[h3][center][u][i]Spartan Alexander Mann[/i][/u][/center][/h3]

	As soon as Alexander arrived, it wasn't long until another set of doors hissed open. It wasn't another Spartan, nor was it an ONI Agent. It was the Captain of the Supercarrier they were about to board. [b]"So this is my squad of Spartans then?"[/b] He spoke. Already Alexander heard the authority in his voice, an experienced man, the Spartan thought. He heard that tone and inflection of speech before in seasoned NCOs and veteran Captains. Judging by the salad bar of ribbons and medals pinned onto his chest, the Captain, a Nicholas Roger Young, was certainly an experienced captain. Alexander saluted him, but was quickly waved to stand easy. [b]"Welcome to my ship, the Solares. She is a Infinity Class Super-carrier designed by ONI roughly around the same time the Infinity was being produced. I'm sure all of you are curious as to what our mission entitles, if you follow me to the command deck of the ship, all will be explained by myself and the ships AI, Nova."[/b] After the introduction, Captain Young spun and marched towards an airlock, with the Spartans at his back. After the decon procedures, they were let in. 

An Infinity Class supercarrier. A truly massive vessel, one of the most powerful vessels in both the UNSC and the Covenant, if they had any of those during the war they would have done far better. It embodied the will of humanity, Alexander thought, a war weary, battle tested humanity that still looked to the stars with hope and a curiosity that fueled exploration. The Spartan was no stranger to star faring vessels either, having been on at least a dozen UNSC vessels, and a few Covenant ones. But even still he didn't know how to navigate the halls of any of those vessels without a map. It had taken him a whole year to get used to the Space Station Aurora, the maps on the walls and the arrows on the ground helped, but he was just stepping onto one of the most modern vessels in the UNSC Navy. Without the other Spartans and the guidance of the Captain, he would have gotten lost in the maze of corridors and swept by the ocean of personnel. Captain Young spoke again, explaining that how he ran the ship, and that there were other Spartans on the vessel, of which Alexander had no doubt. 

They reached an elevator and left the mess of sounds that made up a busy ship just leaving port. After a moment the doors opened to the bridge of the supercarrier, a much quieter, but still just as busy deck. Captain Young left the elevator and made a beeline towards the holotable at the center of the bridge. Alexander, not quite knowing where to stand, opted to stand near his fellow Spartans. The Captain and the AI in charge, Nova, exchanged a few words and the ship accelerated. Alexander wasn't an engineer, but he knew that the Infinity-Class Supercarriers held extremely advanced Shaw-Fujikawa engines in her, and it showed. The acceleration was hardly felt, but the view screen ahead swirled with streaks of light that turned into a tunnel. Alexander was mesmerized by the display of light for a second, having never seen slipspace with his own eyes.

Nova interrupted his sightseeing, materializing on the holotable in a new suit. This time a set of Spartan flight armor, helmetless.[b] "So these are the Spartans that were referred to us then? Welcome to the Solares. I am Nova, the ships advanced AI. I will not only be helping the ship function to its full abilities, but I will also be picking one of you to join while on the field of battle. I can interface with both the ship and the person I choose to pair with at the same time, a little perk that was created not that long ago. Once we arrive to the Hyperion solar system, I will choose. For now though, I must review each and every one of your records, abilities, history and current status. Regardless of who I choose to pair with, I look forward to working with all of you. Please let me know if any of you need anything while on board the Solares."[/b] The AI saluted the Spartans, which Alexander returned, and then she disappeared from the table. Nova said she was able to link with both the ship and an individual at the same time. The Spartan looked at his fellow teammates and wondered which one she would choose. Captain Young stepped up and cleared his throat to get the attention of the team. He spoke up, in a tone that he recognized, that kind of voice that many officers took on while briefing a unit of troopers, one that silenced any conversation and kept all attention on the speaker. Spartan Alexander was silent, and kept his attention on the Captain. 

The briefing was short but held important information, and it included a distress call. As Captain Young spoke, explaining that the star system, Hyperion, Erathellian Cluster, Milky Way had been attacked by an unidentified force. As an explosion cut the message short, Captain Young explained that the star system held a number of planets of importance. Highly populated, UNSC and ONI facilities, and a Forerunner world. Alexander closed his eyes for a second. Now he knew why he was selected. He pushed those thoughts to the side. Captain Young finished up and asked if they had any questions. It wasn't a heartbeat later that the Spartan in Argus armor voiced a concern. She spoke in a smooth, easy to listen to, English accent. She asked if there were any sensors, video feeds, anything that revealed the enemy. Captain Young explained that there was an EMP that disabled the majority of sensors on each planet. Alexander furrowed his brow, EMPs on a planetary scale were strange. That was conventionally a human tactic, he had never seen the Covenant use EMPs on a scale anywhere close to this. Captain Young brought up a video, taken by a civilian. Alexander understood why that wasn't on the briefing, civilians were unreliable sources of intelligence, he thought as the video continued. He saw as the camera was knocked away from the owners hand, and it fell in a position that revealed a soldier being sliced in half by an energy sword. Alexander grimaced at the sight, being sliced into two by an energy sword wasn't an uncommon way to go out during the war.

The Spartan in Argus armor continued, saying that it was clearly a splinter faction of the Covenant. Alexander disagreed, by now Covenant weapons would be in the hands of the Insurrectionists. A particularly clever Insurrectionist group could be using Covenant weaponry to hide their identities and to place the blame on the Covenant remnants. But that was unlikely. Alexander stayed quiet as Captain Young agreed with the Spartan in Argus, Aviza, he called her. 
[b]"M’dama makes sense. Halsey knows a lot of our secrets. I wouldn’t rule out a connection."[/b] A male Spartan agreed, wearing Warrior armor with white and red. 
[b]"It could be the Banished."[/b] A female Spartan offered, she wore Hunter armor, suggesting she had some connection to ONI. Alexander had only heard of the Banished, a mostly Covenant mercenary group, ruthless and deadly. Not bound by any laws of honor that the Covenant used to have.
Alexander only looked around, and stayed quiet. He was a soldier, not a strategist, nor in any position of leadership. He took a deep breath and waited to see if anyone else had any questions. Covenant, Banished or Rebels, there possible survivors, soldiers, scientists, people who had nothing to do with the military. If his superiors let him, he'd try to rescue all of them.