[center][h2][color=BF1010]Spartan Lucas Ryker[/color][/h2][/center]

The medical procedure and subsequent debriefing had all been decently run of the mill, all handled for SOP, though there had been special additions to Aegis' SOP to account for the non-human members of the team and ensure that the confidentiality of it all remained. However, after a week and a half of waiting for a final decision on the team's fate on the [i]Chorus of Thunder[/i], it became too clear to Lucas that they would likely either sit in limbo for months or end up on "temporary" reassignments for their respective governments. That first week and a half turned into more weeks and soon enough, his hunch proved true.

However, Spartan OPS didn't want to risk loosing any face with the Swords of Sanghelios and the willingness of Spartans to work with them, so when they asked for a volunteer to go with Vael and the other Swords members, the SPARTAN-IV was the quickest to step forward and offer to go. The months after that had been pretty standard, even by human military standards. Patrols, raids, inspections of Forerunner sites ahead of scientific teams, all pretty standard, if with a bit more Unggoy curiosity on his side of the fight than he was admittedly used to. During this time, he got to know Vael'Virisusai, Yalu'Suumko, Tar'Mdalak, and Grikgar far better than he had when they'd first met in Sydney before Aegis' first mission and he thought their teamwork had improved considerably since. As of now, he sat on his bed in his room outside the UNSC headquarters in Sydney, Australia once more, his armor off and sitting on an armor stand while he cleaned his rifle.

Nearby, sitting on the nightstand, was his twin energy knives and the twin standard issue ones he carried as well. He'd already sharpened the blades of the two standard issue and done the maintenance he could on the others. His wrist mounted blade was attached to the forearm of his armor, but he'd done maintenance on it as well. Humming, he only glanced out briefly as the sun snuck through the clouds. Already a week and they were still waiting on the rest of Aegis, but that didn't bother Ryker any. In fact, he had enjoyed his time in Sydney, not having to worry about guard duty, well. The sights were plentiful and he'd never been to Australia in his down time before.