|FLASHBACK|

"Cortez, you good?" Reaper asked, patting a unaware Cortez on the shoulder

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, sir. I was just thinking." Cortez answered, rubbing his forehead

"I understand. Mind telling me what about?" The spartan II replied, sitting down on a crate across from the III

"Well, I've been thinking of our squad. I mean, we had seven Spartans, but now we're down to three." Cortez spoke up, motioning towards the empty bunks, before stopping at Scar, who was sound asleep

The commander sighed, then pulled out four dog tags "Lieutenant Steve Juniv. Warrant Officer Augustus Zoren. Corporal Fitzgerald Vurix. And Lieutenant Commander Ivan Petrenko. I know, I think of them every day. I'd take their place if I could." Reaper answered, handing the tags over, before Cortez stopped him

"Keep them. I've already started to work on a memorial. Just tell me one thing. Why do we have to sacrifice ourselves?" Cortez asked

"Well....." The commander began, standing up and walking towards a window "If we don't stand and fight, then the rest of humanity won't stand a chance. We were made for war, our life is to protect humanity at any cost. Just think of all the children back on Earth. Don't you think they should be able to see their family again? If we don't fight in this war, their families will surely be taken out in this conflict. The normal human body can't withstand the wrath of the covenant for long. They get tired, worn down, and begin to burnout. Us Spartans are created to be better than them. So we can give them a chance." Reaper answered

"You're right, sir." Cortez assured, before an ONI officer walked in

"Commander Reaper. 2nd Lieutenant Cortez Anderson. I've come with some news for you." The officer began, typing into a PDA

"Go ahead, sir." Reaper answered, crossing his arms

"Well, I've come with orders from higher up to transfer the Lieutenant here into a new squad." The officer told, putting his PDA down

"What?" Cortez asked, standing up in surprise

"Well, I can't discuss much. Your new team's orders are highly classified. Just as much as Reaper's. But what I can say is that you'll be leading the team." The officer answered

"What about the Reapers? They can't just have two spartans." Cortez replied

"Well, the commander here will be able to pick multiple replacements when the time comes, and we need a new group of spartans to do separate tasks than this one." The officer explained, returning to his PDA, before Cortez looked at Reaper

"Go ahead, Cortez. You'll do fine. I believe in you." The commander reassured, patting Cortez on the back

"I- Alright. Thank you for everything, sir." Cortez said, shaking Reaper's hand

"Likewise. Good luck out there." Reaper replied, shaking his hand

"You too, sir." Cortez told, before following the officer out the barracks