– Hell On Earth –
=AUTHOR'S NOTE=
This IS a one-shot work, mind you, kind of rushed. Loosely based on the Halo 2 multiplayer map Zanzibar, displayed in this year's E3. Maybe I'll improve it later, this is just me trying out some battle scenes, just to see how well I can handle them. Better have some practise before I put Chief in that Covenant ship in my next chapter, don't you think? Also, I can take this opportunity to give Kreysha some back story, and introduce some of the other Spartan-III. Take note of some stuff in there, maybe it hints to some stuff on the main storyline…but then again, maybe not.
=AUTHOR'S NOTE=
Kreysha shifted in her seat, her heart racing much faster than it was normal. This mission was a very important one, as it was their first time on the field. Her team was the first batch of Spartan-III soldiers, a project halted after the destruction of Reach, but quickly rekindled after the UNSC forces' efforts to halt the Covenant's progress towards Earth had failed. Although they were nothing compared to the Spartan-II soldiers, especially the one called Master Chief, they were Humanity's last desperate hope to halt the destruction of Human race.
"Feeling well?" spoke a calm voice in his ear. It was Kreysha's training AI, Uther.
"I'm fine… just a little nervous." Kreysha replied, quickly sitting straighter.
"Let me brief you on the mission again", continued Uther in that same calm voice, "Covenant forces have landed on Zanzibar a few hours ago, decimated the UNSC forces in the area and gained control of the blueprints held within it. Those are the plans for our new model of Halcyon ships. They must not seize them. The place is being held by high-rank Elites alone. They're not too numerous, but their skills are notorious. They've also taken the base's defences and may be using Human weapons."
"Anything else?"
"There may be supplies and vehicles scattered around, keep an eye for them. Vehicles in particular would prove to be very useful."
"We're approaching the LZ, no Covenant in sight!" Shouted the Pelican's pilot.
"Ok Blue team, let's move out!" Ordered Kreysha, as they all jumped off the Pelican. They were standing on a sun-bathed beach, with crystal clear water, and green palm trees. They might have thought of it as a wonderful place, if there weren't for the many Marine corpses scattered around, some of which had been mutilated, with throats slit open and members ripped apart.
"Kreysha… what do you reckon did that?" Asked another Spartan, clearly a male but still slightly shorter than her. Kreysha turned to her. The Spartan in question was named John, after the almost-legendary John-117, but was the youngest of the group.
"I don't know, John. But I do know it was Covenant." John didn't say anything, but held his Battle Rifle even closer to his chest.
"Maybe it's a new weapon, something they've been keeping…" added another Spartan nervously, a female Spartan, taller than Kreysha, whose name was Kelly.
"Whatever the case is", added the last Spartan, Riddick, in a deep male voice "I think this will help even the odds" he finished, pointing at a single Warthog and a small stash of weapons, abandoned near the water. Some of the ammo cartridges had been opened and its contents were lazily floating away with the tide.
"Very well", said Kreysha, "this is how we're going to do this: I'm going on ahead and scout the area, see where the enemy is located. Kelly will take position on the driving seat of the Warthog," - Kelly smiled faintly; she could drive like nobody else in the team. Once during training she had successfully dodged eight homing rockets in a row, a record only bested by one other Spartan-II - "and Riddick will be on gunner position." Riddick nodded blankly.
"But what about me?" Added John angrily. Kreysha addressed him as though as he was a small child. "You will, err… you will stay here and provide backup in case one of us is…I mean, gets incapacitated."
"There's no need to talk to me like I'm five, you know?" John replied hotly, making Kreysha blush lightly. "What do you got to say to this?" He addressed the others.
"Kreysha's the leader." They both replied dully. They knew discussions like this would drag on forever, and they couldn't take the risk of having the Elites marching up on them.
"Very…very well, then." John replied, resigned.
Kelly and Riddick took up their positions in the Warthog, Kelly starting up the engine, while Riddick had to take a dead Marine's body out of gunner seat, whose face laid impaled on the gun's controls. Kreysha stared at him; his ability to face such horrors with such coolness was bewildering. She turned away from him and stared at where the base stood.
"Good luck, Kreysha", said Uther, as she advanced towards it. There was a small mass of palm trees between the beach where they stood, and the base. The structure itself was relatively small and an unlikely place to place such important files, perhaps the reason of why it was chosen. It consisted in a two story structure with one main computer room, powered up by a large generator located just outside it. It was well-defended though, with a couple of Automatic Anti-Infantry Guns and good sniping spots. Kreysha moved quickly under the cool shade of the trees. It was relatively dark under them, seeing how close they were together. It was also very quiet, so quiet she could hear her heart, thumping on her ears, as she pressed her Battle Rifle against her shoulder, ready to unleash it upon any suspecting movement. When suddenly, she heard Uther's voice.
"Get down!"
Without any time to think, she threw herself down, merely dodging an object glowing with a strong blue light: a Plasma grenade. Without any time to think, she dived left under the cover of a nearby rock. The grenade exploded, tearing apart all nearby vegetation, sending some palm trees crashing down.
"Uther, turn motion tracker on!" As soon as those words left her mouth, her helmet's visor was lit with a red flickering dot, just north of where she was.
"Come out! Or are you afraid of facing me?" She asked at the enemy, but there was no reply. Instead, she watched as the dot representing it moving around in between the trees, trying to catch her from behind. She rapidly turned around to fire her Battle Rifle. She heard a cry of pain and could see a shadow disappearing behind another palm tree. The dot was moving west now, towards a clearing.
Good, thought Kreysha, as she ran after it, it'll be easy to catch it out in the open. As she reached the clearing, there it was, facing her. Standing 8 feet tall, his left hand clutching his burned chest, blue blood dripping in between his four large fingers, his right hand holding a shaking Plasma Pistol, fully charged and pointed at Kreysha. The Elite gave out a horrible scream in his alien tongue and shot a plasma charge. Kreysha launched herself right just in time to dodge the charge, which ended up hitting a tree, leaving a large burning mark in it. Kreysha unloaded another barrel of bullets, but the Elite's shields were already recharged. Kreysha felt something hit his chest, as the Elite hit her with his feet. She felt her armor ramming against her hurt chest. The Elite let out a sound that resembled a sarcastic laugh, as he charged his weapon again.
But he never got to fire it. Kreysha closed her eyes, waiting to be dealt a death blow and heard several shots, but not the sounds made by Covenant weapons. When she opened her eyes again, the Elite lay down next to her, his helmet bearing several cracks, blood dripping from them, a look of surprise in his alien face.
"Who…?" Asked Kreysha.
"I thought you needed some help", answered a voice, somewhere from underneath the shadows. It was John, holding a smoking SMG. Kreysha spoke in an annoyed voice, although her insides were filled with gratitude.
"I told you to stay behind."
"Well, glad I didn't obey you, because I just saved you."
"You shouldn't be so hard on him. His eagerness to help is his best quality", said Uther calmly. John beamed.
"Fine, fine, I…thanks", Kreysha finished, in a more calm voice.
"Are you ok?" Asked John.
"Yes, yes, don't worry about me", she said, but to tell the truth her chest was still hurting. "Let's move along, then", she finished, while reloading her weapon. John picked up the Elite's Plasma pistol and placed it in an empty weapon slot in his belt. They kept moving north and soon got out of the cover of the palm trees, and quickly hid behind a large rock. The large generator was there, a large ever-spinning fan, standing next to some high and cracked walls. Kreysha's motion tracker showed three red flickering dots, all of them above and north of them.
"Uther, what do you suggest?" She asked her AI.
"Scanning… There a small entrance northeast of here, you should be able to get near one of the entrances. I suggest opening the base's main gate using the Control panel on the second floor, it will let any vehicle support get through."
"Ok… John, follow me." Said Kreysha, holding her Battle Rifle, while John removed both his SMG and his Plasma Pistol, holding each in one hand. They entered through the small passageway. It was very dark and filled with Marine corpses.
"God, they were really slaughtered..." whispered John, sounding nervous.
"Alright now", said Kreysha, trying to remain calm, "motion tracker shows the remaining Elites are almost directly above us. We must run to reach the entrance. Are you ready? One, two… th-", before she could finish, something hit her, making her fall. It was a marine. His face was covered in blood, and he bore several wounds in his chest, some of his entrails visible through his destroyed armor.
"Are…are you reinforcements? You shouldn't have come..." He asked, in a very weak voice, taken by panic and by his wounds.
"Calm down, you!" Said John, as he helped him and Kreysha back up to their feet, looking disgusted at the Marine's wounds, trying to avoid holding his chest.
"Y-You don't understand!" Said the Marine, a demented look in his eyes. "T-They came out of nowhere and we-we couldn't stop t-t-them and they... they had some kind of swords!"
"Swords?" Asked Kreysha, looking from the Marine to John, a look of confusion in he eyes, though only she could take notice of it.
"Y-y-yes", continued the marine ", they were-"but they never heard more about those weapons, because just then the noise of two large weapons were heard, and the Marine was ripped apart by a barrel of bullets. Kreysha stared at him in horror, before John pulled her to the ground.
"What do you think you're doing?!" He yelled. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"I… sorry", she said in a small voice.
"That was stationary gun fire. We don't stand a chance against them!" Added John, frustrated.
"Wait a minute…" she mumbled, "Kelly, Riddick, are you there?"
"I thought you were never calling!" Answered Kelly, in a mock tone.
"Quit joking, we're in trouble! Think you can help us with a couple of stationary guns?" Asked Kreysha angrily.
"We're on our way", replied Riddick.
"Make it quick- John, what to you think you're doing?" She asked, as John was lurking out of the passageway, and got back inside just in time to dodge another wave of gunfire.
"Well, I got an idea..." he replied, with the kind of voice that Kreysha already knew was bound to give her trouble, "I think you could be able to snipe the Covenant manning the guns."
"There's no way, they'd shoot me out before I could get a good shot."
"Well," said John confidently, "I think I could provide a distraction" he finished, holding a frag grenade in his hand.
"You're crazy", said Kreysha at once.
"Am I? We'll just have to see then! Come after me!" Said John, and before she could say anything, he launched himself out for the open. She heard yet another wave of shots and an explosion. Without thinking, she also launched herself out for the open. One of the stationary guns laid in pieces, the Elite manning it engaged in a furious melee fight with John, bearing several burn marks and with some of its armor destroyed, revealing an orange scaly skin. The other Elite still stood in the stationary gun, but was renitent in shooting John, perhaps in fear of hitting his companion. But as soon as he spotted Kreysha, he gave out a horrible groan and turned the gun in her direction. She approached the scope to her helmet, but never had the chance to shoot. A rocket hit the stationary gun platform, sending flaming debris everywhere. The Elite was also sent flying some feet away and landed next to her, his chest blasted open, blue blood filling the ground, but still alive. Kreysha looked down directly at his eyes, before shooting him in the head.
She grinned. She already knew who had fired the rocket. The Warthog stood next to John and under a dead Elite, whose legs had been crushed by its front wheels. Kreysha's grin died as soon as she laid her eyes on John, though, a look of horror in her eyes.
His visor had been crushed by an Elite's fist, and some of its shards sank into his face. His right shoulder and part of the upper chest bore some bullet spots, and he was limping.
"See", he said in a weak voice, a flicker of happiness shining in his eyes, as Kelly helped him back up to his feat ", it worked."
"What you did was reckless", stated Riddick calmly.
"Don't give me that Riddick, please" said John in an annoyed voice ", you wouldn't have stood a chance against those."
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Interrupted Kreysha before the discussion could go any further. She was still eyeing John very worried. "Kelly, Riddick… you ought to stay here and call for evac while I go inside and get the blueprints."
"We're coming too", said Riddick, but Kreysha interrupted him.
"No, not this time." She said, with a determined voice. "There's only one of the Elites left now, and he's probably scared at the death of his companions. There's no need for all of us to come. You need to stay here and take care of John."
John, who had sat in the Warthog's right seat, looked up at her.
"Don't worry about me", he started, but at that time his shoulder gave a very painful wince, making him let away a cry of pain.
"And what do you think that is?" Asked Kelly, pointing at the weapon the dead Elite next to Kreysha was clutching in his hand. It was a very unusual weapon, glowing with a faint blue light, bearing a striking resemblance with…
"A sword…" said Kreysha slowly, remembering the dying Marine's words as she picked it up. It was a strange feeling. It was as though as it was weightless, vibrating gently with plasma energy. As she waved it around, she could feel its energy. She smiled.
"I guess I'll take this", she said, looking at the others one last time, as she moved towards a small entrance to the base.
"I advise caution, Kreysha", spoke Uther. "Don't think with your muscles, or you might end like John..." Kreysha interrupted him.
"What John did was very brave", she said, defiantly.
"As much as it might have been, he did it without considering the consequences of his acts", refuted Uther, always in that same calm voice.
Kreysha chose not to reply, as she needed to concentrate on her surroundings. The base was very quiet, with only the light coming from the many computer screens breaking the darkness. The glow on Kreysha's sword was much more prominent. The only sound was the low humming of the large computers that filled it.
"I've marked the computer in question on your visor", said Uther, as an orange arrow appeared in Kreysha's visor, pointing towards the other end of the room. No signs in motion tracker… she thought, as she moved to the computer in question.
"This is it", said Uther, as they reached a small computer that looked as though as it was not functioning, it's screen blank, "insert me in, I'm going to copy the data, then disable every terminal."
Kreysha removed the cold mercury chip from its socket, and placed it on the terminal. A small transparent red human form rose from the terminal's holo-panel. It bore a young man's aspect, with deep eyes and short hair.
"This won't take too long", spoke Uther, closing his eyes.
Kreysha took up a more relaxed stance, but something caught her attention. A red dot was flickering in her motion tracker, a mere few feet away from her position. She had no time to react.
The terminal behind her exploded with a loud noise, as a blue glow made contact with it, and passed through Kreysha's armor. She let out a scream of pain. She had not been given a death blow, since the terminal and her armor absorbed most of its power but it still felt to her like being hit by a hammer, and made her fall to the floor. Uther opened his eyes and looked in horror at the golden Elite as he advanced towards him, ready to destroy the terminal.
"NO!" Shouted Kreysha as she got back to her feet. The Elite turned to face her, a horrible look of malice in his eyes. He laughed and spoke, in his alien tongue, words Kreysha could not understand. But she could hear the mockery in them.
"So," she said with a grin, though only she could take notice of it, "you don't think I can take on you?" She activated her own sword, once again feeling its warm, vibrating grasp. The Elite looked at it, this time looking bewildered.
He let out a scream, and launched himself towards her. Their blades made contact, and Kreysha felt the hilt vibrating much more wildly now, and had to make some effort to grab hold of it, the heat of the Elite's sword sending tears of sweat down her face. She pushed her sword forward with all her strength, and to her and her enemies' surprise, it began moving, first slowly then steadily, from her face to the Elite's, whose eyes were now filling with fear. He suddenly launched himself out of the way, landing on top of one of the terminals. It was Kreysha's time to strike. She ran towards him, making a swift slash movement, destroying yet another terminal as the Elite rolled backwards to dodge it. He ran against her and delivered a powerful punch on Kreysha's chest with his free hand, launching her backwards a few feet, and making the wound she had gotten earlier hurt again. She got hold of her breath in time to block yet another attack of the Elite. They were now duelling very fast, destroying yet more terminals, quickly clearing up the room.
"Kreysha!" Uther screamed, still gazing at the battle very nervously.
"What?" Asked Kreysha, as she pushed the Elite's sword out of the way, throwing it against other terminal. She had managed to hit the Elite once in the leg, leaving a large cut across it, but had also taken a hit on the chest which now spotted a large crack on the armor.
"The transfer is complete. We have to get out of here", said Uther.
Kreysha ran towards the terminal and retrieved the chip. She turned to face the Elite. Both were panting hardly, clutching their wounds but still holding their swords firmly.
"Time to end this, friend." She told him with a smirk, as she held her sword in front of her chest.
The Elite replied, a determined tone in his voice, and ended with a small laugh, holding his sword in a similar battle stance.
They both started running. Time seemed to have been slowed down. Kreysha could hear her heart thumping very fast, Uther speaking in her ear, though she could not figure out what he was saying. The Elite's eyes bore a fiery determination, as they approached. They both raised their swords. This is it… she thought. They lowered their weapons, as they passed through each other. Kreysha felt her hilt shaking very violently, so hot it burned her. She dropped it to the ground, were the blade glowed hot white before fading away. For a few moments no sound could be heard. Then, the Elite let out low groan of pain, and fell. As he touched the ground the upper and lower part of his body separated from each other. There was complete silence as Kreysha got back to her feet.
"Very…very good, Kreysha, very good indeed." Said Uther in a voice that bore more emotion than was usual in him.
"Thanks, Uther." Replied her, calmly. She heard a large humming noise outside, one she did not notice during her battle.
"Is that..." she started, but simply began moving between the debris and out of the base. Outside stood a single Pelican, near the Warthog. John was being carried inside in a stretcher by two Marines, his helmet removed. When he looked at Kreysha he smiled.
"I knew you'd make it." He said, with a faint smile.
Kreysha removed her own helmet and smiled back at him through her long black hair.
"Good work, kid." Spoke a strong voice from behind her. It was Admiral Mendez, the man who had taught them everything she had learned during her Spartan training. Kelly and Riddick stood at each side of him.
"You made it! You made it!" Screamed Kelly, holding her.
"Good job." Said Riddick, with only the faintest flicker of a smile.
"Well, you have proven to be more than up to the task of hero, kid" said Mendez, "now, can you tell me what's the most important lesson you learned today?"
Kreysha didn't need to ponder on this for too long, as memories of what she had just experienced raced through her mind.
"I learned that", she started, looking at each of her team mates, "teamwork is essential, and that I would have never made it without the aid of my friends and their skills."
Mendez nodded. "That is correct kid. Always remember that on your future missions, it often means the difference between life and death."
"I think we will also find that", Uther interrupted, "Kreysha has demonstrated a natural talent for sword fighting."
"Sword fighting?" Asked Mendez, slightly confused. "How…?"
"Later, Admiral." Replied Kreysha, as she got herself on the Pelican, immersed on her own thoughts.
We did it, she said, satisfied. It might have been costly, she added, looking at John, but we now we know we're ready…ready to fight the Covenant, ready to save mankind!
The Pelican lifted off, dashing towards the ocean, now bathed by a golden sunset.