User:Distant Tide/Team Massachusetts

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"It's just the two of us now. Just two of us left..."

- Merlin-D032 whispered to Andra-D054 after Team Boson's dissolution.

Team Massachusetts was a newly-minted  formed following the dissolution of accomplished Ferret Team Boson and the reassignment of their handler,  Major Kyser Duceppe. In the aftermath of inter-agencies debating the acquisition of Team Boson's remaining Spartan assets, it was ultimately decided that the closest of the few, Petty officers Merlin-D032 and Andra-D054, would be handed over to the unit that helped complete their Spartan induction, Spartan Headhunter Unit VIOLET-III.

Even at the distaste of Joshua-G024, Merlin and Andra were paired based on their existing friendship that extended to their first days of training in SPARTAN-III Delta Company. Relying on that existing comradery, the pair were quickly deployed to ongoing crises to test the new team's capabilities as well as to use them in a resourceful manner. Noted by many, the cohesion between Merlin and Andra reflects the relationship of Joshua-G024 and Amy-G094 of Team Xiphos who helped train Team Boson in the past. Deployments leading up to the Created Crisis that tested Team Massachusetts included the campaign against the faction Imperium of Clarity and the ONI investigation into the WNS Androvic.

With the now in full swing and  working to pacify the final dissenters to her new regime, Team Massachusetts is on the run and following vague orders to find ways to combat  and to track down the missing Amy-G094, now calling herself "Hera."

Legacy of Team Boson
After encountering Jefferson Korn in Rio de Janeiro during the Syndicate crisis in and being provided the man's personal AI, Cathedral, temporarily, Daniele-D003 set into motion a chain of events no one saw coming, not even himself. Ferret Team Boson became divided over the warnings of their former Delta Company counselor to the point that Daniele and Roxanne-D107 went rogue, believing strongly that there was a and that the team needed to get out of  as quickly as possible.

The other members of Team Boson that did not choose to desert: Merlin-D032, Andra-D054, and Adryn-D111, took the warnings to heart, however, believed to just be rumors or something that would require them to fight for the like  had done not too long ago during the. They weren't expecting the ; they didn't expect the threat to come from within. When Roxanne and Daniele went rogue, rather than fight, the other three were unavailable to actually give chase and did not see it coming.

In the aftermath, Daniele-D003 and Roxanne-D107 went missing after temporarily engaging with their fellow Delta Company graduates, Fireteam Quasar at an ONI acquisitions site near the New Phoenix Quarantine Zone. Roxanne was able to convince her fellow Spartans to not give chase and warned them of the coming enemy that would threaten the existence of the Unified Earth Government and the UNSC military even though she did not know what the threat was herself. On the other hand, Daniele was forced to engage Quasar's team leader, Marcellus-D070; a fight that the Boson Team Leader successfully won but at great cost to his friendship with Marcellus who had for a time been his best friend.

The cost to Ferret Team Boson was extensive. The team's handler and acting father figure, Kyser Duceppe were reassigned from taking care of the teenage Spartans as it became abundantly clear that his unit was finished and to his superiors at ONI, he was not fit to handle Spartans as he'd grown too soft and too close to them. Maybe that meant an early retirement since he had already provided a long service to the UNSC as an with the. Merlin, Andra, and Adryn were not informed of Major Duceppe's fate and were instead put under house arrest to investigate whether the remaining Spartans were at risk of deserting as well. The fear was warranted as Spartans from SPARTAN-III Delta Company were displaying some of the among any generation of, a phenomenon that remains misunderstood even as experts involved with Delta Company such as Doctor Reyna Zhou-Romero try to figure out the behavior of Deltas as they mature into adulthood.

Adryn-D111 was split from Merlin-D032 and Andra-D054 for an unknown assignment, later identified to be the secretive Naval Intelligence organization known as "Project BRUTUS" which made up a good portion of ONI's forward-deployed field intelligence agents. Adryn was selected to serve as a Spartan liaison after getting a taste of what spy work could be like during an operation at the Patuxent River Academy of Military Science in the United Republic of North America. Andra and Merlin were reformed into a two-man known as "Team Massachusetts."

Operational History
"Andra-D054, is one full of potential. She is leagues above in quality and stature than her teammates, but I'm not convinced she, or they, see that. It is, in my view, imperative that she be reassigned from her team, BOSON, to the . As such, I suggest she be requisitioned to us in VIOLET-III to be trained further."

- Joshua-G024, Andra-D054's transitional Spartan-training mentor.

Immiediate Deployment
"Alright, Merlin. To War, I guess?"

- Andra-D054 off-quoting a late UNSC officer before heading out to her new combat assignment with Merlin-D032.

Andra-D054
"Andra Kearsarge Bradford. Nice to meet you."

- Andra-D054 properly greeting Merlin-D032 for the first time.

Merlin-D032
"Merlin Ljang Boyd. The pleasure is mine."

- Merlin-D032 properly introducing himself to Andra-D054 for the first time.

Althea
"I remember... She wasn't ready to die."

- Althea reflecting on Andra-D054's last memories.

Trivia

 * After Ferret Team Boson collapsed, Andra-D054 was paired permanently with her teammate, Merlin-D032, in a new two-man called "Team Massachusetts", named after the state of the same name. The decision to go with this was taken from placing the first initial of each Spartans' name and producing the two-letter acronym that the is shared with the state. Team M-A, or better known as Team Massachusetts.

Appearances

 * RP: Imperium