o.n.e [REDACTED]

[majestic_leader]

Thorne! Get ba--

Thorne?

Majestic, form up on me!
Where did everyone go?

[DeMarco had been used to a lot of weird shit happening over the past couple months, what with Promethean Knights and Covenant teleporting pell mell all over Requiem, but to find himself in a swank lobby was about the farthest thing from his mind. Congratulations, Paradisa, there's a 7' armored Spartan in your lobby glancing around a mite confused. As per usual, he doesn't notice the open journal nearby.]

[He stands, since there doesn't seem to be any immediate threat at the moment, and starts channeling through the frequencies on his headset.]

Miller this is DeMarco. We fall into another portal or what? Miller? [Switching channels, anyone with a ]

Dalton? Uh, Commander Palmer? ... Roland?

Comments

[lonenoble]

[At receiving the new and strange signal on her radio. she can't help replying.] I'm not any of the named. And you aren't wherever you came from, Demarco.

Who are you?

[majestic_leader]

Yeah, I sort of figured that part out.

[Voice over the radio is comforting, even if he can't place it.]

Spartan DeMarco, leader of fireteam Majestic. [Who he's thinking is managed to misplace somehow. Talk about embarrassing.] And, who might you be?

[lonenoble]

Welcome to the castle, I guess.

Spartan? Really? Unfamiliar name...

Call me Noble Six. Spartan-III of Beta Company.

[majestic_leader]

[That gets a stunned silence. He'd known there were -IIIs and -IIs wandering around, but besides catching sight of Chief a few months back, he hadn't noticed any in the crowd of -IVs.]

I, uh-- [Then something else dawns on him, and there's a moment of stuttering.] Didn't you, like ... didn't you die? On Reach?

[Or is he forgetting his Spartan history lessons?]

[lonenoble]

Good to know that they're keeping up on the history lessons. And that I wasn't forgotten.

Yes, I did... At least, I assume so, with all the wounds I had and the planet being glassed. Still have the scars if you need proof, DeMarco.

Dictated

[inharperwetrust]

I'm gonna take a guess and say they aren't here.

Dictated Forever!

[majestic_leader]

Okay okay okay, so, I'm not where I was, but they're not here, and we weren't anywhere near a teleporter but hell if the Prometheans weren't fucking things up sideways.

Someone else [Someone previously very dead] said Paradisa?

[inharperwetrust]

Yep. Welcome to Cair Paradisa, fun-filled inter-dimensional hell hole, suitable for all ages and races. My name is Seamus Harper and I will be your guide.

What do you know already?

LOL just occured to me he hasn't found the journal.

[majestic_leader]

[And DeMarco comes to the realization that this isn't coming through the headsets. He starts looking around the lobby curiously.]

So you're the resident AI? Who is this place affiliated with?

[originalcopy]

[Church is passing by on one of his "totally not a patrol... I'm just bored as shit" walks, when he spots the pretty obvious. A guy in SPARTAN armor isn't exactly going to blend into the scenery.]

HAH, I'm not the noob anymore!

[The satisfaction of not being the "new guy" is overcoming his dismay that this could be another Freelancer. But he really hopes he's not a Freelancer.[

Welcome to "Castle Wonderfuck" new guy.

[majestic_leader]

[He lowers his weapon and glances over the guy. The armor was familiar but, well --]

Aren't you a little short to be a Spartan?

[originalcopy]

What?

Oh, I'm not a Spartan, I'm with the Blue Army.
Which, you've probably never heard of... so don't worry about it.

[He waves his hand dismissively]

What's important is you have no fuckin' clue where you are right now.

[majestic_leader]

Oh, I have at least a fucking clue. Slip-space bubble, alternate dimension, called 'Paradisa'. [He's actually been listening.]

So who's your Blue Army with, anyway? Is that another ONI thing? You can never tell with those guys.

[cheerupemoborg]

[Sensing some odd activity nearby, Hank picks up on Paul's signal, not recognizing the voice.]

Sorry, wrong on all counts.

My name is Henshaw.

[majestic_leader]

Henshaw? Didn't Crimson pick you up? [Except wait, no, that was someone else ...] Wait, nevermind. Spartan DeMarco, or just DeMarco.

So I'm starting to get the big picture here, I think. Sort of like a ... forced vacation?

[cheerupemoborg]

Crimson?

Or a hopefully temporary purgatory.

[majestic_leader]

Oh just a, uh, another fireteam. They don't matter. [A quick clearing of his throat GO TEAM MAJESTIC]

Well, I just came from Hell, so even Purgatory would feel like a walk in the park.

Spartan Demarco

[youfallback]

[She's been doing some reading, or listening really, and she'll go ahead and skip the usual stuff.]

There's one remaining NOBLE and four Freelancers. I'm Agent Carolina, with Project Freelancer in ONI.

Agent Carolina

[majestic_leader]

You guys one of their hush-hush projects? I haven't heard of them at all.

[He's got the gist of the castle itself, more or less, from his other conversations, but it doesn't hurt to get whatever further intel he can.] Any chance I could get a guided tour?

Spartan Demarco

[youfallback]

I'm available if you need a guide, SPARTAN. [She figures he got something, too. Everyone in their current alliance is incredibly helpful when everyone's not pissed at everyone else.]

Agent Carolina

[majestic_leader]

It'd be nice to get a fresh perspective from someone who knows the place. [Also, she sounds cute. And she's not his superior, so score!]

[encryptedlock]

[A Spartan, huh?]

Well, looks like you got the basics from the others. I'm Freelancer York. Anything you don't have covered yet?

[majestic_leader]

Think I got all the basics. Forced vacation, Freelancers are friends, team's not here so I shouldn't bother yelling for them.

[encryptedlock]

You can wish for things if you want them, and the kitchen's on the first floor.

[majestic_leader]

That's handy enough. Not too shabby a setup you got going here. Hangar's nice.