Grif, driving like crazy, finally makes it out of the field and crashes the Warthog into an UNSC Elephant. Sarge and Zone get out of the back wearily. Sarge looks at the damaged jeep. 

"Aw, dangnabit Grif! Lookit what you did now! You busted up a brand new jeep." 

"Me? You were the idiots that started setting off mines." Grif protests. 

"Well, I managed to get out there and not get hit by anything!" 

"Only because Zone pulled you onto the Warthog!" 

"That's called strategy!" 

"Well, your "strategy" broke the jeep. So don't go blaming me. And the blue guy's dead too, how are we gonna explain that?" 

Zone then notices a man in brown and white armor run up to them. Wearing a familiar EOD helmet. 

~It can't be...~

"What the heck! What were you thinking?" The man asks.

"We don't need to explain why he died, Grif. We're Reds! Killing Blues is our business. And today, business is good." Sarge says proudly. 

"But we didn't kill him! He stepped on a mine and blew up. And he's the reason that we're on this stupid mission. So now what?" 

"Hm. I see your point. So let us have a moment of silence in honor of the dead Blue guy. Bow your head." Sarge and Grif bow their heads. 

"Hey, are you listening to me?" The man asks. 

"Do you mind? We're having a moment of silence. Show some respect." Grif says glaring. 

"What?" 

"Dear Lord, we thank you for taking another Blue back to Heaven today. Or rather not Heaven, but whatever fiery pit you send Blues to so they can suffer in eternity. You should've taken Grif. ...But you didn't. Again. Not sure why, it would've been easy! Those mine things are everywhere! But I guess you know what you're doing." 

Zone then hears some kind of yelling and looks up. He sees Caboose falling from the sky, flailing his arms and legs. He then hits the ground with a loud thud. Zone runs over and helps him. 

"Wow. Now that was a big explosion." Caboose mumbles as Zone brings him to his feet. 

"Blue guy's back." Grif states. 

"I was really high. Did anyone get a picture?" 

[No Caboose.] 

"And now you brought him back. And Grif's still here! I hate to criticize, but you could've had him land on Grif and squash him! That would've been easy! Just a note; you can take it or leave it, like I said it's not really in my place to criticize. Okay, the end, amen." Sarge finishes.

"What the heck is wrong with you people?"

"Whoa. Now who are you?"

"Who am I? Who are you? I'm supposed to be here. You guys are accessing an area on lockdown." The man explains.

"Lockdown?"

"This is a restricted dig site, what are you doing here?" The man demands.

"Oh, uh, we were just looking for, uh..." Caboose tries to say.

"Oh, we're just passing through on the way to meet up with the rest of our squad." Sarge finishes covering Caboose's mouth. Suddenly a Mongoose drives up nearby.

"Oh, great. Stay here. Don't move. Don't touch anything." The man runs towards the Mongoose.

"Why didn't you ask about Tucker?" Grif questions.

"We don't know anything about these guys! What if they're the ones causing trouble for Tucker? We don't know if we can trust them yet." Sarge tells him.

"Oh right! Because normally you guys are the ones who cause trouble for Tucker." Caboose says.

"Right. That's our job."

[Look dad is right Grif. And guys...under no circumstances, can this guy know I'm a Freelancer.]

"Why son?" Sarge asks.

[Let's just say I've had some dealings with this guy and leave it at that. So whenever we talk to him or any of his guys, call me Rex. Capiche?]

"Okay whatever man." Grif replies. The man in brown armor returns with an Elite accompanying him.  

"Okay, now, we want the four of you to go-"

Sarge, Grif, and Caboose back away and yelp surprised at the Elite. Zone watches them unphased by the alien.

"What the...? Oh, right! Sorry, I'm so used to working with aliens now that I forget that some people don't have any experience." The man chuckles.

"Oh, we've got experience with these things. Some of us more than others." Sarge says looking down.

"You guys fought aliens during a war?" Sarge and Grif look at Caboose and Zone.

"Yeah. Something like that. Let's just say we got a little closer to them than we thought physically possible." Grif replies awkwardly.

"Well, don't worry about ol' Smith here. He's really friendly." The Elite nods at them.

"Yeah, that doesn't really put us at ease."

"Now I'm sure you've heard about the treaties between aliens and people. We're here to investigate an energy reading. Rules are now, if they find one of these things, all investigation teams have to have at least one person and one alien. No exceptions."

[What kind of energy reading?]

"I can't tell you that. In fact, I need you to leave this area A.S.A.P. The alien diplomats will get mighty suspicious if they find another human squad showed up. We don't want to cause an intergalactic incident."

"Oh, we're used to doing that..." Caboose replies.

"Ooh, ah, what my friend means is that we're, um, used to following protocol." Sarge answers.

"Good! Then you guys just head on your way and we don't need to report this to anybody." The man says thumbing at the way to leave.

"Dude, we're not going anywhere. Our jeep is wrecked." Grif states. On cue, the Warthog explodes. Zone takes a step back, not expecting that.

"Dang it. Okay, we'll help you repair your jeep, and then you're gone. Couple of rules while you're here. This is a restricted dig site. Everything here is property of the military. Do not go looking for any artifacts. And do not go anywhere without telling me. Got it?"

"Yes Mom, we got it." Grif sighs in annoyance.

"Okay. Quick quiz, then. What are you gonna do if you find an artifact?" The man asks crossing his arms.

"Not take it." Caboose answers.

"No, that was a trick question. You're not going to find an artifact because you're not going to be looking for an artifact."

"Maybe I knew it was a trick question...so I gave you a trick answer."

"There are no trick answers, there are only wrong answers. Are we clear?"

[Yes.]

"Are. We. Clear?" The man says with emphasis.

"Yes!" All four men reply.

"Okay. Then head down there. On the left, you'll find some wracked jeeps you can scavenge for parts. There's also water down there on the left, too. Keep yourselves hydrated. You want some chow? It's with the water on the left." The man gestures to the dune.

"Thanks. And we'll be leaving as soon as we can." Sarge tells him.

"Yes, you will."

The four then head towards the dune.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, guys?" Grif asks.

"Yeah. Something just doesn't seem right." Sarge glances back at the man.

[It's like I said, don't trust him. Just play along with our cover story and we'll get out of here alive."

"Rghg?" Smith says questionably to the man.

"No, I don't think they know anything. You get back to the temple. Keep working on getting it open. I'll take care of these idiots." From not far off, behind a rock wall, several dead Elites and men were hidden.