The hum of the Pelican was familiar, but unlike any other Pelican he could recall hearing. Axel tilted his head to the side ever so slightly as he applied himself to the difficult task of sifting through his memories and finding the sound in context. Properly organizing and retrieving his memory was something he was trained to do. If he wanted to pinpoint the sound, he would.
He nearly jumped. That was it. Whipping his head around he gazed at the pure white lights above the door to the cockpit of the vehicle, and their surrounding partners that rimmed the space where the walls and ceiling of the back compartment connected. This Pelican was not standard UNSC design. The description matched the one The Lieutenant had given him when he’d first ridden in one. He mentally disciplined himself for not seeing the details when he’d gotten on. His eyes were not something he was used to. He looked around slowly at the other Spartans, seeing identical golden faceplates. Should he tell them? Most Spartans, even the third generation, his generation, didn’t usually think outside the box they are bred in. The young Spartan-III decided he would tell them nothing directly revealing, but now that he knew what the higher powers had intended for this mission, and the tool they had brought for it... he could safely assume this so-called rebel leader was far more important than shown to be. Axel once again looked down, diving deep into thought, searching into himself and trying to reach out to the others as he collected himself. He noted the ride was smoother than most Pelican's were capable of delivering, but it was a thing only his blind eyes could see.
After a long moment Axel looked up. For a brief second an unease settled over him, and his gun hand twitched. The last time he had come across things like this Pelican, or anything related to or made by the same people, bad things happened. Very bad things. He wasn’t sure whether the manufacturers of the transport that was taking some of them to their doom were trouble, or whether they were the people who were sent into the worst of it. Something told him it was a little bit of both.
He looked down at his Lieutenant’s insignia. He still outranked all the Spartans here, including Spartan-116, but she was in command of this mission. He’d even made sure of it. He'd fought for his rank, but didn’t take the responsibility? No… That wasn’t right. It was Raevynn’s responsibility to lead. These were her Spartans; she was their big-sister mother figure. He was an outcast. But she didn’t know what they could be, what they were getting hurled into. Suppressing the memories of his command, and bringing his training and experience into play Axel stowed his gun into the slot provided at his side, and switched on the internal speakers of his helmet.
“Spartans.” He said. His voice was calm and soft, yet powerful. It possessed little of the harshness it used to. If anything it sounded like the same child they had once known, instead of a changed being. “I have confidence in all of your abilities, and I have faith in 116’s ability to lead this mission… but I feel there is something you all need to know.” He watched some of the heads turn. Others, he could tell, didn’t want to hear a word he said. He paused a moment before continuing. “Look around you. Look closely. This Pelican is not standard UNSC design. I can’t tell you much, but I’ve worked with the people who built this thing. Every time I have worked with them, bad things happened, bad by our standards. I can tell you with complete certainty that if this Pelican is being used for this mission there is far more than what they are telling us. The man we are to capture... I know in my gut is not simply a powerful rebel leader. We’re heading into hell’s heart to do the impossible." He stopped, searching for the words to deliver. After a few seconds he continued. "I don’t know how the universe works… but from my experience when someone does the impossible it will find retribution, and there will be a price to be paid in return. I do know we Spartan’s were bred to do just that, the impossible, and I can tell you that we are the ones who pay that price.” A hint of bitterness crept into his tone as the last words rolled off his tongue. He paused, again his voice recomposed. “You are, all of you, faster, more agile, stronger, and far more powerful than the “expendable” Spartans I was forced to command. Despite growing with them, I have more faith in your ability to accomplish your goal, but more importantly I know you are better at the key, which is to survive. As an officer and fellow soldier who knows how important you’re lives are I’m asking you to please keep that in mind when you’re down they’re, holding your rifle, answering to the call of duty. As your friend who knows how important those lives are to me… I’m paying my respect to all of you now, and hope we will not part on bad terms, because I know that I wont be seeing at least half of you again.”
The Pelican had been racing along the black surface of the water using the rolling waves and the overhead storm to better hide itself from detection. As Axel said the last words, and the usual near silence filled the confines of the Pelican with the exception of the quiet background noise of the churning ocean and lightning from outside, there was a smooth bump and for a moment those sounds were muffled before they faded away entirely. A newer sound, much quieter; almost non-existent reached Axel’s ears. He placed it after a moment. The Pelican was descending into water. That confirmed it then… the standard UNSC Pelican was still unable to do that. He could almost see the darkness of the murky depths filling the small, limited room as they sank deeper into the ocean. Axel knew in his heart it was only his own sense of dread.