NOVA Team

"You know as well as I do that we wind up with some that would have chosen—not just kids unlucky enough to survive a . Orders are still being followed and those Spartans are in the field, but they are armed as SPARTANs—and they are making a difference."

- to Nova Team, more formally styled as NOVA Team and occasionally referred to as NOVA or Team NOVA, was a fireteam-sized unit composed of formed in. Nova Team was under the operational control of the, more specifically, the (NAVSPECWAR).

Overview
Nova Team was composed of SPARTAN-IIIs pulled from and  by   and   before the large-scale operations in which the companies were mostly destroyed,  for Alpha and  for Beta.

Prior to the, Nova Team served on numerous fronts such as , , , , and perhaps most significantly, on. Unfortunately, only four of the original members were reportedly alive by the end of.

Nova Team, along with and select other teams, operated more extensively with non-SPARTAN military peronnel than most Spartans. To grant Nova Team more operation freedom when working with standard military personnel, many of its members held ranks higher than those of most Spartans. Nova Team was under the direct authority of the Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWAR), but its  is unspecified.

The SPARTAN-IIIs of Nova Team were issued equipment on par with that of the, such as , which is far more advanced than the cheaper worn by the mainline SPARTAN-IIIs. All members of the team were issued the first generation of, known as , along with the other Spartans in late. The members of Nova Team displayed a variety of color schemes and customized variants. In late 2552, the team received several experimental upgrades to their MJOLNIR armor in order to test new systems and the compatibility of GEN1 components with the prototype suite. Similar upgrades were received by Spartan at around the same time. By 2558, both teams were known to possess MJOLNIR GEN2 armor.

Team composition
Living members
 * Commander John-A222 (Nova One) - A highly-skilled and intelligent Spartan, John served as the leader of Nova Team. He is currently listed as active.
 *  Josh-A124 (Nova Two) - John's second-in-command, Josh served as the team's primary sniper. He is currently listed as active.
 *  Adam-B226 (Nova Four) - Practical and reserved, Adam served as the intelligence and close-quarters combat specialist on the team. He is currently listed as active.
 *  Timothy-A130 (Nova Five) - Quiet, but skilled, Timothy served as the heavy weapons specialist on the team. He is currently listed as active.

Members confirmed killed during the Fall of Reach
 *  Tyler-B037 (Nova Three) - An outspoken and often defensive Spartan, Tyler served as an additional assault and close-quarters specialist on the team. Killed on August 30, 2552. Listed MIA. Confirmed KIA by during the.
 *  Nathan-B136 (Nova Six) - Careful and creative, Nathan served as an engineer and general combat specialist on the team. Killed on August 30, 2552. Listed MIA. Confirmed KIA by Covenant during the Battle of Aszod.

New Gamma Company Spartans were considered for replacements on the team such as Robby-G076 and Drew-G324. When one member fell in the line of duty, a new Spartan would be brought in as a replacement. Despite Nova Team's losses on Reach, no new Spartans were assigned to the unit.

Potential members
 *  Drew-G324 - A rather self-conscious Spartan, Drew would serve as a potential replacement for the team. His current status is unknown.
 *  Robby-G076 - Loyal but impulsive, Robby served as a potential replacement for the team. His current status is unknown.

History
NOVA Team was formed by the UNSC Navy in the year 2545 after the removal of select SPARTAN-IIIs from Beta Company. Given his prior tactical, leadership, and combat skills, John-A222 was selected to lead the team. In an effort to promote a positive team dynamic, he was given the opportunity to recommend any of his peers that he felt were "adequately suited" for a position on Nova Team. John immediately selected Josh-A124, an especially promising Spartan specializing in marksmanship. The pair had become friends during training for Alpha Company which, in addition to his skills, prompted the latter's assignment to the team as sniper. John-A222 then proceeded to recommend Adam-B226 and Tyler-B037 based on their admirable service records. Nathan-B136 and Timothy-A130 were eventually assigned to the team. In addition, the team was stationed onboard the, UNSC Supernova.

Nova Team participated in numerous battles throughout the, such as the and the. Nova Team was also deployed on a high priority mission to with the objective of material retrieval or destruction in the cities of Caracas and Enfield, and later, along with multiple other Spartan fireteams to  during the.

Fall of Reach

 * Main article:

Nova Team was sent to Reach along with sixty percent of the after the Covenant,  revealed itself over the planet. Upon arrival, the Spartans were immediatiely deployed to, where a Covenant assault was underway, to slow the Covenant advance while evacuation efforts were organized. Surviving personnel were evacuated from a nearby ONI facilty, where they were being harassed by Covenant forces. They were liberated from a pack of when John stabbed a  in the neck, Josh-A124 ended a  with a well-placed bullet, and the other members neutralized the remaining hostiles.

The team later assisted in the evacuation of along with  and  after the Covenant initiated an aggressive raid on the city. Here, Nathan-B136 was hit by a Mgalekgolo while escorting a group of civilians. Fortunately, the Spartan survived the encounter. As the metropolis was later glassed, John and his men escorted local civilians and military personnel to a public bunker near the city center, where they would wait for hours. In the aftermath of the glassing, the members of Nova Team lit distress flares to signal any nearby search and rescue forces. As the bunker was evacuated, the Spartans were picked up by a Pelican and helped responders sweep the city for survivors. At one point, the dropship pilots spotted the blue smoke of a signal flare rising from the ruins of. Here, John and the able members of Nova Team helped evacuate the survivors of Noble Team and other stranded personnel.

During their deployment, Nova Team engaged in numerous defensive and counter-assault operations throughout. In the final days of the Battle of Reach, Nova Team was deployed, along with several other Spartans, to help defend the shipyard and pipelines in as the remnants of Noble Team transported a high priority package to the dry-docked.

Aszod

 * Main article:

On the outskirts of the shipyard, the remnants of Nova Team fought alongside two other SPARTAN teams and many UNSC. It is unknown what time Nova Team was deployed on August 30, but portions of its combat are known. Gunfire could be heard as smoke rose across the horizon. The distant landscape was scorched. Far off in the stormy skies, Covenant were taking position to begin glassing the planet.

At around 1423 hours, Marines rushed forward from the isolated buildings and pipelines but were mostly decimated by plasma fire. After receiving a signal, Nova Team darted out from cover, opening fire as Covenant teams advanced. Josh-A124 took cover behind a steel beam, spun to the side, and fired a 14.5x114mm round into a skull. Tyler-B037 rushed forward with his and unloaded into a cluster of. After switching to his, John-A222 fired into a group of incoming. He then ran forward, driving a combat knife into the neck of a. Timothy-A130 fired a rocket launcher into the heart of the incoming forces. Additional teams of Marines took positions in the surrounding rocks and buildings, contributing their fire.

The firefight continued as pair of Mgalekgolo crashed through a pile of pipes and opened fire on UNSC troops. By 1559 hours, seven of the Spartans there had been killed. John's team still stood, but the Covenant forces continued to push. John-A222 watched as the Covenant advance momentarily slowed, and the blade of an pierced through Tyler-B037's back. John-A222 and the rest of his team fired at the Spec Ops Sangheili team. The hostiles fell, and the murderer was thrown back as Josh-A124's bullet ripped into its chest. Depite the loss, the Spartans had to persist.

By 1625 hours, Noble Team had been confirmed enroute. The Spartan deaths were now at twelve with Phantoms dropping more Covenant infantry in the distance. Marines fired mounted machine guns into the rocky field just before a formation of flew inbound. As the Spartans took cover, Nathan-B136 was hit by a. He struggled to his knees before being overwhelmed by from another formation. Eventually, local officers and  contacted the Spartans, ordering them to evacuate but were refused.

"Negative, Sir. We have an objective."

- John-A222

"That was an order, Spartan. Pelicans are enroute. Noble will be there in time and can get out on the Autumn. Supernova is in low orbit in an isolated region nearby but needs to evac soon. We'll need every Spartan we can get... You and your men are getting out." The UNSC forces continued their fire, but the Covenant were overwhelming. John-A222 gave the order, and the Spartans moved to retreat. Far in the distance, two Pelicans descended just as a pair of Banshees curved towards them. One of the Pelicans was hit and crashed, but the Spartans managed to eliminate the hostile craft afterwards. The four survivors of Nova Team, along with the survivors of the the other two teams, were taken to the UNSC Supernova and later evacuated off-planet.

Defense of Earth

 * Main article:

During the later Battle of Earth, Nova Team was divided into pairs to serve on multiple fronts. These pairs were John-A222 with Josh-A124 and Adam-B226 with Timothy-A130.

John-A222 and Josh-A124 were initially deployed to where they engaged in intense urban warfare. The Spartans were given various combat/defensive roles in Athens,, , and Geneva. In addition, the pair went to to rescue Adam-B226 and Timothy-A130 from overwhelming hostile forces.

Adam-B226 and Timothy-A130 were initially sent to Japan to engage Covenant forces in Tokyo and Fukushima. They were then reassigned to when a Covenant capital ship arrived to besiege the base. The pair was later sent to where they were pinned down and nearly killed by Covenant forces. Only when John-A222 and Josh-A124 arrived did the Spartans continue their operations.

The team continued to engage hostile forces on Earth as the took place.

Post-War
Down to four members, Nova Team remained unintegrated into the Spartan Branch of the UNSC. The unit continued to conduct special operations under the UNSC Navy and, eliminating high-value targets and engaging hostile factions.

In late 2552, Nova Team was provided with several upgrades and incorporations to their Mark V[B] armor to field test many features for the future. One such test involved the backwards compatibility of GEN1 MJOLNIR components on the experimental GEN2 suite. Ultimately, the results partially yielded the ability to use certain Mark V[B]-based variants with GEN2 systems by. Likewise, alternate hardware field tests were used to provide data that would eventually be used in the development of the enhanced sensory features of the newer GEN2 and the structure of remade Mark V[B] variants, such as and  MJOLNIR.

In March of 2553, Nova Team was assigned to, or "," along with several  fireteams. Deployment objectives were to reconnoiter the surface, quarantine areas of potential Flood contamination, and recover any notable Forerunner artifacts. Naturally, Nova Team was assigned the more hazardous and significant objectives. The four SPARTAN-IIIs of Nova Team continued operations on the ring's surface, conducting reconaissance, providing military support, and retrieving artifacts, until late 2554. It is unknown whether the team used MJOLNIR GEN2 by this date.

At some point before, the team emblem was changed to its current appearance to reflect more modern fireteam styles. By 2558, Nova Team had transitioned to the MJOLNIR GEN2 platform, along with other active Spartans.

Nova Team Combat Loadouts (Post War)
John-A222
 * Primary:
 * Alternate Primary:
 * Secondary:

Josh-A124
 * Primary:
 * Alternate Primary:
 * Secondary:

Adam-B226
 * Primary:
 * Alternate Primary:
 * Secondary:

Timothy-A130
 * Primary:
 * Alternate Primary:
 * Secondary:

Trivia

 * When commandeering an or an, John-A222 and Josh-A124 have a reputation of being especially deadly with Josh driving and John in the gunner position.


 * Based on Nova Team's involvement in the Battle of Aszod, it is believed that Tyler-B037 and Nathan-B136 are two of the.


 * Despite Timothy-A130 being the heavy weapons specialist of Nova Team, Nathan-B136 often was seen using a mobile . Timothy, however, is known to use the M6 Spartan Laser,, M739 SAW, or even the M45 Shotgun in most most deployments. This may be due to preference, Nathan's equipment-based skill set, or the need for Timothy to be more mobile in combat.