NOVA Team

Nova Team, more formally styled as NOVA Team and occasionally referred to as NOVA or Team NOVA, is a fireteam-sized unit, composed of , formed in . Nova Team serves under the operational control of the , more specifically, the (NAVSPECWAR) and .
==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 throughout the , such as , , , and perhaps most significantly, . Unfortunately, only four of the original members were reportedly alive by the end of . 
Nova Team, along with and select other units, operated more extensively with non-SPARTAN military personnel than most Spartans during the war. To grant Nova Team more operational freedom in such situations, many of its members were granted ranks higher than those of most Spartans. Unlike Noble Team, however, Nova Team was not placed under the operational command of the and . Rather, Nova Team continued to serve as a Navy asset. While Nova Team is under the direct authority of the Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWAR), 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 this 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 be equipped with MJOLNIR GEN2 armor. 
==Known members==
After its conception in 2545, the first Nova Team members were John-A222 and Josh-A124. It would be soon thereafter that Beta Company SPARTAN-IIIs would be assigned, along with Timothy-A025, to form a complete six-person unit.
After Tyler-B037 and Nathan-B136 were killed on Reach, replacements for Nova Team were considered. New Spartans were considered for replacements on the team, such as Robby-G076. If one member fell in the line of duty, plans were in place to bring a new Spartan in as a replacement. Despite Nova Team's losses, no new Spartans were added to the team roster.
===== Current composition (October 2558) =====
*CDR John-A222 (Nova One) (Team leader/Rifleman/Grenadier)
*LCDR Josh-A124 (Nova Two) (Sub-leader/Marksman/Scout)
*LT Adam-B226 (Nova Three) (CQC/Assault)
*WO Timothy-A025 (Nova Four) (Heavy weapons/Rifleman)
===== Former members =====
*LT Tyler-B037 (2545-2552) (KIA)
*CWO Nathan-B136 (2545-2552) (KIA)
===== Potential members =====
*PO1 Robby-G076 (Joined Spartan Branch) (Active)
*PO2 Andrew-G199 (Joined Spartan Branch) (Active)
==Operational 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, Josh-A124 was assigned to the team as a sniper and second-in-command since he and John had grown close during training. Based on their formidable skillsets, Adam-B226, Timothy-A025, Tyler-B037, and Nathan-B136 were later assigned to the team in various roles. 
Nova Team participated in numerous battles throughout the , such as the and the . Nova Team was also deployed on a high priority mission to along with several other SPARTAN-III fireteams 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 facility, 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, Nova Team 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 several other Spartan teams and many UNSC . Covenant were taking position to begin glassing the planet as the battle progressed. Josh-A124 took cover behind local structures as Tyler-B037 and Adam-B226 rushed forward to engage in close-quarters.
The firefight continued as Mgalekgolo were deployed and opened fire on UNSC troops. Soon, seven of the Spartans there had been killed. Nova Team still stood strong, 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. Nova Team opened fired on the attacking team, quickly decimating them. The Sangheili assassin was thrown back as Josh-A124's bullet ripped into his chest. Despite the loss, the Spartans had to persist. 
In the next hours, Noble Team was confirmed to be en route. The Spartan deaths were now at twelve with Phantoms dropping more Covenant infantry in the distance. Marines fired mounted machine guns into the rocky battlefield just before a formation of flew overhead. As the Spartans took cover, Nathan-B136 was hit by a . He struggled to his knees before being overwhelmed by from another Banshee formation. Eventually, local officers and himself contacted the Spartans, ordering them to evacuate. 
The UNSC forces continued their resistance, but the Covenant assault was overwhelming. John-A222 gave the order, and the Spartans moved for a retreat. The four survivors of Nova Team, along with the local survivors, were then evacuated off-planet.
=== Defense of Earth === 
:Main article: 
During the later Battle of Earth, Nova Team was deployed to where they engaged in intense urban warfare. Primarily, the Spartans engaged in defensive and counter-assault operations against the Jiralhanae-led invasion force. The fighting was constant until the , , made a sudden slipspace jump above the city, devastating the ground below. In the aftermath, John-A222 was informed that UNSC contact had been lost with a team of ODSTs on a classified deployment. Nova Team was ordered to locate the team and recover their objective, a Forerunner artifact known as the . Arriving at the team's last known location, Nova Team found the ODSTs dead and the artifact missing. The Spartans reported their findings. With scant information regarding the artifact's whereabouts, the UNSC presumed the Conduit destroyed. The Spartans then continued to help resist the Covenant ground forces even as hostile reinforcements arrived. 
After the loss in , Nova Team was divided into pairs in an effort to deploy Spartans on more fronts. John-A222 and Josh-A124 were given various combat/defensive roles in Athens, , and .
Adam-B226 and Timothy-A025 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.
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 newly-formed Spartan Branch. 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 the GEN2 platform. Field tests carried out by John-A222 would specifically aid in the development of a hybridized RECON [GEN1] helmet. Likewise, testing by Josh-A124 and Adam-B226 would help lead to the development of , , MJOLNIR by 2558. All four of these GEN2 variants would later be used by the respective members of Nova Team.
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 reconnaissance, 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. The members of Nova Team are some of the veteran Spartans known to have requested that certain GEN1 MJOLNIR variants be reevaluated for use with GEN2. 
As postwar conflicts with remaining heightened, Nova Team received increasing deployments against Covenant forces. The Spartans found themselves pitted against several rogue groups, including the forces of . Once humanity encountered mechanical in 2557, Nova Team would soon see combat against the Forerunner constructs as well.
By 2558, the Spartans of Nova Team were issued MJOLNIR GEN2 along with all other active Spartans. John-A222 was issued with a hybridized RECON [GEN1] helmet, and Josh-A124 was one of the few to be issued VIGILANT-class MJOLNIR. Adam-B226 and Timothy-A025 were each given a set of INTRUDER-class MJOLNIR, with INDOMITABLE-class and helmets, respectively. The SPARTAN-IIIs saw routine deployments on various planets, including former Outer Colonies. Objectives during the first half of 2558 included eliminating pockets of Covenant control, countering Promethean assaults, and eliminating high-value targets. As efforts to recolonize former human worlds expanded, Nova Team also saw deployments defending important settlements against aggressive Promethean raids.
=== Emergence of the Guardians ===
In October of 2558, Nova Team was tasked with eliminating Rysa 'Vestam, the leader of a growing Covenant faction, in a covert raid on . However, this operation would be aborted when devastating anomalies were reported on five human colonies in the following days. Nova Team was immediately deployed to investigate two such catastrophes, first on and then . After Blue Team was declared AWOL a few days later, Nova Team was considered for reassignment to track the missing Spartans. would instead be issued the objective, leaving Nova Team to continue operations on Ursa IV.
Once a emerged on , the constructs would be more widely known as the source of the anomalies. The UNSC came to recognize the true threat of the as a Guardian stationed itself over Earth and other human worlds. Scrambling to avoid the attacks, UNSC forces were left scattered, with racing away from Earth. Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris would arrive on while Nova Team would remain on Ursa IV. 
==Trivia==
* Based on their deaths in Aszod, Nathan-B136 and Tyler-B037 could be two of the .
* Nova Team's operations on Tribute were limited to the events surrounding the Battle of Casbah due to their subsequent need on Reach.
* John-A222 and Josh-A124 are known to be highly lethal in an or , with the former gunning and the latter driving
* The members of Nova Team were among the veteran SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs who requested that certain MJOLNIR GEN1 variants be reassessed for use with the newer MJOLNIR GEN2 suite.
== Gallery ==
File:A124A130.png
File:3Nova.png
File:B226A222.png
Category:SPARTAN Teams