This was the last place he expected to find a ghost from his past. But there was no mistaking it. The moment they removed the spartan's helmet, he recognized her. Noble 6. One of the last Spartan IIIs. At least that he knew of. Then again, up until a few moments ago, the only Spartan III he knew was still alive was Jun, and even then he wasn't sure he was alive. It had been years. "Shit..." "You recognize her Taggart?" "That's a spartan III. Probably deadliest one there is." Hernandez's expression showed what could only be complete disbelief, before looking at the spartan III, and back up at Taggart. "Oh, well that's great. I'm glad we decided to patch her up and bring her into our last base of operations." Torres had a look that screamed "I told you so", and his hands not so subtly moved to rest on his pistol holster. "I'll see if i can find some restraints..." "No. You restrain her, and she wakes up, we're dead before we can get a word out." "Even more reason to put a bullet between her eyes! Where do you get off on holding a presumably hostile spartan that's /responsible/ for the deaths of..." Torres was cut off before he could finish his complaints as Taggart pinned him against the wall, his forearm pressing on the disgruntled scout's throat. His eyes widened in surprise, completely caught off guard by the assault. "If you got a problem with the way I run this fireteam, feel free to leave. But I won't have every single one of my orders questioned. You either fall in line, or get the fuck out. Do we have an understanding?" Torres's expression hardened into a scowl, but promptly nodded. Taggart released his hold on the spartan, and stepped back away from him. "Good. Now, take care of her. Make sure she doesn't bleed out on us. I have questions for her." He turned and walked away, making his way to the other end of the bird's nest. Their makeshift stronghold took up the upper floors of one of the many deserted buildings in the abandoned city. If he had to guess what it bad been prior to the planet's glassing, he would surmise it was a corporate office of a research building, or something along those lines. It had a stocked medical lab on this floor, and many offices on the floors above and below. Most of the medical equipment had stopped working ages ago, but the medical supplies had miraculously survived. Add that to a 360 view of the surrounding area, and you've got a stronghold. As long as the building stayed standing, that is. As he reached one of the windows on the opposite end of the building, he finally gave in. His confident stance broke, and he gripped the window sill, leaning against it for support. They had suffered loss after loss since they had been burned. Everything seemed utterly hopeless as time dragged on, and now their last group of allies were all dead, part of the smoldering ruins of their base in the distance. He hadn't fell this helpless in a long, long time. Not since Reach, and seeing Noble Six managed to make those feelings even worse. Her appearance drudged up old memories, and old pains. Things he longed to forget. But he still remembered. She had saved his life. And now here she was, probably sent to end it. But that wasn't the picture he saw. She was laying on a cot, filled with bullets, and on the verge of death. And she stayed toeing the line between life and death for about 3 days. 3 whole days before she showed any signs of recovering. "Taggart? I think she's waking up!" They all gathered around her, Ready to see what she would do. Bane held his shotgun close to his chest, Viper's grip tightened around one of his various hidden blades, and Prophet simply crossed his arms. Her eyes fluttered open, and within seconds she tried to sit up, but quickly laid back down, the pain too much for her. Her eyes shut in pain, before finally opening up again, her gaze shifting from spartan to spartan, before finally resting on a familiar face. "You're safe, for now. I wouldn't try moving too quickly though, If I were you. You'll tear your stitches, and I doubt Viper here will be willing to patch you up again. Now, tell me. What're you doing here spartan?"
