Phoenix Squad: SPARTAN-T510

The name's Seth. Seth Trayson. I followed my father and brother's footsteps, and enlisted in the UNSC military. At 21, I became a member of the ODSTs, serving with Hawk squad until I volunteered for the SPARTAN IV program. Before I volunteered for the program, my shooting was good. I stood among the best shooters in the ranks. But now... now that I went from Helljumper to SPARTAN; Hell, my shooting is fuckin' perfect. Class: SPARTAN IV Tag: T510 Armor: -MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor: "Deadeye" helmet. -MJOLNIR GEN2 Venator set. [Torso and legs.] -MJOLNIR GEN2 War Master shoulder plate. [Left] -MJOLNIR GEN2 Warrior shoulder plate. [Right] -Outer-plated forearm armor. Weapon of choice: SRS995-S5 AM. (Anti-materiél Sniper Rifle 5th Series.) Independent Halo RP account set in 2557. Willing to RP with anyone in the Halo community, or any other community as long as it is explainable.

[spartan-t510]

Fireteam Phoenix: Operation S&D.

[tikhon415]

Tikhon mentally hummed to herself. She wasn’t much for offering stratagems unless everyone else ran out. Or others were just stupid, but she really hadn’t had to worry about that too much. Her previous encounters with orders and strategy had all been with mostly brilliant people. It made her the weak link. Echo’s idea did sound good.

For now she was just focusing on corralling the hinge-heads into her team’s fire. Keep them from diving into cover with a hail of bullets. A shepard with a gun and a flock full of big ugly aliens. The mental image amused her; she laughed.

[spartan-t510]

Seth gritted his teeth as he fired more rounds towards the hinge-heads, and then took cover behind the rocks. "I'm aware." He said, changing his weapon's mag. Though they were all prepared for any given situation, Echo, Andrew and himself were "better equipped" for close combat, given the nature of their armor sets. However, Seth was also the sharpshooter. If anything, he had to stay back and cover them. "Alright! Echo, Andrew, I'll need you two to create the diversion." He looked at them and nodded, "Get to the AA gun west of here, it's the closest one. I'll get to high ground and cover you if needed. Tikhon, Reese, we'll lend them some cover fire; then cover me as I get to high ground. As soon as that AA is down, we'll rendezvous at a waypoint that I will be setting. We take the other guns down from there." The plasma shots were still hitting the rocks heavily, starting to consume them. "On my mark!" Seth raised his clenched fist slightly, then pointing west with his middle and index finger in a matter of seconds. "Go!" With that, he rose from cover and started firing at the Elites. 

[spartan-t510]

[spartan-t510]

“You will, Echo. Just give yourself time. Practice makes perfect.” He lifted his hands, waving them around it as if trying to explain something. “And you know, whenever you feel like practicing— just approach me, or any member of Phoenix and just offer a first bump or pat them on the shoulder.” He chuckled. “You—” He looked at her, “you will perfect it. It’s not that hard.” 

[echospartan]

“Wise words,” She answered neutrally, before assessing her superior with cold and calculating eyes. There was still a level of wariness towards Helljumpers, but Seth and Andrew were Spartans now. They had made every effort to put aside the shaky footing that both Spartans and Helljumpers stood on around each other, and Echo had made quick work to do the same—if only for unit cohesion. But, Spartan B-77 had quickly come to respect both ODSTs for their merit and mettle. 

Additionally, she was silently thankful for Trayson’s understanding. 

“I can’t afford not to. This may not be an outright battle technique, but it is still a trait that I need to refine. I’ll be sure to ‘practice’ it more, sir.”

[spartan-t510]

Seth chuckled and nodded, patting her shoulder casually. "Good," he said, giving her another firm nod. It was good to see Echo open up, even if just a bit. After all, she was his teammate and he cared about her, just as he cared about all members of Phoenix. Besides, it would be hard to keep the team working at its full potential with any existing quarrels between its members. Seth was not only there to give orders and keep everything in place, but he was there to make sure that everything having to do with the team flowed flawlessly, no matter what. "I'm glad we could talk, Echo." He looked at her. "Getting to know my team is important to me." 

[spartan-t510]

Fireteam Phoenix: Operation S&D.

[spartan-h802]

The sound of Andrew’s rifle firing in bursts rung in the soldiers ear, as he kept tight to the formation lead by Seth. After each shot brought forth a recoil from the gun, the sight was snapped back toward the next offender. The armor deflected any chance of Andrew’s arm getting sore, a luxury his ODST armor never could provide. His shots and steps were methodical, bred into the soldier from years of practice. 

“Reloading!” Andrew’s voice rose above the clatter of weapon discharge, as the spent clip fell from the battle rifle, a fresh one was slammed into its place. Without hesitation, Andrew resumed his assault on the Convenant forces. There was no bloodlust. There was no sneer, or enjoyment on the soldiers face. There was just a job needing to be taken care of, and a prayer being recycled over and over again within the mind of the medic.

[spartan-l118-blog]

Reece focused on the group of jackals barreling toward them, trained her eyes on one, and with a quick inhale, stuck her tongue out as she focused on the kill and pulled the trigger, before repeating the action a few times and taking out a number of the targets. Each shot was muffled by her helmet, a significant contrast to how she had fought for the past few years. In battle, these differences didn’t bother her. With every thought focused on the fight before her, it all felt natural and fluid.

She kept a small part of her mind focused on the weight of the package at her side and the objective at hand as she continued firing. Each step forward deliberate and sure of her footing. She couldn’t afford, nor would she allow herself, a single misstep.

[tikhon415]

She supposed fighting jackals was a lot like cracking open an oyster. You hit the shell in the right spot and the thing pops open with all the juicy goodness. Or rather, you hit them in that stupid circle they put their hands in. They stumble back, throwing their shields to their sides and allowing a nice shot to the vital organs. DMRs sure were great for that.

Straight and forward, easy stuff. Her aim was a bit off; serving a bullet to the neck rather than the face. Didn’t really make much difference. Tikhon tried to imagine trying to evade through this entire crowd without alerting them. Now that was real fun. Of course being on the field again was more than enough for her and duck hunting wasn’t too bad either.

[spartan-t510]

The team was working efficiently. The Jackals and Grunts were dealt with right away. Seth smirked, maintaining his aim up the hill the covenant was shooting at them from. A squad of about five Elites materialized and started shooting down at the Fireteam, all while yelling in their mother tongue. "Go for cover, Team!" The beams of their plasma rifles made lashing noises against Seth's armor, lowering his shield a bit before he got to cover. He waited for the now familiar sound of his shields regenerating, and whipped out his sniper rifle from his back. The Spartan took two shots at an Elite, bringing it's shields down. A third shot through the head and the target was down. "Keep those hinge heads under fire! As soon as we take them out, we climb that cliff and scout ahead!" He switched back to his battle rifle and kept shooting at the elites. "We'll need to clear out a way to those AA guns fast!" 

[spartan-t510]

Echo wants to kiss you.

Spartan B-77 is my squad mate, Anon. I'd suggest you show some respect. 

[spartan-t510]

Seth shook his hand right after Echo punched it. “I can see that.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, if suave and casual won’t work for you, I’m sure we can… get accustomed to you.” He pat her shoulder. “Until you’ve gotten more practice on the fists, stick to this.” He said jokingly, slowly sliding his hand off her shoulder afterwards. Seth leaned on the bar in front of them once again. “I’ll show you more things as time goes.” He turned to her, a sincere look on his face. “As long as you’re willing to learn, of course.” The Spartan paused, letting out a slight huff. “They might seem like silly mannerisms now, but, that’s only because you have to give them meaning.” Seth’s eyes remained on Echo. “If you want to have a pat on the shoulder as means of cheering someone up, we’ll get accustomed to that. We’ll understand you. Likewise, if you want to make it a way of saying ‘good job,’ we’ll understand that too.” Seth puckered his lips a little bit before talking once more. “That’s what I mean by… giving it your own meaning. You’ll get it with time.” With that, Seth tapped the handle once, pushing himself away from it. “Oh, and Echo— if you ever have any questions, or if you want to talk about anything, let me know. Being a squad leader is not always about talking business.” 

[echospartan]

“I could make up my own mannerisms?” Echo asked. It was tempting to. It was also tempting to defer back to those old familiar gestures and expressions that Sahara made. To use the same forms of physical contact to express emotions and thoughts that she and—

No. That was solely for Sahara, and those were dust. 

“I will think over that. And think over this… Punching tap gesture that you showed me,” Her hand curled back into a fist; the wrist rotating as she tensed her arm in thought. “But I have questions. Many. I feel it would be a waste of time towards Roland were I to further pose these questions.”

“The thing is, sir, is that I am a very accomplished Spartan. Everything I learn, I perfect. I strive to be the best weapon that I can, however, since joining the Spartan IV program, there have been complications. I struggle to adapt with the rest of the crew, with their behavior and personalities.”

The Spartan paused. She never spoke this much usually. Before the Spartan IV program, Echo could go days without uttering a single syllable. “I struggle with this, with these social situations. I need to better this trait.”

[spartan-t510]

"You will, Echo. Just give yourself time. Practice makes perfect." He lifted his hands, waving them around it as if trying to explain something. "And you know, whenever you feel like practicing-- just approach me, or any member of Phoenix and just offer a first bump or pat them on the shoulder." He chuckled. "You--" He looked at her, "you will perfect it. It's not that hard." 

[spartan-t510]

It’s— *Seth chuckles.* Nevermind. 

[echospartan]

Why are you laughing at me?

[spartan-t510]

"Ah, no, I'm not--" Seth huffed and smiled before looking down at the ground. He then looked up at her; "I'm not laughing at you, Echo. I just thought, you know-- nevermind." 

[spartan-t510]

I'm single because God is busy writing the best love story for me :)

That is... good, I guess? I'm really not the best person to come to about religious beliefs. 

[spartan-t510]

Tell me about it. 

[echospartan]

I just did.

[spartan-t510]

It's-- *Seth chuckles.* Nevermind. 

[spartan-t510]

echospartan replied to your post: Are you shipped with Echo?

It means we serve on the same ship, I believe.

—

Ah, that would make sense. I’ve never even used that term before, though. “Shipped.” 

[echospartan]

That means that all of Phoenix is shipped. What a quaint term. 

[spartan-t510]

Tell me about it. 

[spartan-t510]

echospartan replied to your post: Are you shipped with Echo?

It means we serve on the same ship, I believe.

--

Ah, that would make sense. I've never even used that term before, though. "Shipped." 

[spartan-t510]

Are you shipped with Echo?

"I don't think I understand this question, Anon. Mind clearing it up for me?" 

[spartan-t510]

“Sometimes, we don’t have to understand what we do. We can just do them without understanding. It won’t hurt you.” Seth chuckled. “Yes. The kill is a reward to yourself and maybe to your teammates for saving their asses. But this—” The Spartan moved his fist and bumped it against Echo’s. “Is a way of letting your squad mate know they did a good job.” Seth brought his fist up again. “Not to mention, it ups the team’s morale to reward each other like this. Try it. Suave and casual; as if it were second nature.” He clenched his fist and stared at Echo, his eyes blinking a couple of times as he awaited. 

[echospartan]

“I’m not worried about it hurting me,” Echo pointed out. Pain was something that Spartans had grown quite accustomed to, and as a result it left the female Spartan with a remarkably high pain threshold. Even moreso due to her close combat fighting. Her eyes tracked his hand as it tapped against her knuckles, before looking up at him with an incredulous look. Nevertheless, the importance behind such an absurd means of communication outweighed the oddness of it all. And with that in mind, Echo promptly slammed her hand against his just like Seth had showed her.

However, she hit much harder than he had done.

“… Suave and casual is not my second nature,” Echo trailed off hesitantly. She didn’t truly mean to hit that hard, and the realization that this was not the right means of communicating only frustrated her.

[spartan-t510]

Seth shook his hand right after Echo punched it. "I can see that." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, if suave and casual won't work for you, I'm sure we can... get accustomed to you." He pat her shoulder. "Until you've gotten more practice on the fists, stick to this." He said jokingly, slowly sliding his hand off her shoulder afterwards. Seth leaned on the bar in front of them once again. "I'll show you more things as time goes." He turned to her, a sincere look on his face. "As long as you're willing to learn, of course." The Spartan paused, letting out a slight huff. "They might seem like silly mannerisms now, but, that's only because you have to give them meaning." Seth's eyes remained on Echo. "If you want to have a pat on the shoulder as means of cheering someone up, we'll get accustomed to that. We'll understand you. Likewise, if you want to make it a way of saying 'good job,' we'll understand that too." Seth pucked his lips a little bit before talking once more. "That's what I mean by... giving it your own meaning. You'll get it with time." With that, Seth tapped the handle once, pushing himself away from it. "Oh, and Echo-- if you ever have any questions, or if you want to talk about anything, let me know. Being a squad leader is not always about talking business." 

[s003blaze-blog]

'Almost Human'

[s003blaze-blog]

The larger Spartan halted all movement the moment that Seth departed to perform his dark deeds. She paid no heed to his own actions, trusting him to perform his duty as any Spartan would. Instead her gaze was directed towards what lay down range. She would place the Sniper rifle down for a brief moment as she slid her helm on, allowing her VISR to kick in only moments after connecting with the rest of the suit. She could already see the outlines of the grunts, Unggoy or whatever they were named. She could also see the terrain and the distance every ten meters as they were labeled. She lifted the Sniper rifle as though it were a mere tooth pick and bolted down towards Seth.

Her steps were swift for her size and for the amount of weight that the Spartan had upon her body. The mere fact that she could sprint at all was astonishing. As she bolted towards Seth, she could already see the outlines of twenty five contacts. Each of them flashing red. She would fall short three meters of Seth as she tossed him his weapon and gripped her weapon with both hands. “Twenty five foot mobiles, assorted infantry. I’ll distract, you flank or snipe. Your choice Spartan. Their direction is towards friendlies.” She then moved forward as she turned her M41’s rotation on. She could already feel the vibrations shaking from the gun as she stepped out into the open.

Moments later her weapon roared to life and soon angry flashes exploded from the muzzle of her LAAG. This caused all of their attention to fixate upon her as their plasma fire, needle rounds and lances of carbine rounds sailed towards her. The Spartan’s shields would flash with every impact and yet they still held… and she still held down the trigger. A fountain of bullet shells showered onto the ground as she continued to hold the trigger down. Soon she would begin to fire her weapon in bursts. The three barrels of her weapon seemed rather content to glow with a furious orange as she unleashed sustained bursts to allow her weapon to not only cool off slowly but also to unleash concentrated suppressing fire. You can’t shoot straight if you’re in cover now can you?

[spartan-t510]

Seth caught his sniper rifle, immediately noticing the red dots appearing on the mini map of his HUD. "Well, shit." He mumbled, immediately running and sliding into cover. Soon after, he heard Blaze's gun go off. The sound that came out of it was beast like. Seth didn't even have to poke his head out of cover to know that no matter what kind of enemy she was shooting at, it was being demolished by her gun. The male Spartan placed his sniper rifle on a flat surface and looked down the scope. "Alright, then." His index finger instinctively found a spot on the trigger. The wave of covies coming in was astounding. Sure enough, he was going to have to get rid of any target that tried to flank Blaze. A couple of jackals moved to the side, avoiding fire. Little did they know, Seth had them targeted. "Not today." He whispered, as his Deadeye helmet elegantly marked the target's heads. This was one of the many wonders of this helmet. Seth pulled the trigger; the sound his 5th series sniper rifle made when shot was way too familiar. Purple blood splattered on the wall behind the jackal; the bullet had pierced straight through its brain. Three more rounds were fired, each having the same impact on different jackals. The purple tint that came out of their heads with each hit seemed surreal. The damage the sniper rifle did to them was atrocious. Had they not caused so much chaos, Seth would even feel bad for what he was doing to them. "Reloading. Watch out, Blaze. More Covies incoming." He spoke through comm. Seth reloaded his rifle with tremendous speed; the years he had doing this, had made it second nature. 

He looked down the scope once again, immediately taking out four more targets. "I can do this all day." 

[s003blaze-blog]

'Almost Human'

[spartan-t510]

Seth removed his helmet, pressing it to his side. He closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment; as if saying his goodbyes to the passing marine. “It’s a shame…” He started, clearing his throat and looking up at the significantly taller Spartan. “Watching them fight and die for this cause.” The male Spartan looked around. The area was severely destroyed. “Seems like they were pinned in a firefight for hours. Hm.” Seth let out a sigh. “What’s done is done. Our best bet now is to scout the area and help the marines regroup. The more casualties we prevent, the better.” With that, Seth put on his helmet. As soon as his HUD loaded, he pressed his rifle against him with one hand and reached up to the side of his helmet with the other. “Phoenix, This is Seth, come in.” A muffled noise was heard. “Nothing. We were too late. How are things on your end?” There was a pause before the same noise was heard. “Keep looking. Try your best to find any marines and have them regroup with others. Trayson out.” As soon as he was done talking to his team, Seth held his rifle in both hands and looked at the Spartan in front of him. 

“I’m Seth, by the way. Seth Trayson, leader of Fireteam Phoenix… and you are?” Once again he held his gun in one hand, and extended his other hand towards the soldier. 

[s003blaze-blog]

The taller woman peered down at the fallen soldier, her expression was sympathetic. An expression that was all too unreal for the ‘original’ Spartans. She shifted her attention towards the smaller Spartan that approached. She could see no sign of rank upon his armor, but she wouldn’t question it just yet. Currently she was alone while Apex helped with the holdout fights scattered through the area. For now she would turn her attention towards the male who approached, never discounting the presence of the body only a few steps away from them.

“I agree with your judgement, scouting would be best. I do not wish for another ambush like this to happen… again.” The Spartan stated while she shifted her footing, fixing her grip upon the M41 LAAG that seemed to hang lazily by her side. She accepted the greeting, gripping the smaller Spartan’s hand firmly. “Master Chief Warrant Officer Clarke. My squadmates call me Blaze, currently they’re participating in the holdout fights but for now it seems that things are calming down… for the moment.”

She let go of his hand and gestured for him to take the lead. “After you… Seth.” The helmetless Spartan stated with a fairly serene tone. “I feel like a brisk walk would help to scout out the area.”

[spartan-t510]

"Nice to meet you, Blaze." With that, Seth reached for the sniper rifle on his back, switching it out for the DMR. As soon as he heard a click, he walked towards the destroyed building's exit. The Spartan looked down the scope, scouting the area ahead. A somewhat mechanical noise came out of the sniper rifle as he shifted the scope. "Hm..." Amongst the ruins of the city, Seth managed to spot a couple of targets. "We've got two grunts up ahead." He bit his lower lip as he kept looking down the scope. "That's all I see." Seth lowered the rifle and looked back at the taller Spartan. "We can take them down silently if we move cautiously." There was a problem though. A Spartan's armor by itself could give away their location if they moved rashly. Given that he was the smaller Spartan, and that his armor was significantly lighter, it was better if he moved up ahead and disposed of the targets on his own before scouting the area. "I've got an idea. Stay here and watch my six. I'll take those grunts down silently. After that's done, we keep moving." Seth put his sniper rifle down on the ground. "Bring this to me when I signal you." With that, he was off, moving stealthily towards the enemy. He reached for his combat knife as he got closer, his feet now barely lifting off the ground. The Spartan could hear them mumbling in their native language. The squeaky and somewhat inoffensive voice of the unggoy never ceased to amuse him. A smirk creeped on his lips as he was barely inches away from the grunts. In the blink of an eye, he moved up towards one of them and snapped its neck with ease. The other's eyes widened, but before he could yell for aid, Seth's combat knife had already found a spot between its eyes. The soldier walked towards the grunt, removing the knife from it's head, only to hear a tearing sound. The blood oozed from the dead unggoy's head. Seth reached for his helmet; "Clear. Move up." He told Blaze through comm. 

[spartan-t510]

“That’s exactly right.” He replied, Now pressing his elbows on the handle in front of them. “Don’t be afraid to do it. You try that with any member of Phoenix, and they’ll welcome it.” Seth looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. “And another thing,” The Spartan brought his fist up, looking at it and then back at Echo. “Bring your fist up just like this.” He said, getting his fist closer to her. “You do what I’m about to show you with Andrew next time you see him, alright? He’ll be impressed.” Seth smirked, “and every time you kill a hinge head or any other target, or do something remarkable on the battlefield, I’ll reward you with one of these.” His emerald green eyes widened as his eyebrows rose and another slight smile formed on his lips. “Come on.” 

[echospartan]

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand all these odd mannerisms,” Echo muttered under her breath, but she complied. Her right hand curled into a fist and she held the hand near his own, before pale eyes fell on the cybernetics of her right hand. Quickly, Echo switched to use her left hand for this next interaction. 

“So, I hold my hand up like this to yours and that’s considered a reward?” She nearly scoffed. “The kill alone is good reward, is it not?”

[spartan-t510]

"Sometimes, we don't have to understand what we do. We can just do them without understanding. It won't hurt you." Seth chuckled. "Yes. The kill is a reward to yourself and maybe to your teammates for saving their asses. But this--" The Spartan moved his fist and bumped it against Echo's. "Is a way of letting your squad mate know they did a good job." Seth brought his fist up again. "Not to mention, it ups the team's morale to reward each other like this. Try it. Suave and casual; as if it were second nature." He clenched his fist and stared at Echo, his eyes blinking a couple of times as he awaited. 

[spartan-t510]

To be honest, Seth expected this kind of reaction. But that is exactly why he made this decision. If he was going to be squad leader, he had to not only learn from his squad mates, but teach them, as well. Squad mates are meant to be comfortable around each other if they want to give their absolute best on the battlefield. He was willing to make this happen. “Relax, Echo.” He said, bringing his free hand up to hers. Seth slowly removed Echo’s hand from his wrist, letting go of them once he managed to get rid of the tenseness. “A pat on the shoulder is an act of camaraderie.” The Spartan let out a huff; “It can work in many occasions. If you want to cheer a squad mate up, if you want to say hello, or simply to be… nice, I guess.” Seth shrugged slightly, his eyes still set on Echo’s. “Try it sometime. It’s not bad at all. And it’s a good way of letting someone know you are comfortable around them.” The soldier crossed his arms and smiled at the female Spartan. Teaching her this gave him reason to smile, after all.  

[echospartan]

Camaraderie. Cheering squadmates up, forms of greeting, or basic niceties. This was all unfamiliar to Echo, or rather, long buried sentiments that Echo hadn’t felt in a decade. There were small manners of communication amongst her long-dead squad from nearly a decade ago; little hand gestures and the tap of helmet against helmet to symbolize trust. But that still involved little to no physical contact; nothing as bare as a hand touching a shoulder or skin against skin. To Echo, that felt too personal, and too foreign. 

But, she could try. Because as Seth implied, this was what most people did. Most that weren’t Spartan IIIs, at least. 

“Oh.” Echo finally spoke, feeling rather dumb from her misunderstanding. Her right hand gripped at her left arm as she stared with a rather distant expression at Seth. “So if I were to attempt kindness, I would…” Spartan B-77’s right hand finally lifted to hesitantly pat at the squad leader’s shoulder. “I would just do this? That’s it?”

Her hand returned to her side, and a frown settled on her features immediately. Echo wasn’t used to touching people unless it were sparring, rescuing, or killing.

[spartan-t510]

"That's exactly right." He replied, Now pressing his elbows on the handle in front of them. "Don't be afraid to do it. You try that with any member of Phoenix, and they'll welcome it." Seth looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "And another thing," The Spartan brought his fist up, looking at it and then back at Echo. "Bring your fist up just like this." He said, getting his fist closer to her. "You do what I'm about to show you with Andrew next time you see him, alright? He'll be impressed." Seth smirked, "and every time you kill a hinge head or any other target, or do something remarkable on the battlefield, I'll reward you with one of these." His emerald green eyes widened as his eyebrows rose and another slight smile formed on his lips. "Come on."