August 12/13, 2552, 26:37 hours

"Watch your step, Rix. That's a long drop." Reaper told the Skirmisher, holding her back from the ledge "Recon Gamma. Kat, do you read?" Reaper asked

"Go ahead."

"We're entering hostile territory now. How's Recon Bravo?"

"Engaging the enemy now. Keep a low profile. Remember, you're here for recon."

"I know. Don't you remember reading my file?"

"Not much. Nearly everything was black ink."

"Like Six, huh?"

"Like Six."

"I'll report back soon. Recon Gamma out." Reaper told, before looking at Rix "You OK?" He asked

"Miss sisters." Rix answered, scratching her neck

"I understand. We can talk about it after this." Reaper replied, patting Rix on the back

Rix was about to answer, but pointed instead

"That's a lot of enemies." Reaper answered, zooming in and inspecting the ranks "Strange, there's an Orange Ranger here. I've never seen one before. Have you?" Reaper asked

"No." Is all Rix said, before moving on, with Reaper close behind

"How many battle have you had against the UNSC?" Reaper asked, placing his sniper on his back

"Many." Rix said, before crouching and scanned the buildings

"Kat, this is Recon Gamma. We've found a Covenant outpost, looks like they're using this place as a fortress. They're placing fortifications all around it." Reaper reported

"Understood. Mapping out the fortress from your HUD now." Kat replied "OK, move on."

Reaper looked again, before realizing something "Hey Kat. Looks like we have a high value target. It's a Zealot. Hey, it's that orange ranger from earlier too."

"Orange Ranger? You mean a B.O.B?" Kat answered

"B.O.B?" Reaper questioned

"Bright Orange Bastard. B.O.B. They're not like your regular Ranger, Six encountered a few. It seems they have a higher rank than the normal Ranger, and carry out special tasks. Stronger shields too." Kat explained

"Damn. I'm guessing it's reporting back to the zealot then."

"If you can, take them both out. And maybe even investigate the fortress while you're at it." Kat answered

"Understood. We'll do what we can. Recon Gamma out." Reaper sighed a little, obviously hoping to keep it stealthy "Alright, Rix. We need to take out the fortress along with the orange ranger and zealot. How do you wanna do this? Give me sniper support, go in with me?" He began, before Rix pointed at Reaper

"Alright. I've got your back. Just stay close." Reaper answered, hopping down the cliff and onto a sloped ledge, sliding down while Rix jumped down, soon the duo was on top of a building, ready to engage before they noticed something

"Militia? They've got militia as prisoners." Reaper whispered to Rix, Kat obviously seen it too

"Rescue them if you can. They may have Intel." Kat ordered

"Copy that." Reaper responded, before looking at Rix "OK, here's the plan. I'll use this hologram and make it run towards the line of fire of those turrets, while you go and rescue the civilians. I'll deal with the high value targets. Got it?" Reaper asked, before Rix nodded

"3... 2.. 1. Go!" Reaper yelled, activating his hologram and sprinted towards the elites

Rix moved in towards the militia and ripped the throat out of a grunt guarding them, then broke the civilians free

"Uh..... Thanks?" The leader of the group said in response to being freed

Meanwhile, Reaper managed to snap the ranger's neck and anger the zealot, however the hologram was no longer in play, so the turrets were now focused on the freed militia

"Come on, take out those turrets!" A militia member with a beanie and goggles said, picking up a DMR and firing at them

Reaper picked up the fallen Ranger's energy sword and ignited it, the zealot doing the same with his

Rix managed to flank the turrets and tackled one grunt to the ground, holding it down with her talon and shooting the other grunt with her needle rifle, before ripping the grunts throat out with said talon

"Turrets are down, assist the spartan!" The leader yelled, moving in with the other three militia members, all armed with various weapons

Reaper and the zealot clashed their blades together for a few moments, the elite kicked the spartan back and rushed him, when suddenly the zealot split into 4 separate elites

"The hell?!" Reaper yelled, confused at the advanced hologram, before stabbing the elite he thought was the real one

"None of them are real!" A third militia member said, pumping his shotgun

"What?" Reaper asked

"That thing pulled the same trick on us. All five are holograms while the real one slips away in active camo." The leader explained

"That's how they got Jimmy, there." The fourth member said, pointing at a fallen fifth

"That means he probably retreated. Damnit." Reaper answered, before Rix jumped down next to him "This is Rix. She's apart of my squad. I appreciate you not shooting her." Reaper said, motioning towards Rix

"Trust us, we were confused. We were very tempted but left it up to chance. Thanks for helping us, Rix." The leader stated

The Skirmisher only nodded, before smelling the air

Reaper pulled out his DMR and ran towards the entrance of the building, hugging the wall, while the militia members followed suite

"I've learned from research that whenever a Kig-yar or any subspecies does that, it's always for a reason. Shotgun guy, Rix, you two are with me. The rest of you, follow us in but keep your distance." Reaper ordered

"We should probably introduce ourselves. I'm Wallace." The militia member with the beanie and goggles stated

"Denis." The militia member with the shotgun answered

"Peter." The fourth member said

"And I'm Klark." The leader replied

"I'm Reaper. Now let's move." The spartan replied, moving in and scanning the environment with his silenced DMR while Rix followed suite along with Denis