Prologue: The Pieces are Set…
Time: 12:33 EST (Earth Standard Time)
Date: 23/08/2558
Location: Anathema Verge- Delphi Nebula
In the depths of the Anathema Verge, the UNSC 'Nightingale' silently glided through the miasma of the Delphi Nebula, the milky white and purplish hue gasses swirled and shifted around the hull of the ship as the gravitic field of the ship left a displacement wake. The hull of the craft was made of reflective photo-reactive plating which absorbed and refracted light around it, ensuring that the ship would blend seamlessly into its surroundings.
The stealth ship's hull was large, 575 meters in length, 365 meters wide and 275 meters in height, the vessel had a number of concealed engines which could operate without being detected, and there was also a moderately sized concealed hangar bay underneath which was cloaked by a refraction field. The bay itself was active with personnel working on various pieces of machinery and equipment.
As for the interior of the craft, it was a contrast in comparison to the ship's exterior, corridors of sterile white and grey metal decking and illuminated signs were present throughout most junctions and doorways. Access ports had red markings, engineering stations had yellow and black warning stripes, and the conference chamber of the ship was filled with people.
In this chamber there were dozens of armour clad individuals, some had golden dome shaped helmets, others had single slit helmets with varying faceplate designs, and all of them had armour which varied in shape and form each customised or standardised. For everyone else currently present in the room, they were all sporting uniforms of chromatic contrasts or were lightly armoured in comparison to the larger bodies currently present.
Little was said amongst the personnel who waited patiently, most chatter was between members of the uniformed personnel, the armour clad persons on the other hand sat in silent contemplation and passiveness for the briefing which was soon to begin. None of them had to wait particularly long, the doorway on the other side of the room activated, the dual lock passage whined as it activated, and in a split second the door opened up.
One of the uniformed staff officers in the room stood up and called out.
"Attention, officers on deck!"
The gathered personnel in the room reacted and took up their stance in attention as four officers entered into the room. A black dressed officer with a cap and various amounts of military regalia on his uniform strode stoically to his seat where he was followed by a grey uniformed officer of a slightly different branch; the other two officers were of lesser ranks than the senior members strode in afterwards just as dignified as the highest ranking officer.
The black uniform dressed man stood up and addressed the collective group.
"At ease." He said curtly.
Everyone in the room stood with their legs slightly apart as they relaxed so to speak, the man then continued.
"As you all know, that officially speaking, the war between the human race and the Covenant has ended and we are at peace. However this is merely the Covenant Empire as we know it, not what remains."
He paused as he activated a direct neural interface with the ship's computer and brought to life the nearby holographic projector, which took a moment to load the data provided by the vast data-banks of the ship. Though the process to a split second as a map appeared of a fully 3 dimensional sphere of the region in which they now currently travelled.
Fully detailed images were displayed, stars, planets, and the nebula in which they were currently travelling through, the image indicated also the 'Nightingale's' position, and the position of their intended targets illuminated in a bright yellow along with numerous red indicators of enemy ships and troops currently deployed.
"We remain wary towards our new allies, who while they call themselves our 'allies', it's all semantics to us, as there are those who still see us as the enemy, and in a sense that sentiment is mutual. As of now, the ONI has acquired data from them in regards to the location of a Covenant remnant facility located in this region. I'll let Sera continue the briefing." The officer said before gesturing to the nearby holographic projector.
As if on cue, a bright shimmer followed before a woman appeared, she was adorned in an emerald green and snow white dress which showed a little bit of cleavage, while it might have caught some men's attention the Spartans remained focused.
"Thank you Admiral Winters." The holographic woman took the display herself and addressed the gathered persons. "Ladies and gentlemen, the ONI has determined the location of a UNSC fusion nuclear weapons cache which had been hijacked from a remote storage facility." The synthesised voice of the woman echoed within the room as she displayed the footage from the attack on the UNSC station which had housed the weapons.
"A total of fourteen hundred fusion nuclear warheads were taken from the facility, all of which were classed as MK-VII Nova, and I do not need to tell you how dangerous a Nova class fusion nuclear weapon can be, especially that many." She said gravely.
The AI provided a direct image of the process of breakdown as she explained it; there were recordings of the Nova fusion nuclear warheads in use, more specifically the recordings of the battle of Tetra Ilium, where over a hundred Spartans held their ground to destroy a Covenant armada which was trying to overrun the colony.
As the UNSC defenders were overrun, the Spartans on the ground detonated the stockpile of Nova class fusion nuclear warheads, in an instant the surface of the planet was illuminated as a bright flash of light occurred. In moments the explosion travelled upwards and out into the void as the planet was gradually torn apart by the devastating forces being exerted by the explosion.
There were a few looks of uncertainty of that explanation but they didn't question it, they knew what was at stake. Admiral Winters once more took to the fore as he dismissed the AI.
"Thank you Sera." He said as he looked at the gathered persons.
"Gentlemen, this is something which I emphasise to you, this mission is of the utmost importance, in the next day, we will be engaging these Remnants, our objective here is simple, ensure that none of these ships ever leave those ports." He said as he gestured to the holographic display.
The officer took a moment to tap into the direct link of the computers before stating.
"The operation is straight forward, we will deploy several teams of Spartans and four platoons of ODSTs using stealth insertion pods, and they will be accompanied by a unit of Spartan MKV ADS IWSP specialists who will provide them the necessary support in striking against the Covenant defences."
"Our expected level of resistance is high; these are zealous Covenant fanatics who would love nothing more than to take one last defiant shot at humanity." He said while indicating to the number of projected Covenant units in the display.
"That said, there will be blocking forces deployed out along the area of operations who will be performing support roles, they will ensure that no Covenant escapes from the area and they will be acting as our eyes and ears in the event of an emergency. We must always remember that these zealots are utterly tenacious in their persecution of war against us; we in turn must be just as tenacious." He enthused as he indicated the deployment of Spartans throughout the display.
A younger officer stepped forwards, his rank identifying him as a Lieutenant Commander. "Alright, ODST companies, Bravo, Lima, and Theta will be accompanying Spartan teams Orion, Helios, Odin and Hercules. Additional support will be deployed according to the development of the battle. The Nightingale will hold to the rear, and provide support, but she won't be able to move through the field as the density is too high to avoid being detected."
"If there are no questions, all participating teams are to report to ready stations within the next hour, remember to perform last minute checks, mission preparations are to be finished within the hour." The officer said as he looked around.
The senior personnel left as they finished up.
"Alright, dismissed!" The ranking officer declared.
Within moments the gathered personnel began to pick themselves up and leave the briefing room, filing out in order.
XXXXX
In the corridor of the 'Nightingale', amidst the bustling of personnel heading to their duty stations or going off to complete any last check-ups, those of the Spartans intermingled and formed into their respective teams or groups. Those of the Spartan teams were always tightknit groups, though there were a few which didn't quite fit in.
A young looking raven haired man with deep brown eyes, dressed in his operator's overalls and jacket exited from the meeting room in his lonesome, his movements rather steady as he walked amidst the crowds of other UNSC personnel, his height and apparel made him stand out amongst the crowd. But few paid any attention to him, seeing as he wasn't anything new.
This Spartan was Ray Himitsuki or Rayleigh Himitsuki if you wanted his full name; however he preferred to have his name shortened down to Ray though. And he didn't refer to using his full name unless necessary. Ray was a veteran Spartan operator, which was essentially a combat specialist who was utilised in other fields rather than just ground work.
Mostly reserved for field duties in tactical scenarios, he was one of the few Spartans which had survived many deadly encounters with the Covenant. His reputation was what made him stand out, though this was in combination of his lone wolf status, brought about by the fact that most of his comrades and friends having perished.
This was one of the reasons why he was alone, unlike other Spartans currently present; he didn't have a designated team to be working with and the UNSC was unlikely going to stick him in any team soon, and he didn't mind this predicament that he found himself within. As he would still have a role in the UNSC regardless, even as minor as a supporting role, he didn't outright question it.
As he took a turn around a corner and headed towards the junction the lifts so he could go down to the hangar and prepare, as he did so, he was called from behind by a feminine voice.
"Ray, wait up…"
The man stopped in his tracks and turned to the source of the voice, he came upon a similarly dressed woman as himself, with dark skin and blonde hair. She had green eyes and rather shapely body; one would almost mistake this woman for a model rather than a soldier. The woman in question gracefully strode over to his side.
"Warrant Officer Alma, is there something you need?" He asked the woman promptly.
"Besides wanting to check up on you?" The woman replied with a raised eyebrow.
Ray turned back to walking down the corridor with the woman in tow, his reply was curt.
"You know I'm not much for friends these days."
"That's a harsh thing to say." The woman replied aloof to his comment, she stayed by his side almost keeping within a feet of him.
"Well it's how I'm used to it, and I'm fairly certain you've been aware of this for a while now." He told her.
"Oh please, you've been a Spartan for longer than most, and you're still playing to role of lone wolf, I know you've had a past history with teams, but I don't think this level of seclusion suits someone likes yourself." She told him insistently. "I know that there must be more to this than you're letting on."
Ray knew Alma was a person who liked to pry into the lives of other Spartans, she was something of a psychologist, but she was also one of the few Spartan intelligence operators. Her interests were mostly focused on gaining intelligence on enemies of the UNSC, but her hobby consisted of examining the mentality of Spartans like him.
"Warrant Officer, is there a particular reason today that you're currently imposing upon me?" He asked with a slightly tense tone.
He knew that Alma liked to jab at people's personality, but he regarded her persistence as something grating, but he didn't really try to voice his grievance with the woman, as she already knew it herself. She liked to toy with him subtly, she didn't press too far though, mainly because she knew that there were some things in which she shouldn't pry into.
"For perspective, I'm most certain you're keeping to yourself besides wanting to be alone." She told him with a nonchalant shrug.
Ray sighed, he knew the answer well beforehand, and the trouble was keeping the warrant officer preoccupied and away from annoying him. But before he made his reply the elevator stopped and opened up to allow another occupant to enter. This was a man who stood taller than Ray and Alma though only by a small difference, his appearance was calm and conserved, he was fairly good looking, and they both knew why.
"Lieutenant Carson." Ray greeted the man.
"Lieutenant." Alma said with a curt nod.
"Chief Petty Officer Ray, Warrant Officer Alma." The man returned the greetings.
The two stepped into the elevator rather tentatively whilst keeping their body language professional; they knew who this man was. As he took a spot by the left side wall, the doors closed and the man eyed the chief petty officer.
There was a moment of silence before the lieutenant asked the man.
"So I hear that you've been reassigned to overwatch as part of our operation? I must say that's quite a blow to your standing isn't it? I mean you have served diligently for years, and now you're getting circulated?"
"I have no objections to the decision, if the senior officers felt that I would be required to participate in another fashion. Then I respect their judgement."
"I guess that you could sum it up in such a fashion, though I'm surprised that you didn't attempt to reappeal this decision with the Colonel."
"I felt it unnecessary to force a change in operation which would be undertaken regardless."
Alma was aware of what Carson was like, despite his calm demeanour, the man was a calculating schemer, who saw opportunity. He was always eager to prove himself superior, even if it meant belittling the other personnel in the ranks of the Spartans. Carson was one of the few Spartans who had joined in the recent years, as part of the Spartan GEN II program; he was one of the earliest recruits.
However, he was a very questionable choice for Spartan thanks to his history; many rumours went about his potion having been secured through familial contacts. This nepotism was something the UNSC had frowned upon in their ranks, more so with Spartans, as most voluntarily joined for the sake of protecting humanity, not glorifying themselves.
Alma disliked Carson with a passion, as the smug lieutenant looked patiently, Alma snapped a remark.
"It's more likely that the commanders feel that the other units would benefit for the chance to earn themselves a reputation, after all someone like Himitsuki has lain more deaths in a single operation than in most Spartans in their entire careers."
She was right on that note and the statistics showed, but for the most part this was a professional barb she had stung into Carson's ego, and he loved to stroke his own ego. The man stiffened in response before stating.
"Under most circumstances, I'd question the necessity of needing intelligence operators in the Spartan corps, as if redundant branches are a requirement for a force which prides itself upon being the sword and shield to defend the human race. I hardly expect that most of the commanders feel the need to include your branch as part of our corps." Carson stated whilst he continued to appear composed.
The young woman eyed the man with a deathly glare. She really disliked Carson with a passion and so did many other Spartans in their ranks. But Thanks to professional discipline and the constant reminder of their respect for the chain of command, they had to bear with his insufferable antics; of course if he was ever caught out with making a mistake then he'd get himself knocked down a bunch of pegs.
Unfortunately, the jackass knew this and did his utmost to keep himself out of the immediate risk of getting screwed over by his mistakes. He also had a tendency to shove blame elsewhere in the event of an actual error on his part. The man was well voiced, and could twist the truth to keep him from getting into serious trouble.
But regardless, his reputation was lacklustre in comparison to the achievements of real Spartans, something he resented Spartans like Ray for. Of course he didn't dare do anything which could implicate him into a court martial offence. But Alma knew his days were numbered, and one day sooner or later, he'd get himself into more trouble than he could handle.
She took Carson's barb against her profession well; she composed herself before Ray then spoke up.
"I see no issue with having a system of redundancy, operational elements of the UNSC rely on a dedicated network of personnel, even our own intelligence operatives are a useful element to determining the best course of action, I'd prefer we be able to know our enemy rather than not."
He stated clearly to Carson.
Carson's eyes narrowed at that moment, he knew of how Ray usually tried to take the objective stance on things, even as a Spartan. This frustrated him in most cases, he never liked those who never followed their passions like he did, to him ambition was a driving factor to be something great, but he usually saw those who didn't advance as somewhat lazy or incompetent.
In the case of Ray, he saw Ray as a solitary mountain, which stood out against him.
"I still don't get why you're the one whose keeps trying to justify this, if that was the case, then why are you still under freelance rotation? I don't recall a single lone Spartan classifying itself as a necessary redundancy do you?"
"I know, but in my situation, this is an abnormal development, one which Command feels is acceptable."
"You say abnormal but most think otherwise." Carson jabbed at him.
"Semantics, the Colonel has already given the clearance in the past for what I've done. Whether you accept that or not, I won't argue." Ray said adamantly.
The lieutenant didn't bother giving him another jab as he knew that he wouldn't be able to provoke the response he wanted out of Ray. The man was stubbornly difficult to provoke over these sorts of matters. That and Ray knew that he was trying to do this intentionally, so there was little to do with annoying him.
Alma on the other had seemed likely to kick his ass seven ways to next Sunday, but she was easier to evoke a response from, so he didn't care as much. As the elevator reached the primary living quarters level, Carson exited.
"I'll see you two around, and don't forget, there's many ways to the top. Even for someone like me." He said promptly with a lazy wave of the hand.
"Son of a bitch." Alma cussed as the doors closed, her furrowed brow and tense stance didn't need Ray to analyse as he knew how angry she was at the man who stood apart from Spartans.
"Alma, here are a few words of wisdom. There is a time and place, and this isn't it." Ray said to the woman.
"But." The woman was about to object but Ray continued on.
"Lieutenant Carson is an officer, and admittedly while he doesn't hold up to this on a personal level, on a professional level he is able to do so, even if it's through less than acceptable methods. But eventually he'll make a mistake, and it'll cost him, but that mistake will either make or break him." He said before adding. "That time will come."
"You sure sound optimistic." Alma panned at his comment.
"That's only because you think of it that way, I only look to be objective here, Spartans uphold the best in regards to the UNSC, and men like Carson are a dime in a dozen. We have to deal with them regardless." He said as they headed down to the hangar bay.
The two parted ways, as Ray's unit was on the portside bays and Alma was stationed with the other operatives for their planned infiltration mission, the young woman waved off to Ray as he left.
XXXXX
Ray made his way to the berths where the various exoskeleton units were being held, he strolled past various bays which were in varying states of preparation, technicians and engineers sailed back and forth with equipment, going off to either finish repairs or undertake some form of maintenance. The Spartan couldn't help but engross his senses in listening to the idle chatter, movement of boots on the deck plating, all while he inwardly thought about his future prospects.
Ray eventually returned to his unit, which sat in its berthing alcove. The Mk-V was already attached to its recon load out, FAST booster pack attached, along with multi-sensor booster. He had also spotted the M8/G Spartan laser rifle prepared for use lying on a weapon's rack nearby. The weapon load out he had prepared was for the overwatch role.
The suit stood open, his MK-V integrated combat exoskeleton was a dual system, one which used a functioning MK-V MJOLNIR and the attached MK-V ADS which supported it. The MK-V was a dual tandem system, one which worked well in combat operations; it had a variable framework which could utilise an assortment of systems.
Offensive systems and defensive systems were customised for Ray's unit, being capable of operating more complex or advanced functions which wouldn't be present in any other MK-V. All Spartans veterans who make it into the Naval Special Operations Warfare branch were given the chance to upgrade as they saw fit. These upgrades are either very specific for a Spartan's specialty or field of expertise, or it would be intended for special use.
Ray was in the latter category due to years of surviving virtual death sentences, one after another, he was given special modifications and upgrades intended to keep him alive against the odds, as long as it was deemed necessary. The Spartans were given a wide variety of upgrades meant to keep them functioning in the field for as long as possible, even in the face of imminent death.
Ray clambered into his machine via a retractable step ladder provided for operators, he slid himself into his suit, and interfaced via a direct neural interface and a data pad provided for Spartan operators. A cool soothing sensation of mercury filled the back of his mind as he connected to his machine.
"There you are I was beginning to worry you got lost." A familiar feminine voice commented cheerfully from within his mind.
Ray's mind amalgamated the feeling of the AI of his machine, the young woman who he had been partnered with for so many years.
"No need to worry Gallia, I'm sure if I ever get lost, you'd find me." He replied through his neural connection when he opened his eyes.
"In that event, I might as well be a browser." The female AI huffed at his remark.
Gallia was Ray's AI, and has been for nearly eighteen years of his life, they met one another not long after his first mission against the Covenant, where most of the unit he was assigned to was killed, and he was one of the few remaining Spartans left alive. She had been given to him as an advanced prototype Smart AI intended to perform various roles, including cyber-warfare.
They were together since his early years, fighting one battle after the next, though they were separated from time to time, they were always allowed to reunite, as their combination was very efficient in combat. Ray had a rather close bond to his AI, and always listened to what Gallia had to say to him, and Galli cared for the wellbeing of her Spartan, despite her rather droll demeanour.
Their union had been something of an experiment at first by the UNSC, but at the behest of the Spartan GEN I director, the decision was made to allow the two to remain as a unit for as long as they wished. It was because their synergy was so great and also thanks to Gallia's ability to restrain Ray in times of duress.
She was also the one of the few AI which was able to operate effectively with Spartans for long periods of time, aiding Ray in his mission against multiple odds and against multiple enemies. They were best together and no one could deny it, even though Gallia's personality clashed with her Spartan's.
"How's the start-up sequence?" Ray inquired as he began to link his mind to various motor control systems with his mind.
"All systems running normal, start-up procedures are operating within parameters." The AI said as she brought up tactical displays and info.
"Weapon operational systems are synced, lag response time is down to the nanosecond, and all neural responses are properly operating." He announced as he felt the connection.
"So you're thrilled about the prospect of being held in the rear this time?" He heard Gallia inquire as he waited patiently.
"I don't have an opinion on it; I'm merely following the directives given to me." He replied promptly as calmly as he could.
"So I take it as a no then?" Gallia surmised from his response.
"Gallia, you know fully well that I operate as I am, even if they tell me to hang back, that's the decision of those above, I'll respect it." He said as he prepared his machine.
"Why do you tell yourself that?" Gallia asked him, her voice sounded quite sympathetic.
"I don't understand what you're referring to."
"Oh please, you know that this isn't like you, you always drive headlong into battle, and you've always been the one to experience all that the universe can throw at you."
"Is that so?"
"It's true."
Ray sighed. "I know that there's potentially more waiting for me, but to be perfectly honest, I am but one piece of a larger machine, this is a commitment I and you have made, since my recruitment and your birth. It is something I feel we've distinguished ourselves well within."
"But you must know that one day it will end for you right? I mean there's no way you'd keep being a Spartan forever."
"I know." He said promptly.
He knew that he was just lying to himself there as he had never thought about the potential future which lay ahead of him. But he did know his place as a Spartan wasn't to be wasted, no, he understood that he had value as of now, and he would retain these values. He had planned to see it through, and should one day he be discharged, then he'd accept that as well.
But to him, his fight, his existence had been intertwined with his life as a Spartan; of course he knew it would end one day, either through death or otherwise. His service period would come to a close one day, and he'd be able to rest easy knowing he had done all he could. The impact he would leave would be remembered, and that's all he could hope for.
Of course Gallia didn't see it in the same fashion, Ray was much more to her, like a son or a younger brother, so narrow sighted, she had hoped that she would be able to develop his view of the world more, and allow him to seek out more avenues for life than continue to exist as a gear in the machine of the UNSC.
But that day has yet to come when she would be able to show him a future, until then she would remain by his side. Helping him until he could do it all on his own.
"Time's up." She said quietly through the link.
They got back to work as the ship made its final preparations for combat operations. Gallia and Ray were readying the last systems on the MK-V, loading up ammunition and double checking all the statuses on the suit's power and operational settings. As they completed the final checks on the suit, Gallia sensed the ship exit out of slip-space.
"It's time we get going." She said to Ray.
Over the ship the sounds of alarms began to ring, indicating that the ship was preparing for final preparations, the operation was underway, and there was no backing out of it now.
XXXXX
The 'Nightingale' exited slip-space on the outer edges of the star system near the gas giant, it was the best area to exit since the gas giant's magnetic fields and moons would obscure any sensor readings made by Covenant ships, and the stealth systems of the stealth Cruiser could be turned down for longer operational time.
In the hangar bay of the ship, teams were finished with preparation work and were getting ready for deployment, their assigned areas of operation were designated and they had little time to waste, the Remnants had to be dealt with. As the ship made its way to the deployment zone, the advanced recon units were deployed.
Ray exited the lower hangar via the catapult, his unit was carried into the asteroid belt, and using his manoeuvring thrusters he adjusted his trajectory accordingly, he had no need for doing anything complex, he would be acting as blocker for this mission along with the others. They wouldn't be needed any further out than the AO, from there they'd be able to cover their objectives and keep an eye out for hostile movement.
Early Warning and Control units were dispersed within the area of operation; MSF-09 Neros were dispersed throughout the area, their bulky advanced sensory suites, hanging off their frames like a kitchen cabinet having been attached to the top of the machine's frame. Their sensory suites gave a full overview of the Covenant facility, designating the movement of troops and machinery and scanning for potential outlying units.
Other teams of MSF units made their way over to the positions surrounding the docking bays, though they didn't expose themselves, they positioned themselves accordingly in order to bring their arsenals to bear. Missile pods, MLA mounted cannons; assault cannons were prepared, along with mounted heavy M8 laser rifles.
Infantry moved into position through the use of specialised shielding pods which could be hidden from Covenant sensors, active camouflage systems engaged to allow marines to take up position around the docks. Their movements were masked amidst the drifting asteroids, though they knew that they had to minimalize their signature to avoid arousing suspicion.
A small unit in the right place would be enough to disable a sentry or sensor quickly rather than risking a larger force of troops which could be discovered easily. That and stealth modules were easier for use if their overall surface area was spread out more to avoid being detected. As each reached their intended target destination, their complement of troops disembarked.
Marines scattered with Spartans in tow, primed and armed with high explosive charges and demolition work, they breached the various sections of the asteroid dock, either to plant demolition charges or to infiltrate a particular section of the facility and commit to sabotaging whatever they could manage before the main force struck.
Their force's AIs began the meticulous work of slicing into the Covenant network, setting up false alarms and disabling whatever system they needed to in order for them to pull this mission off. Direct security feeds would need to be dealt with by the infiltration teams quickly, but they had to ensure that the ships didn't leave the docks.
Infiltrators had to difficult challenge of sabotaging the primary dock controls as it was the only thing keeping the Covenant remnants' fleet from exiting the area and making an escape. Just as the first phase of their operation ended, something happened.
"What's that?" One of the Spartan operators asked aloud.
"I'm seeing something, looks like movement." Ray said as he noted the movement of one Covenant exoskeleton frame using a commander's markings.
"I see it as well, looks like something's up." Gallia commented as she did a visual spectrograph of the area.
It was then a flare was popped, a green and blue luminescent signal.
"Shit, looks like we're starting early!" Carson called over their network.
"All units execute Phase 2; begin the assault, do not let them organise their response force!" Winters ordered as they began to move from their positions.
As if on cue, missiles came raining down from above, teams of MSF operators unleashed what ordinance they had, sending dozens of large tubular shaped missiles. Though these weren't normal missiles, as they reached a certain point, the missiles opened up, their outer plating revealing a number of clustered projectiles.
In an instant the micro-sized warheads were unleashed, sending a wave of hundreds of mini missiles towards the waiting Covenant Remnants which were just getting out of their ships to respond to the attack. Missiles pelted the response force along with the ships, thousands of projectiles rained from afar, striking with ferocity and power, overwhelming the ships defences and peppering them with more warheads than they could possibly count.
As the Covenant force was obliterated under the weight of the assault, the infiltrators struck as hard as they could, ships in the docks were rocked with explosions from within. Most were focused to the rear of the ships, demolition charges obliterating controls and destroying a sizeable chunk of their ability to move.
The immediate battle the force committed to was a rush, the first teams had struck without warning cutting their way through the Covenant ranks with horrifying ease, though the Covenant were making quite the effort to keep the Spartans and ODSTs from breaching their defences though. Soon enough, the area became a brilliantly array of lights as lethal fire was exchanged from both sides.
Rail guns and lasers cut through infantry and heavy infantry as the Spartan teams infiltrated the first ships, from outside the battle was raging with fierce intensity as Mark-V ADS units engaged the Covenant fighters and Elites in exoskeleton assault armour. The Mark-V's proved their worth blasting through numerous Covenant armoured units, but even then, the Covenant forces outnumbered the Spartans in a 5 to 1 ratio.
Hence the presence of ODSTs and MSF units in the area to provide additional support, their goal was to ease pressure off the Spartans so they could turn the battle around quickly. So it came to no one's surprise when the Spartans outmanoeuvred the Covenant defences and destroyed them quickly, allowing the ODSTs to press the attack and overwhelm the Covenant troops quickly.
XXXXX
In the brutal melee unfolding amidst the boarding parties, the Spartans under the command of Carson was engaged in subduing the Covenant ranks by the objective 4. The garrisoned troops were prepared and armed thanks to that flare going off prematurely, but regardless, he had no intention of falling behind.
Carson was leading his troop of Spartans and ODST down into the belly of the primary objective, their advance covered by MK-V operators laying down walls of fire as they supressed the point defences of the waiting craft. The bulbous sections were peppered with missiles and rail fire as the troops advanced, marines cutting through infantry in close combat while the Spartans wrecked hell from the flanks.
"Come on, we're breaking through to the ship, don't let up!" He yelled over the com channel.
The overly zealous assault upon the Covenant lines was met by stalwart resistance, but against the combined forces of the Spartan strike force with marines, it wasn't much of a gesture. The fighting was brutal, the marines cut through several ranks of grunts and their jackal phalanx, gouging their way through wave after wave of the Covenant lines, but as they approached the very edge of the ship's starboard entryway they were suddenly bogged down by fire.
Carson who was fighting alongside the first platoon of Spartans on the offensive, he was alerted to his unit's EWAC support unit which called in.
"Multiple heat sources, they're zealot exoskeletons!"
"What?" Carson exclaimed.
A vanguard of zealots appeared from the barrage, leading a counter attack, dozens of armoured skirmishers along with up armoured grunts wielding plasma weapons and needlers arrived, laying down a staggered wave of attacks. This immediately broke the advance made by Carson's force, the battle suddenly grinding to a bloody halt.
"What the hell?" Carson said while he looked over at the situation.
"Regroup the formation, don't let the bastard's force us back!" He ordered as the marines reformed lines and attempted to slug it out with the gathered Covenant troops. Of course this was compounded by further trouble as the Covenant began to unleash the turrets on the assault force.
"Where's the infiltration teams? Why hasn't the ship's defences been disabled?" He asked as the troops began getting peppered by plasma bolts
"We don't know, they made successful entries, but we're receiving no status updates." The operator reported.
Carson turned back to see the vanguard of zealots now breaking through the lines, being led at the front by a heavily armoured command variant, this one cut through the marines with sickening ease. As the lines began to crumble, Carson issued orders for his Spartans to join in and try to halt the counter attack.
Carson himself took up his EVA specialised suit and got his retinue of specialists together, he watched as the Spartan operators in the Mk-Vs attempted to stop the attack, but they were soon bogged down, leaving open a hole in the formation. This opening allowed for the Covenant commander to rush through with a select group of units.
The lieutenant realised that he and his remaining men were all that remained. He signalled to his retinue and launched his troops into battle against the Covenant elites. Carson took the lead with his assault rifle, sending out bursts of fire against the commander type, his striker leading the attack with a shotgun and grenade launcher, blasting away at the exoskeleton.
But their attacks didn't do as well as they hoped, Carson's subordinate was slain as the elite commander managed to overwhelm him with select strikes, cutting through armour and shields with its dual energy swords. As the dead Spartan drifted out of the way, smouldering from the plasma cuts, Carson was faced with a direct challenge.
In this situation the Spartan rushed forward.
"I don't think you know who I am, but I'll show you."
He manoeuvred around the Elite using his thrusters, unleashing a hail of fire, but the zealot danced around, managing to minimize the impacts from his attack. But Carson followed up with an RPG shot from his rifle, a 40mm rocket lodging itself into the deck by the zealot, who only had moments to register the explosion.
The zealot commander was thrown clear from the blast, allowing Carson to follow up with his assault rifle pistol, peppering away into the enemy suit, the shields had buckled in a flash of light thanks to the sustained barrage unleashed by Carson. As he came down from above, he closed distance and prepared to lance the weakened armoured sections of the zealot's neck brace, which was the one weak point he could exploit quickly.
But the moment he stepped into reach, he was suddenly met by a plasma blade, this one which had detached from the arm of the zealot's suit, nearly carving into his shoulder. He ducked down to avoid the attack only to come face to face with the zealot who had managed to use the momentary distraction to engage him in close combat.
Carson was unable to respond nearly as quickly as he attempted to drop his rifle and switch over to his combat blades; he only had moments before a plasma sword suddenly embedded itself into his lower abdomen. The searing pain lasted all but moments as the blade was driven upwards and through his torso, leaving a large smouldering cut which gouged his organs.
Carson had only moments to register his mistake and realise that he had underestimated the enemy. As the lieutenant died, the force of Spartans and marines began to collapse into chaos as their commander was eliminated and the ranks of their force was dispersed thanks to this surprise counter offensive.
However this battle wasn't just over yet…
XXXXX
Ray watched patiently his wide angle scope searching for erratic movement of any Covenant unit which might be attempting to flee. So far he had counted a total of 17, each of which he had managed to bring down. His fellow blockers were also doing their part of cleaning up, sniping whatever attempted to make a run from the field.
From his seated position he could only watch as the situation developed disastrously, the battle around the 4th ship docked was turning into a bloodbath, which indicated that an enemy commander had seen through their planned attack and was now making his counter. As bad as this situation was, Ray could only sit back and wait and keep on the perimeter. He had little else to do but wait it out and let the others deal with the clustered Covenant remanent forces.
However his moment of peace was interrupted abruptly, at first he thought it was another straggler trying to make a run for it while the strike force wiped out the survivors. However he found that this particular target wasn't making a run for open space, no instead it seemed quite focused on trying to get deeper into the asteroid field.
"Gallia, do you see that?" He asked the AI.
He didn't need to ask, he knew that Gallia was no doubt monitoring his sensor feeds, keeping him apprised of all kinds of things. "Yes, the unit seems to be searching for something."
"Either that, or the intelligence report we had didn't quite capture every detail. In any case, we should investigate." Gallia stated as they tracked its movements through the asteroid belt.
"Agreed." He concurred as he detached his unit from the asteroid.
He took the MK-V on the trail of the Covenant runner; it wasn't long before he had to operate on lower output in order to mask his approach. Using the MK-V ADS's variable fusion thrusters he managed to make narrow turns and manoeuvres around asteroids, Gallia had made only slight course corrections and provided data on the flight trajectory of his unit through the asteroid belt.
As he travelled throughout the asteroid belt, he couldn't help but wonder where the Elite was going, it was clear that it wasn't heading to escape the field or it would gone straight for open space. And Gallia agreed, the movement of the Covenant ADS unit was clearly not trying to make a hasty escape.
They came upon a large asteroid which had been clearly structured, there was a large gap down the middle of the rock, where a crack split three ways across, it wasn't a normal hiding hole, the size of the gap was far too extensive. And they saw the sudden movement of multiple Covenant units as soon as the ADS got to location.
Ray circled his suit around an asteroid and took up a position overlooking the crevasse where the Covenant units were located. Gallia wasted no time in bringing their sensor array to scan the immediate area.
"Ray, I'm not getting any positive returns, probably shielded, no wonder we didn't see this place before, they must have been keeping this place a tight knit secret." She mused as she continued to attempt to get as much data upon the installation as possible.
"What about visual sensor?"
Gallia switched to a direct visual sensor input from Ray's eyes; this method was unconventional, but viable, though it did give the Spartan operator a headache from the effects of using their eyes in conjunction with their AI. Ray was prepared for the effect and gave direct feedback using his visual receptors to scan the hidden installation.
"That's a Covenant warship, SDV-class, it looks modified, and there are a lot of Covenant troops rushing around in there…" Gallia said as she picked through all the data she could.
"Gallia, patch me to the 'Nightingale'." Ray said as he looked on with clear concern.
"Nightingale Actual, this is Black Knight 6." Gallia called from their battle network. It took a moment before they received a response.
"This is Nightingale Actual, what do you have to report?" The admiral asked.
"Sir, I have sights on a hidden Covenant ship, they've got a SDV-Class Corvette, it's been parked in between a pair of asteroids, it seems like they're preparing to escape." Ray reported in.
"Damn it, they had a backup plan like us? Figures. Lieutenant Ray, you have my permission to engage, do not let that ship reach its target destination. And if need be, you are to board the craft and destroy it, using whatever means necessary, do you understand?" Admiral Winters ordered him.
"Understood sir, I'm moving to engage." Ray replied as his MKV ADS pushed off from the anchoring point and moved towards the enemy ship.
Gallia appeared in his HUD, she had a look of concern on her face.
"So racing into the jaws of the beast are we?"
"You know me." He stated with a sense of determination.
"Yes, the better they are, the crazier they tend to be." She recalled how Alma kept making jokes about Ray's suicidal habit of tackling what many would see as suicidal missions.
That or taking challenges from enemy units as a sign of honour and battling them one on one, thankfully this didn't apply in this situation. Besides he didn't waste too much time with getting bogged down in a duel, and the way the battle was preceding, he needed to punch through fast and eliminate the Covenant warship before it escaped.
He activated his combat interface and braced himself for an undoubtedly rough ride, his body was capable of taking quite a strain, but his mind needed a boost in terms of response. He kicked his suit into gear as he raced across the open space towards them. In response the SDV corvette dispatched its response force, fighters and Elite operated exoskeleton frames exited from hangar bays.
In moments his machine raced towards the incoming remnant machines, there were eight units from his sensors, six seraph fighters and a pair of zealot-class series exoskeletons mounting plasma cannons and pulse plasma rifles. The first and immediate threat which he had to deal with was the Seraphs which opened up with their forward plasma cannons and plasma torpedo launchers.
He immediately took evasive manoeuvres around the spray of vibrant bluish white streaks of super-heated plasma, as he took a twist he brought his M6 Spartan, laser rifle to bear, he held the trigger for a moment before letting loose a ruby red beam of light spear the first Seraph midsection, cutting through its shields and punching a clean hole through the armoured fuselage of the craft.
The Seraph fighter exploded in a burst of red and purplish light before dissipating. Ray didn't have time to bask in the brilliance of his precision kill as the other escort fighters quickly converged upon him, determined to exact revenge for their fallen comrade. The space around him was quickly turned into a hailstorm of plasma bolts and focused plasma blasts, which would have destroyed any other kind of machine, but his unit could handle the withering fire of destruction.
His shields absorbed the brunt of any focused blasts while his secondary shields held off any shots which made it past the bubble shield, his machine made a tight manoeuvre around the enemy fighters, he switched his weapon loadout to a pair of M7-MLA sub assault cannons which he then promptly let loose hundreds of armour piercing tungsten projectiles.
One Seraph had its shields torn to pieces before having part of its left side fuselage ripped open, the pilot managed to manoeuvre out of the way of his gunfire, before its comrades flanked him from both sides. The two craft attempted to pin him with their cannons, and hopefully allow the fully suited warriors finish him off with their plasma cannons.
He predicted the next moves for their attack before switching his SMGs out for a pair of Hydra-Missile pods, he did a quick twist between the two opposing fighter's plasma bursts and let loose a spray of missiles before switching out the missiles for a pair of large calibre 20mm MLA assault cannons, he let loose a tight burst of fire upon the enemy fighters.
As the Seraphs had been too close to manoeuvre out of the way of the missiles, they ended up being slammed by the concentrated burst of HE warheads, though they weren't particularly powerful, they certainly made up for it in terms of numbers. The shields on both craft failed as the missiles blew through their shields away in a blaze of light, allowing the Spartan to spray them in HEAP rounds from his machine guns.
The craft were shredded by the close range rail gun fire, exploding into fireballs and scattering their remains around him, at that moment the Covenant Corvette began to make its escape, breaking free from its hiding spot in the asteroid. Its escort machines decided to leave their posts and begin to openly engage him.
They were there to stall him so the ship could make its attack run on Earth, he sped towards the craft while engaging the Covenant machines, the exoskeletons used by these Elite warriors weren't anything new, but the Covenant did outfit them with new plasma drives to help them intercept UNSC fighters which might try and break through their lines.
The two machines were able to match his own machine's speed, quickly trying to gun him down with plasma fire and a couple of pot shots with their plasma cannons, he managed to dodge the slower plasma cannons, but his bubble shields were almost depleted by the combined fire from their rifles.
He determined the next best course of action was to take the fight to them individually. He sped towards the Corvette once more, drawing the enemy machines in closer; he knew that their zealous actions would draw them into stopping him from attacking their ship. And he was right as they tried to close the distance whilst firing, but to their surprise, he didn't attempt to dodge, he drew them close enough for him to pull off a full 90 degree turn and reverse burn.
His Mk-V did a flip and slammed into the first enemy machine which didn't have time to respond to the sudden physical assault launched by Ray, who took the opportunity to unload one of his assault cannons into the shields of the machine before promptly sticking a combat knife straight through the faceplate of the Elite.
Blood was sprayed across his visor as the Elite's machine decompressed and its blood spilled out of its helmet, satisfied with his kill, he kicked off the dead Elite and did a quick combat acceleration back to the Corvette. As he reached the ship's engines, he switched to his MLRS missile pods and prepared to cut its escape off, but to his surprise the second enemy exoskeleton had taken the opportunity to situate itself under the engines and wait for him to approach.
Once in range, the enemy machine sprayed both of its pulse laser rifles, which damaged the missile pods which had been mounted on his shoulder; he discarded the damaged weapons as they detonated from being breached. The explosion blinded his visual sensors as they activated a glare shield, he tried to turn himself away from the explosion in order to avoid being attacked in this vulnerable state, of course to his luck, the Elite knew how to pin him.
The Elite struck from the point of the blast as it cleared, so his sensors weren't able to immediately detect its movements, the bulbous velvet and azure suited Elite struck at him with tremendous speeds. He barely managed to get his arms up as they were locked in hand to hand. Galira chimed in.
"Our new friend seems quite angry." Gallia noted with a sardonic tone.
"That or he just wants to kill me." Ray replied as he struggled.
Gallia augmented his responses accordingly as they grappled for a moment, he slammed his helmeted head into the Elite's visual receptors and grabbed the Elite around the waist before he kicked his fusion drives into maximum. He knew that this wasn't a particularly good idea; one being the fact that his body wasn't capable of handling sustained gee forces over an extended period of time.
Another drawback was that he couldn't quite see where he was going, as such when he kicked his drives into gear; the Mark-V was thrown around as the Elite attempted to adjust their trajectory, unfortunately for the Elite, those corrections ended up sending them spinning into the Corvette as it reached its jump point.
The two of them went flying into the portside hangar bay of the Corvette; those in the hangar were quite surprised as the two warriors engaged in the brutal melee. Grunts scurried as the two units crashed into the deck and bounced across the hangar floor like a ping pong ball. Ray managed to do a backflip and land on his feet, breaking off their engagement, the Elite on the other hand had to recover since it landed on its side.
Ray lashed out with an immediate kick to the head, hoping to put it down quickly and finish it before this got drawn out any further. He was rewarded with the Elite blocking his strike and countering, it sent a gauntleted fist at him and flung him back. Ray hadn't expected that, but then again, he knew that Elites were good in melee, something which he had experienced a few times before.
The interior of the ship had functioning gravity which meant that they were now on a somewhat more level playing field, as they locked into each other in hand to hand; Ray noticed that the interior of the hangar had been stripped of a lot of things. The ship had been packed with numerous canisters, though these weren't filled with the deadly weapon which the ONI had stated.
No these were just plasma cells, hundreds of large canisters of plasma cells which were charged, and in the middle of the entire hangar was a massive plasma generator, it didn't look particularly active, and possibly it was still charging up. But this did change his priorities somewhat; this ship mustn't have been loaded with the nuclear weapons, instead it seemed the vessel was just a suicide bomb, a very large suicide bomb.
As for the reasons for this change in planning on the part of the Covenant remnants, he wasn't sure, but he didn't have too much time to muse over this current turn of events, his opponent didn't seem too keen on letting him contemplate his current situation. He ducked as the Elite sent a shielded fist at him; he sidestepped and countered with a punch straight to its face.
The two of them began to slug it out in the hangar, throwing punches and kicks with their exoskeletons on; it was a little troublesome since his armour had a bit more armoured plates attached and the assault booster which was hanging on his back. He had to fight with a bit of a handicap, however that said, the Elite wasn't in particularly good shape either which meant that they were matched fairly well.
As they fought it out, Ray managed to force the Elite into the nearby plasma reactor.
"Gallia, can you access the Covenant's plasma reactor's internal control system?"
"I'm trying, but it's shielded, I can't bypass it." She told him in an urging tone.
"Alright, I'll have to settle for doing this the old fashioned way." He said as he pushed his unit's thrusters to the max.
Gallia was about to object but she knew that it wouldn't do any good, not when Ray acted in urgency. She mused about the potential mishaps of randomly smashing a plasma generator without thinking, but then again, Ray had this strange reputation for surviving the most dangerous scenarios.
He used his momentum and his reflexes to spin himself around to intercept a strike launched by the Elite, his armoured hand caught the Elite's arm in mid-swing. He then proceeded to using his momentum to place his footing forward before using his momentum to throw the Elite backwards; the Elite hadn't expected this sort of move and had been caught off balance and was thrown backward.
The alien tried to regain footing before slamming into the plasma reactor, the armoured being shattered one of the external power regulators according to what Gallia was going over while she examined their surroundings. Gallia was able to provide some insight into their surroundings, but she was also preoccupied trying to help him operate the MK-V.
As he was about to make his move, the ship shuddered, from within the hangar the hangar bays doors allowed him to see that the ship had made the transition into slip-space, their sight of asteroids and gaseous clouds being replaced by a flow of distorted light of decaying exotic particles formed from the event horizon of a slip-space portal. He could tell that there was no other option.
"Gallia, what's the status on the shields?" He called as he recuperated from the impact.
"They're still functioning at 52 percent; they'll be able to work if we need to make a hasty escape into slip-space." She advised him.
"Good I plan to, but not before finishing this." He said as he took up another stance.
"I'm assuming you're going to do 'that'?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes." He said without any hesitation.
"Alright, I'll divert all available power to life support and shields once you're under way, let's finish this then." Gallia said as she let him have control.
He turned to face the Elite who had managed to regain their footing, they stood before him, damaged armour and fractured headpiece, he could see a bit of blood seeping through the fracture of the headpiece. The purple blood of his enemy stained the deck of the ship; the Elite took up a stance and faced him down, ready for one last fight.
"Are you ready?" Gallia asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." He told her before he charged forwards.
In an instant the two of them moved, they collided with a great deal of force, sending sparks flying as shields impacted one another, their counteractive fields resulting in brilliant bursts of light. Ray hit with considerable force, causing the Elite to stagger before it sent a kick into his chest.
He was thrown back slightly as his armoured blunted the strike, but it was enough for the Elite to go on the offensive. The Elite activated his energy dagger on the right arm, seeing as the left arm's projector had been damaged by their earlier scuffle, but the shields still worked, the Elite threw precise strikes, which Ray dodged.
He got the Elite close enough where he did a backflip and released the explosive claymore bayonets, the explosive charges caught the Elite by surprise, and before it could jump away, the claymores detonated. The explosion was compressed that specific area of the ship thanks to the function of the bayonets being designed as an anti-armour weapon than a large scale demolition charge.
It was still fairly close as the shields on the MV flared to life from the blast, the heat washed over the suit, but they depleted only a fraction of his shields. It was better for him seeing as he had an opening, the Elite's suit had received the brunt of the blast, and was now smouldering from the damage.
He didn't waste any time, laying in and pounding the Elite with his armoured fists, his first strike slammed into the Elite's right arm sending a bone shattering impact which twisted and broke the armour around the arm of the Elite, no doubt partially liquefying the alien's appendage before it had a chance to understand what happened.
The Elite staggered backwards but not before Ray slammed his knee into its chest plate, his augmented muscles and heavily armoured knee was able to do a number on the crippled Elite's suit. The force of the impact was enough to send the Elite crashing into the deck, at this point, the Spartan took a moment to recuperate as his heart rate had been accelerated for his assault.
Within a few moments he got his heart rate back under control, he then turned his attention to the plasma generator, the controls smashed apart thanks to their fight. He knew that there was another way to deal with this, he grabbed the remaining claymore bayonets and rammed them into the control panel and the primary plasma generator, which would definitely cause a blast when detonated.
He strode off towards the hangar bay's entry; looking out across the pulsing currents of slip-space he positioned himself for a quick departure.
He told his AI companion.
"Gallia, shields, prepare for emergency slip-space transition."
"Understood." The AI responded as he made his exit.
As Gallia channelled all available power not required for the primary systems while Ray guided the MK-V to the hangar bay exit, the trouble was that he didn't see the Elite who had managed to get back on its feet. The zealot made one last attack, which Ray wasn't able to see ahead thanks to the large amount of EM radiation burning from the plasma reactor.
Having been badly crippled thanks to Ray beating it to a pulp, the alien grabbed the remnants of one of its weapons and aimed it at the MK-V; it was an anti-armour plasma launcher which one of the Grunts dropped in a panic. The Elite sputtered out phlegm and blood as it groaned in agony to bring the large weapon on the demon.
Of course the alien didn't need to do much; the auto-guidance of the weapon would do the rest of the work, the targeting array activated as it locked onto the armour signature. Charging the weapon, the Elite shouted.
"For the Great Journey!"
A single guided plasma projectile burst forth, the bluish white bolt of super-heated energy travelled across the hangar within seconds. Ray had little time to react as the bolt managed to impact on the side of his suit's FAST jumper pack; his bubble shield had been switched off to consolidate power to the slip-space booster package, so he could only rely on his primary shield system to protect him from attacks, though they had been largely depleted in preparing for the jump.
Ray was thrown into the swirling abyss of slip-space as the plasma bolt detonated, his shields flared to life to warn him that his unit's shields had taken a direct hit. Of course he knew that his suit was still operational, his link indicated superficial damage from the blast, but his shields were shot and so was the jump pack.
His inertial dampeners were suddenly overloaded as his suit was charged by the burst of plasma; his visual sensors were scrambled from the sensory overload. He attempted to call to Gallia for aid, but his connection to her was severed, he didn't exactly know why, but he suddenly felt alone, his mind trying to reel itself in as his body was tossed around in the currents and eddies of subspace.
Emergency systems began to kick in to protect him as he was thrown into the depths of space and time, of course that said, he knew that it was trying to keep him alive as there was no way to determine what was going to happen next. His suit could be destroyed in the unstable sub dimensional folds of space, or spat out into an unknown region of space, so the suit was trying to preserve his life.
He felt light headed as the unit injected his body with slurry of cryo-gel and sleep drugs, to put him out until he landed somewhere. His last thoughts of what was happening was what the others would do if they didn't find him, was he going to be listed as dead or was he merely lost like many Spartans before him?
'Duty, in grace, honour and valour.' His memories drifted to the creed founded upon the sworn oath they took upon that day.
Ray lost consciousness as his machine was pulled into the oblivion.
XXXXX
Alright I've redone this chapter for the sake of cutting down on volume, hope this will fix some stuff, I've got chapter 1 under rewrite and I've split it off to make it more eligible instead of just a solid wall of text.
I'll add in a lot more to the next chapter so just wait.
