CHAPTER 1
Mission Log Recording
Year 2756
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ProLog
I never got used to the stomach-lurching launch from a UNSC assault frigate down into a planet.
Anyway, I am an ODSC (Orbital Delta Strike Commando), the 5th version of the original SPARTANS, and 5 times more advanced and strong.
You'll hate being one. Now back to my story.
You probably know how the SLAM! of the HEV when it hits the ground, and it is probably not entertaining. I almost vomited from the impact. But there was no time to think about it now. Grabbing my MA5B Assault Rifle and a BR55 Battle Rifle, I kicked the hatch open, and dashed out.
We were in the city StormWhirl. The streets were filled burning wreckages and dead bodies. I grimaced at the sight of them.
Two Grunts launched green balls of plasma at me from behind some bushes, but I jumped over the plasma, did a somersault, and gave the Grunts headshots with my DMR.
More Grunts appeared, along with Elite reinforcements. Firing randomly with my MA5B, I felled an Elite, grabbed his energy sword, and charged into another pack of Elites.
If they were holding energy swords, I was doomed, but no, they were holding plasma rifles. Easy. Stabbing an Elite, I slashed out with my energy sword, cut off most of their heads, and…
…and I found the glow of a plasma repeater aimed straight at me.
Now I finally knew why my teammates said I was too rash. I always got myself into a sticky situation like this whenever I charged into a pack of enemies.
Out of nowhere, a bullet tore into the Elite's head and he fell to the ground.
I turned. It was my team.
Delta Team, we were called. We always succeeded in our missions, no matter what. Unlike other ODSC teams, we were the only team to not have any of us KIA, or should I say, MIA, since it was a directive by ONI.
Other ODSC teams had also dropped into the planet Carbonite, and they were also attacking enemies. By the way, the planet was called Carbonite because of its massive deposits of carbon, not because the UNSC decided to give the planet some crappy name.
Allow me to introduce my team.
Delta 1: Drake. Our team's best melee combatant and our team leader.
Delta 2: Hope. Our team's heavy weapons specialist.
Delta 3: Will. Our team's best sniper.
Delta 4: Jaina. Our team's best tactitian.
Delta 5: Amy. Our team's best headshot ODSC.
Delta 6: Me. Our team's best troublemaker.
You can guess who it was who saved me. Clue: bullet tearing through the Elite's head?
If you didn't guess Hope you are as dumb as me.
"Why did you just risk your life again?" she said, exasperated.
Hope was my childhood friend and we often competed with each other when we were young. She still cared about me, just as I did care about her.
Drake ran up to us. "Status report," he said to me.
"Area is secure. But we lost radio contact with the camp," I said.
"Dammit!" It was Jaina. She has a hot temper, by the way. "We're too late!"
"Don't worry," Hope told her. "We're on a retake mission, so we just lost some troops, not the whole battle."
Will came up, dual wielding two Magnum Pistols.
"Where did you get the extra Magnum Pistol?" Amy asked.
"It was on the ground," he replied. "Is it anyone's?"
"Mine." Jaina went up and took her pistol back.
"Careless," Will said to me on a private COM channel. I rolled my eyes.
We walked further ahead and found the camp. Jaina was right. We were too late. The whole camp was obliterated, and bodies of UNSC marines were strewn everywhere. Not to mention the bodies of some Grunts, Jackals, Elites, and surprisingly one Hunter.
"Oh well," I said, "Let's start the looting!"
We began picking up the ammunition clips from the dead marines and Covenant troops. When we were done Drake said, "I thought that we could have taken a ride to the next base. Now we can't." He pointed to a smoking wreck of a Warthog.
"Just great," Hope said. "Now we're gonna have to walk —"
"HEY!" Will yelled. "Get over here!"
We ran over, and found a Gauss Warthog and another Scorpion in a camouflaged garage.
Amazing, I thought. Absolutely amazing. Even we could not pull off such a trick.
"Jaina, drive the Warthog," Drake ordered. "Will, man the turret. Amy, get in the passenger seat of the Warthog. Hope and Malcolm, get on the sides of the Scorpion. Pick off any hijackers. I'll drive the Scorpion."
Reloading my MA5B, I jumped onto the side of the Scorpion as Hope picked up a plasma repeater and followed suit.
It wasn't long before we came to the bridge. It was a long one that stretched over a large river and was connected to the city Omega. There were some Jackals and Grunts manning plasma turrets in front of the bridge, but were easily picked off. After all, what chance do plasma turrets have against a Gauss Warthog and a Scorpion?
"Malcolm, if you see any Ghosts or Revenants on the bridge, get off and hijack them," Drake ordered, and just as he told me that, a dozen ghosts and half a dozen Revenants arrived.
Well, what a surprise. Jumping off the tank, I positioned myself in the path of a Revenant. The Elite driver fired dozens of plasma bolts at me, but I dodged all of them, jumped when the Revenant got close, and crushed the Elite's head with my legs.
"Reinforcements inbound," Hope reported, and indeed, more Scorpions and Warthogs were appearing. It was Calm Team and Black Team, along with some ODSTs that were driving Warthogs.
The resistance on the bridge was less than easy to handle, and soon we were moving at a slow pace. Occasionally Mongoose or Revenant scout teams would be sent ahead of the Scorpions, but most of the time we were guarding the tanks. It wasn't long before I decided to turn up my radar range, and found contact waiting at the end of the long suspension bridge.
"Sir, we have contact at the end of the bridge," I reported to Drake, taking out my binoculars. "Looks like a whole army of Wraiths."
"All teams, hold position," Drake ordered. "We'll think up a strategy to get past the enemy line."
Log 1:
Something always went sticky on ODSC missions.
Snags, we called them. Our mission was to get to the next fortress, Omega Fortress to provide backup and set up a reinforcement beacon. The fortress should not have been far away, but now because of the Wraiths, we were slowed.
In the sky, the whirring of Banshees were heard.
Banshees?
"Air assault!" I yelled, as the Banshees dropped their Banshee bombs on us. Luckily for us, they all missed, but we knew we would not be so lucky next time.
And at that point, I hit a breakthrough to the problem of the Wraiths.
Jet-packing off the ground, I grabbed onto the wing of a Banshee. Drake followed suit. Soon Will had done the same and we hijacked the three Banshees, showing no care for the Elites and the Brute who had fallen to death.
We landed on the ground, all understanding what to do.
"Calm Team and ODSTs, remain here and guard our vehicles. Black Team, you guys will search for Hornets. If possible, please get some Vultures, in case of any Scarabs." Drake loved ordering people around.
We were lucky. There were 6 Modified Vultures (they had no need for extra gunners) and 3 Hornets. And honestly, it felt good driving a Vulture.
Black Team preferred the Hornets and Banshees. According to them, they were 'easier to fly'. Calm Team and the ODSTs would drive the Scorpions and Warthogs on the ground. We set out immediately. The Wraiths spotted us soon enough, but even though the Hornets were not as fast and agile as Banshees, they pulled through, and successfully destroyed some of the Wraiths. Some Scorpions were destroyed, but the drivers jumped out in time, and the rest of the Wraiths were easy pickings for the Vultures.
But Drake was right…
An ODST Warthog blew up from a green laser. A big one.
And what else could it be other than a Scarab.
I hate Scarabs.
This time the Scarab blasted another ODST Warthog into smithereens, killing the ODSTs with it without them even having a chance to scream out a death cry, while the other land vehicles scrambled to cover.
From their vantage point the Scorpions kept up a continuous salvo of machine gun fire and tank shells. Hornets and Banshees flew around the Scarab, launching missiles and dropping Banshee Bombs. Firing Argent V Missiles from our Vultures and smaller missiles from our vertical missile launchers, we peppered the Scarab with bullets with our GUA-23 Autocannons.
With six Vultures along with Banshee and Hornet reinforcements, the Scarab got owned. It exploded in a shower of plasma blue sparks and purple metal.
The Scorpions emerged from their vantage points.
"Did we lose anyone?" Amy asked. Drake ordered a status report.
An ODSC named Matthias reported through the COM channel, "Jack got vaporised. Half of the ODSTs are dead. Luke's Main Battle Tank is so damaged that we can't drive it anymore."
There was a pause.
"Commander," I said, "we are not far from the base. If we can get there we can repair our vehicles and use Omega Fortress as our base."
"Good point, 323," Drake replied. "Right, let's get to Omega Fortress now!"
With new hope renewed in our hearts, we set out once again.
Log 2:
A scan was ordered from Omega Fortress (OF) to make sure UNSC troops were driving the vehicles, and not Elite or Brute hijackers.
We had arrived at OFG (Omega Fortress Gate). Orders were issued out, and the rocks slid to the sides. Yes, OF was concealed inside a humongous rock cliff. Turrets could be moved out of the rock face to engage contact. The top of the cliff was a large landing pad for Dropship-77 Troop Carriers, also known as Pelicans, UH-144 Falcons, and even AV-14 Attack VTOL Hornets. OF had separate landing pads known as AL-45 Energy Pads for Vultures where shields could be activated so that repairs could be done on the Vultures safely.
The occasional Shade turret was seen at the top of the cliff, most of them were missile pod launchers and chain gun turrets. Plasma turrets were also there, as they were at the top of OFG, along with other types of turrets. It was only at the gate that we saw some Gauss Turrets, and on top of the cliff was, surprisingly, one effingly huge MAC.
Calm Team and the remaining ODSTs drove the Scorpions and Warthogs in. Black Team proceeded to the large landing pad, while we piloted our Vultures to the AL-45s. After landing, I got out of the pilot seat, and a Marine brought me a SEGWAY and a small baton.
"What's this?" I asked, holding up the baton.
"We will explain it to you later, sir," said the marine. "For now, please head down to the 5th floor, turn to your left and head straight forward until you see a door with the sign 'Visitors' Lounge'."
I did as he said, and found other SEGWAYS parked outside the visitors' lounge. Entering the room, I found all the ODSCs and ODSTs sitting on couches, drinking Coke.
"Have a seat," a man who appeared to be a captain said.
I grabbed a Coke and sat.
"Greetings to all," the man said. "I am Captain John Keyes."
We immediately stood up and saluted.
"At ease," Captain John said. We sat down.
"Welcome to Omega Fortress. As you all know that we are loyal to the UNSC, thus we use their technology more than captured Covenant technology, but we have something special here. You see the baton in your hands? Well, this was developed by us, Omega Inc. If you sprint before jumping, break the baton into two, put the pieces by your side, a light cycle will appear."
He pressed a button on his HOLO-Watch, and a hologram popped up from the floor. An animation on how to 'develop' a light cycle using a baton appeared.
"If you can get anyone to slam into the light ribbon trailing behind the light cycle, the enemy vehicle will explode. You can all see how you drive it, but in fact near the rear wheel there is a gunner seat. The Type-23 Light Cycle is equipped with plasma guns, similar to the ones used by the Covenant Ghosts."
"Impressive," an ODST remarked.
Suddenly the alarm rang.
"Darn it," the same ODST remarked again, as we rushed out of the room. Forgetting the SEGWAYS, we ran for the platforms.
As we dashed for our vehicles, I heard Captain John's voice in our helmet. "ODSC 323, you and the rest of the ODSTs will use the light cycles for battle."
But instead of heading for the door, I went for the roof. I saw the ODSTs developing light cycles and racing out just before I ran up the stairs. I wanted to develop my light cycle in mid-air.
Running off the roof, I jumped and positioned my two baton pieces as shown and…
…the light cycle did not develop. In its place was a light jet.
What?
Light jet?
It was similar to a Banshee but I could tell that the light ribbon trailing behind me was for the same purpose as the light cycles.
AWESOME!
The attackers were just another army of Wraiths. Though I did not have bombs to drop, the laser cannons were just fine, and I was able to successfully destroy some Wraiths. Suddenly a blue ball of plasma hit me…
Log 3:
I woke up feeling groggy, seeing all my teammates around me. The first thing that happened was that Captain John reprimanded me on doing such a stunt, then explaining why a light jet developed instead of a light cycle, which I shall not elaborate on.
I had survived, but was in bad shape. I had suffered two-degree burns on my right side of my body. Apparently we had fended off pretty well. The gates required some minor repairing, turrets were being repaired or replaced, and repairs were already being made for the damaged vehicles. Captain John also mentioned that we were free to use the armoury any time we liked to replace damaged gear with newer pieces.
Amy reported that the reinforcement beacon had already been set up. ODST reinforcements had already been dropped from our assault frigate, the UNSC Hurricane, and the UNSC destroyer Lockdown had sent in a new ODSC team, known as Alpha Team. Alpha Team had already told us that more and more UNSC ships were being sent to Carbonite, after a stray drone had captured pictures of an amassing Covenant fleet that was coming to send reinforcements to the current Covenant forces on Carbonite. Thus more reinforcements would be arriving on the planet soon.
I felt fit enough to get up on my feet again, and together all four ODSC teams headed to the armoury. It was impressive, large and with lots of slots for new pieces of gear. There was also a 3-D image reality developer, which meant you could design your own gear and it would be materialised for you.
Alpha Team did have something in common; all of them loved using DMR Rifles. They said the scope would be useful, though I do not see why one bullet per shot was better than a three-round burst from a BR55. Calm Team's ODSCs all liked MA5B Assault Rifles, while Black Team preferred the sub-machine guns. Our team would pick weapons separately.
Calm Team and Black Team decided to go on to Cyclone Fortress to provide reinforcements. It was a pity, since they were ranked in the top twenty ODSC teams and were such good friends. Then again, Alpha Team is rank number 2 while just as good friends, while we are top of the list.
It was 3 pm, and I was standing on the top of the cliff. The scenery was picturesque, and I had brought along a mission binocular scope (binoscope) just for fun. Admiring the scenery through the binoscope, I admired every detail of it, even the purple shapes that descended out of the clouds.
Wait a minute. Purple?
In a panic, I scanned again, and I saw the notorious shapes of the Phantom dropships. There were 34 of them, each carrying Wraiths on their backs. This was not good at all.
I activated the alarm icon in my helmet, sending a report of what I had seen to OF bridge. In a matter of minutes marines rushed out of and up onto the cliff, manning their respective battle stations. ODSTs rushed out on their light cycles and my team made a beeline for the Vultures. More marines scrambled onto Warthogs and Scorpions.
Hornets were deployed in a matter of seconds, followed by squadrons of Pelicans and Falcons. Captured Banshees were seen streaking purple trails through the sky. Our Vultures opened the Archer Missile pod hatches and safeties so that they could be launched when necessary. Within 3 minutes we were up and about, ready for battle and fingering the controls in anticipation.
The Phantoms dropped their deployments of Covenant troops and Wraiths. Apart from the ones who were driving the Wraiths, there were no Grunts of Jackals. The troops were only Elites, Brutes and a fairly high number of Hunters.
This could be bad.
-END LOG-
Chapter 2
-PROCEEDING TO 3RD PERSON VIEW-
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ODST Matthias was not enjoying his time as an ODST.
Because he was now stuck in an all out war with only a Magnum pistol and a DMR.
Oh well, he thought. I've just got to make use of what I have.
He saw a fellow ODST fall, felled by a beam rifle shot. Those idiots on the Phantoms still had the guts to try and take out ground troops when the ODSC team Delta Team were trying to eliminate them. He grabbed the ODSTs sniper rifle, dropped his Magnum and jumped on a Hornet's passenger seat. Another ODST, Williams, grabbed a Spartan Laser and jumped onto the Hornet's other passenger seat.
"Hold on," the ODSC pilot said in Matthias COM channel.
The Hornet took off, dust swirling around its solid metal frame.
Matthias could see Pelicans and Falcons lifting off, preparing to engage the enemy. The Hornet went into a turn, and as it tilted, Matthias took aim through the sniper's Oracle scope and picked off a few Elites on a Phantom with headshots.
The Hornet tilted to the other side and Matthias could see another Phantom inbound. The Hornet vibrated softly as the ODSC pilot fired the Hornets guns. Brief thumps resounded through the Hornets frame as missiles launched. Williams then aimed the Spartan Laser at the Phantom's turbines and began to charge it. There was a flash of red, and the next thing Matthias could see was the smoking wreck of what once was a Phantom falling out of the sky, crashing down on a few Wraiths and many squadrons of enemy soldiers.
Serves them right, Matthias thought.
Meanwhile, ODSC Hope -557 was having trouble in the skies, after being cornered by 3 Phantoms.
She fired the autocannons at them, only to see the bullets bounce off harmlessly off the armour of the dropships. She cursed inwardly, then saw a red flash of light shooting out of one of the Hornet passenger seats. The laser hit the turbine of a Phantom and the dropship was rendered unflyable, falling straight down on Covenant troops.
That's it, Hope thought, and aimed her autocannons at the turbines of the Phantom. The rumble of the autocannons resounded through the cockpit as they fired and the Phantom crashed into the ground, again crushing more ground troops. She locked on 5 missiles on another Phantom's turbine and launched. Destruction was inevitable. Her teammate, ODSC Malcolm-323 had copied her technique and destroyed two more Phantoms.
It was normal that all Phantoms were soon destroyed.
Ground troops tried to retreat, but Omega's marines picked them off. The entire strike force was obliterated, though our side also suffered considerable losses. Delta Team headed back to the Energy Pads for repairs.
Hope was exhausted, but that was normal. Chief Locke had told the platoon that tiredness after a battle, even if you did very little activity, was bound to occur. She removed her weapons from the holders and proceeded directly to her bunk. She then removed her armour, did not even bother to shower, and fell asleep.
She was awaken by the sound of her bunk door opening. It was Malcolm. In his two hands was a tray, of which on top were two steaming plates of fish and chips.
"Ah, you're awake," Malcolm remarked. Hope was silent.
"John told me to get you some dinner," He continued. "Mind if I eat here?" He served Hope one of the plates.
"Nope, I don't mind." Hope smiled, and tucked in voraciously. She hadn't had lunch, and the first sound she heard besides Malcolm opening her door was the sound of her stomach rumbling. The fish was crisp and fresh, and the fries were not so salty, neither was it bland, just perfect.
"Oh yeah, we received new orders."
New orders were usually never good orders. Still, some were exceptions.
"We have been assigned to wipe out all the Spires on Carbonite. OF will provide backup and the necessary equipment."
Hope gasped. This was a Class-1 mission! She had always dreamed of going on one, and it was coming true.
"However, OF will not let us use the Vultures as they are too slow. Instead, we will be provided E93 Booster Frames."
"When do we start our mission?" Hope asked, though she already could guess the answer.
"Now."
Chapter 3
The booster frames were ready.
Malcolm gripped the controls tightly. He had gone through booster frame simulations before, but not real flights. He would have to adapt to the vehicle quickly.
Around him, marines were running around the place, preparing Rapid Assault S63 Skyhawks and the huge Mass VTOL N96 Transport-Assault Gunship. Pilots in their Dreadnaut BD37s moved as fast as possible to the Gunship. The recently deployed pomp regiment floated at high speeds towards VTOL W80 Troop Carriers.
Their commander, Baby Tech, piloted his jetpack-equipped pomp Dreadnaut BD37.
"Stay safe, ODSCs," he reminded Delta and Alpha Team. "We'll be there for backup soon, so just hold them off for a while."
The first Spire was 100 kilometres away, so Delta Team just needed a 15 minute ride on their booster frames to get there. They hung suspended by claws under a cliff ledge. Their countdown to mission start was ticking away at the top of each ODSCs interior visor.
It was now 5 seconds to launch.
4 seconds left.
3 seconds more.
2 seconds.
1.
Launch.
The claws creaked, and there was a stomach lurching drop before there was a boom, and the thrusters of the booster frames activated.
Booster frames were designed to penetrate a Spire's shields. So were all vehicles at OF, but not standard UPA vehicles. The nearest Spire's shield was just outside OF, so the ODSC teams passed through and into the next city, Luthemsa.
It was not a pretty sight.
Though the smell of smoke was filtered by the M78 Armor Mach-VI's filters, fire and black smoke could be seen everywhere. The Spire was up ahead, with Seraph reinforcements.
"Optimise mobility!" Drake yelled, and our wings expanded to show an arsenal of missiles. Delta Team came in at full speed, GUA-45 Rapid-Fire Autocannons blazing. Seraphs went down like rain.
The ODSCs' objective was to find the control panel and deactivate the Spire, at the same time planting a bomb on the controls. Mission timers showed that they had at most 5 minutes before NEMNCC reinforcements arrived. Hope and Malcolm both knew how dangerous a combination of Nipfish and Hunters proved to be. They had almost been annihilated by a squadron of them.
The last of the Seraphs went down and the ODSCs soon found the control centre. Alpha Team was deposited there, along with Jaina, Drake, Amy and Will. Delta Team's four team members were armed with SPNKr missile launchers.
Reinforcements had now arrived. The UPA gunship was rotating the Spire and picking off ground troops. Hope put her booster frame into a sharp turn and ended an Elite's career in the NEMNCC military by firing a barrage of bullets into his head.
The Spire soon blew up and the troops gave a huge cheer and headed back to OF. On the way, there was some radio static in the gunship, and Baby Tech tried to make head or tail out of the fuzzed message.
"Crackle…crac…under…crackle…tack! Requ…crackle…forcements! Crackle…frigate…! Crackle…help...ahhhhhhh! ...crackle…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…"
Instinct told Baby Tech that there was trouble.
"Pilot!" He yelled. "Fly faster! I think OF is being attacked by a NEMNCC Frigate!"
Alpha Team reached OF first as Delta Team was guarding the gunship.
The horror unfolded before their eyes. A NEMNCC frigate rained plasma down on OF, blasting most of its defences to smithereens. The smoking wreckages of vehicles were everywhere, and marine and pomp bodies were strewn all over the floor. The remaining troopers retreated back into the rock fortress, while the frigate continued the barrage of plasma bolts.
The gunship arrived and the rest of the army. The retaliation assault had begun.
Vehicle after vehicle launched their full arsenal at the shielded star cruiser. Plasma streaked through the sky, turning any vehicle black and smoking. Marines screamed as nipfish bit their heads off, while the roar of Elites filled the air as pomps cut their lives short with railguns and zappers. Dreadnauts set the ground on fire, whilst Seraphs plasmarised flying vehicles, before being taken out by Scorpion tanks.
Delta Team retreated to OF for a brief moment before emerging with their Vultures. The frigate's shield flickered as missile after missile detonated on its surface. Alpha Team manned the Gauss platforms, whilst marines grabbed OL-4X Spartan Lasers and let fly with the deadly red beams of light. Pomps manned a Suppression RX-2 turret each, picking off any enemy who wanted to destroy the ground assaulters.
The horror continued as the frigate launched its full arsenal of Spirits and Phantoms. The UPA retaliated by sending out Pelicans, Falcons, Longswords, Shortswords and whichever flying vehicle they could find. OF was desperate to take them all out, because every dropship carried one Wraith each. Pelicans dropped their Scorpions on dropships to try and detain them.
Just then, the frigate launched a beam of concentrated plasma at OF. OF blew up in a shower of rock.
All troopers inside the base were vaporised instantly. However, a wee bit of consolation was that the debris crushed lots of ground troops and Wraiths.
It was the last straw. The hatred for the NEMNCC welled up inside the troopers and they fought with renewed energy.
Alpha Team launched all missiles from their booster frames after getting on them again and fired their Gauss cannons. Monitors grabbed platforms to move the tanks, and shells impacted on the frigate's shield. Delta Team launched all missiles at the frigate, Cataclysm or Archer and emptied their bullet supply. Skyhawks took out enemy Seraphs. The gunship launched their missiles too and used its ion cannon on the frigate.
The frigate exploded in a shower of blue fire and while sparks.
The troopers cheered, but Baby Tech was not happy. The OF's force had lost lots of vehicles and troopers and their base itself.
Drake had a suggestion.
"Sir, why don't we head to Cyclone Fortress? That way we have a new base and more troops!"
Chapter 4
Mission Log: 4
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It had been a close call.
We soon went to Cyclone Fortress and met Calm and Black Team again. But there was no time for fancy greetings, even though some of the members from the two teams were gone for good. We ODSCs were soon put in a Troop Carrier and sent off to the next Spire to destroy. We were armed with shotguns or DMRs, with the occasional covenant weapons and grenade and rocket launcher, and were equipped with the latest enemy tracking technology.
But there was a problem.
We were not armed with our usual bomb. Now we had to activate the self-destruct sequence and get out of the blast range. Our bombs had been destroyed in the frigate's assault and CF's supply would come only 2 days later. We had to make do with hacking knowledge. Let me give you a round-up of who's doing what.
Priority List
Alpha 1 Paul: Hacker
Alpha 2 June: Shotgun defender
Alpha 3 Locke: Transport
Alpha 4 Chang: Shotgun defender
Calm 1 DJ: Turreteer
Calm 5 Mo: Turreteer
Black 3 Kurt: Heavy weapons defender
Black 5 Mike: Heavy weapons defender
Black 6 Pearl: DMR Defender
Delta 1 Drake: Shotgun defender
Delta 2 Hope: Heavy weapons defender
Delta 3 Will: Shotgun Defender
Delta 4 Jaina: DMR Defender
Delta 5 Amy: DMR Defender
Delta 6 Me: DMR and Needle Rifle Defender (I forgot where I got my Needle Rifle, but I keep it with me at all times.)
The troop carrier was also carrying a Hammer D56. They would be dropping us off there so that all vehicles could be used to guard CF, just in case a Destroyer came this time. The Hammer had been modified to go up to 210 km/h instead of its usual speed of 120 km/h. Two deployable Suppression RX-2turrets were also carried along to guard the control centre.
Our Hammer AI, Don, was chatting happily with Paul, and he was getting tired of having to reply to the AI, even though Paul himself was talkative.
We hopped off the Troop Carrier and everyone except me and Drake got into the Hammer. Locke got into the driver seat and plugged Don in. Drake retrieved his shotgun while I unmagnetised my needle rifle and we strapped ourselves on the sides of the vehicle. Don experimentally rotated the machine gun turret.
Locke drove the Hammer in the direction of Spire-327, and we soon met the resistance force. I fired a couple of needles into a Brute's body, watching him explode with satisfaction. Headshotting all other Elites, we moved closer towards the spire.