spark. Milotic fell to the ground behind them. “Hey! Look! I actually landed!” Milotic said cheerfully. “Where’s Spark?” Datar asked Milotic. “I dunno. I thought she was right behind me.” Milotic told Datar as she ran towards Datar.
    Spark made one more attempt to reach for a grenade and she pulled it out of her pocket. Spark activated it and stuck it underneath the banshee and jumped. Flint, Datar, and Milotic turned to the sound of the explosion. “Something tells me that the direction Spark is in.” Datar said. They all ran towards the crashed banshee hoping to find Spark.
    Flint tried calling in through the COM channels several times but nobody answered her calls.
    They ran about a mile now and Datar started getting tired, as usual. Datar stopped, bent over, and put his hands on his knees. “Hey, I have a better idea. Why don’t we just leave her? It would be much quieter and the Captain would be very happy.” Datar said out of breath. Flint turned to him and said, “No! You just don’t have a hart, do you?” they kept running until they heard rustling in the underbrush. They all turned and pointed their guns. They slowly walked closer and closer as the sound got nearer. Flint pulled the branches apart and Datar and Milotic cocked their guns, getting ready to shoot. Flint held her arm in front of Datar and Milotic as she realized it was the other team of Spartans they are supposed to work with. The Spartan on the far left, Tobi, dropped his gun and held up his hands as he heard the guns being cocked and the branches being pulled back. “I didn’t do anything!” Tobi yelled. “Shut up!” the Spartan on the far right, Joker, yelled. Obviously annoyed by Tobi. Datar held his MA5K at his side. “Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the cryo tube.” Datar said looking at Joker. She growled at Datar and he took a few steps back from her. The other Spartan seemed focused until she started hopping around and pointed to something on the ground. “Look! I found a flower!” she picked it up. “And it’s Black!” Flint slapped her forehead and kept on walking.