User:FightWithHonor/Amber Team

{Writer|FightWithHonor}}

"If tomorrow never comes, know that we died fighting and that we did not die alone."

- LT Rush-G168

While units like Alpha Company and Beta Company fought desperately to stave off the armies and navies of the Covenant, others forces were in the making. Among them was Amber Team.

This elite NAVSPECWAR fire team was composed of an elite cohort of SPARTAN-IIIs and an aging SPARTAN-I, CMDR Randall O’Grady. Together, these two generations of warriors would face the storms and intrigues of the War of Vengeance.

Overview
Dawn from elements of the depleted Gamma Company and the still-embryonic Delta Company, Amber Team (callsign(s) "MYSTIC," "MANDATE") gave UNSC military leaders a valuable weapon in their arsenal: a precision weapon.

Although small, Amber Team could, and did, "deal the pain," striking fast then melting into the shadows without a trace. Although officially declared operational in January of 2554, evidence strongly suggests its combat debut occurred several weeks prior during a classified (and presumably completely successful) "shakedown cruise."

Formation
The concept of an integrated team drawn from various SPARTAN companies and programs was not a wholly new one. Noble Team had proved the concept since before 2552. Yet in many ways, Amber Team was still a novel idea.

While Noble Team had merely been a bulwark in the UNSC's defenses; Amber Team was intended from its inception to be an offensive instrument, capable of delivering the precision an army or a SPARTAN-III company could not offer, and the firepower a single soldier could wield.

It was for these reasons and others that UNSC and ONI planners drafted the concept of "Multi-Mission SPECWAR Composite Team X-ray," also known as "MSCTX" or "Mystic." Initially, the plan called for SPARTAN-IIs and -IIIs to be drawn from existing units; but heavy losses among the first SPARTAN-III companies and the attrition of SPARTAN-IIs forced Mystic's creators to reevaluate their plans.

Making the best of their limited resources, ONI and SPECWAR's DEVCOM (Development Command) tapped SPARTAN-I CMDR Randall O’Grady to lead the MYSTIC team. O'Grady was an interesting choice for the project. Although remarkably fit and undeniably competent as a special operator; O'Grady's service record was filled with black marks. He'd been frocked to 0-6 (Captain) and busted back to Commander four times in his career and his CSV had more NJPs than most "terminal lances."

Frustrated commanders had finally grounded him, leaving the frustrated O'Grady desk-bound in Sydney. And, when approached with the offer to lead the MYSTIC team, he gruffly but gladly accepted.

Filling the remaining ranks proved to be an equal challenge. With the death of LT CMDR Kurt Ambrose (SPARTAN-051) and the disappearance of several of their sister teams, Gamma Company was seen as an obvious source of candidates for the MYSTIC team. Unfortunately, many other SPECWAR, ONI, and JOINTCOM officers thought alike. Gamma was rapidly becoming fragmented, as SPARTAN-IIIs were detached in ones and twos for various pet projects. It soon became clear that, without threatening Gamma's cohesion as a fighting force, MYSTIC could not rely solely on Gamma (or any of the other SPARTAN-III companies for that matter) to fill the four open spots in its roster.

Improvising, MYSTIC's leadership cast around for an alternate sources of candidates. After some deliberation, they decided to raid the rosters of the as-yet unformed Delta Company. Quickly identifying a short list of the ten most promising Delta Company candidates, the MYSTIC development team subjected the final ten to a brutal crash-course in the wilderness of Camp Curahee. After several months of non-stop FIELDEXs, live-fire exercises, and grueling PT, MYSTIC finally had its final two candidates: Victor-D185 and Sarah-D203.

In the meantime, MYSTIC had evaluated the available pool of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma  to Company SPARTAN-IIIs identify recruits for the remaining two spots. Eventually, two suitable candidates, Mark-G042 and Jacob-G308, were found and inducted into the MYSTIC project.