Prologue
Operation: STOMP THE GROUND
0200 Hours, May 7, 2556 (Military Calendar) /
Undisclosed Planet, Saiph System
It was quiet. With no moonlight to illuminate the world below, the entire wood was covered in an eerie blackness. A small lizard-like creature scuttled across the firm ground. Desperate to find shelter, it did not see an object in its path. The impact temporarily stunned the animal. While trying to regain its wits, it also tried to register what it had just ran into. It was solid, but not a rock or tree. It was slick and had slightly shocked him. The creatures head turned upward and it froze. In front of him crouched a figure. With black skin, the figure was nothing more than a solid shadow in the thick foliage of the underbrush around it. The creature slowly backed up and scurried away, glad that what ever it was had not noticed him or had not cared enough to react.
The figure shifted ever so slightly, it's movements, from a distance, looking like nothing more than a bush spurred by the wind. A pair of gray eyes behind a visor bore down on the small trail only a dozen meters away. Glancing for only a moment at the right hand side of his Heads-Up-Display showed no life on the motion tracker. Amplified for the figure's personal armor, the upgraded motion tracker allowed for a registration of all hostile and friendly forced that were either moving or standing still. A calm, quiet female voice sounded from inside the figures head, "Ciarán, I'm uploading satellite information into your Tactical Reconnaissance Unit."
Without making any verbal acknowledgment, Ciarán-127 brought up his left arm. An oval piece of metal rested snugly on his armor's forearm. Centered on the back of his hand sat a spherical object with a piece of what looked like glass protruding from it. He moved his other hand to the oval and tapped a sequence of holo-keys. As he did so, the glass dome began to glow. When he hit the final key, a holographic orb formed mid air, lighting up the surrounding area. He stroked a few more keys and the orb, an image of a planet, zoomed in on an immense structure located on the eastern side of the largest continent. He clicked another set of keys and four red X's appeared.
As the voice spoke again, the X on the far side of the compound grew larger than the rest, "That's the best place for infiltration. It's a cooling duct for the reactor. Your shielding and armor should protect you from excessive radiation."
He clicked a single key and the T.R.U. went dark. Red in the bottom right of his HUD made him go still. On the very edge of his motion tracker were nine dots. As the dots were roughly one hundred and twenty yards out, he had plenty of time to move into position. With a silence that seemed impossible due to the ton of armor he wore, Ciarán made his way to the very edge of treeline. His hand moving fluidly to his back, Ciarán retrieved his battle rifle. Specially made for the assassin, the rifle had a built in silencer that completely muffled the burst fired. Bringing it to bear, he looked down the sight and set it for ten times magnification.
Approaching his position was a group of inhuman creatures. Eight of the nine targets were small, around four feet tall. Orange armor covered their dull skin and a rebreather covering their mouth was connected to a pyramidal canister on their back. Each one held a small, circular device with a thin stream of green light shooting back and forth between two points. The small game weren't going to be a problem. It was the figure in the center that made him cautious. Standing at almost twice the height of the Grunts, the Brute was bulky and clad in golden armor. Sporting what looked like a personal energy shield attached to his chest, Ciarán would have to act swiftly if he were to eliminate it before it could call for reinforcements. He subconsciously grinned.
"Ciarán...I know that look...don't go pushing yourself; the armor is still a prototype, as are all its features. You don't want to light up like a Christmas tree do you?"
Ciarán finally spoke, "Serenity."
"Yes," replied the disembodied voice.
"Shut it."
As he finished the order, he rolled out of cover. Without sighting down the barrel, he fired a multitude of concentrated bursts. In a matter of seconds, the Grunts lay on the ground, blue blood seeping from numerous holes in their bodies. The Brute, much to Ciarán's chagrin, stood unfazed. Calmly, but quickly, the Brute reached to its back and ripped off a cylindrical weapon. The assassin quickly rolled to the side as the Carbine spat green streaks of plasma at him. Ciarán took a deep breath as he righted himself and fired once. All three shots impacted the Brute's shield. The personal defense managed to withstand the force for a moment, but ultimately failed. Ciarán's ammo counter read "0" and he knew he had only a few seconds before the Brute's shield recharged.
Dropping his rifle, he reached around to his back. Grabbing the hilt of his combat knife, which rested horizontally on his waist, he unsheathed it. Not breaking his movement as the Brute attempted to turn and fire again, Ciarán lunged. A desperate shot managed to hit Ciarán as he assaulted his target, but it only minimally affected his shields. Ramming his knees into the Brute's chest, the assassin drove the blade into his target's mouth. As he did so, he clicked a button located on the pommel of the knife. A surge of electricity exploded from the hilt and caused the Brute to spasm on the ground.
The night air, interrupted only by the gurgling sound of the Brute, once again became quiet as Ciarán withdrew his blade. He stood and casually flicked the knife, red-blue blood splashing onto the ground. As he resheathed it, Serenity's voice said, "That was...impressive. Shielding a couple years back would have been reduced to half if shot from that distance. That Carbine barely took down an tenth of the Mark X's shields. I wonder how another Spartan would perform in this armor."
"Are you considering getting another play thing?" Ciarán inquired.
He imagined Serenity shrugging as she replied, somewhat sarcastically, "I don't know. There are a lot
of traits to consider when deciding upon a tin-chauffeur."
"Like what?"
"Compatibility, intelligence, spirit, attitude, and how well he or she listens to my commands."
"And I fit into how many of these categories?"
"One, spirit."
"I'm flattered...remind me to scrap you after we're done here."
Serenity responded with only a chuckle. Sighing, Ciarán bent over and swiftly rolled the bodies out of sight. Before moving on, he kicked dirt over the blood spatter, effectively hiding it. Serenity's voice said, "Room's clean. You can go out and play now."
"Thanks mom."
Ciarán exhaled and quietly shrunk back into the brush, disappearing from view. Increasing his pace, the Spartan quickly made his way down the trail. Ten minutes of travel later, he reached his destination. Towering in front of him was a large facility decorated with glimmering smokestacks belching smog into the air. The rest of the structure was comprised of the same milky material as the smokestacks and, from this point of view, had no discernible entrance.
"I'm uploading a NAV point now. Your point of entry is located fifty meters east and I'm not picking up any other life signs patrolling this wall. If I were going to choose a time to move, now would be it."
"Noted."
Ciarán shifted out of the brush and clicked a nob on the side of his helmet. The visor blinked between a series of different shades until it finally settled on a deep blue. Not three feet in front of him stood an immense yellow wall. Serenity let out what sounded like a whistle, "Impressive. A bio-detection field. Any living organism that passes that barrier is going to do two things. First, any unscheduled breaks in the barrier will most probably result in every alarm in the complex going off. The larger the mass, the more severe the alert. Second, it-"
"Makes sure it can't detect any thing organic," Ciarán finished.
Serenity paused. "Indeed...not as elaborate as I would have put it, but yes. It'll reduce anything unauthorized, and of sufficient mass, into a blackened husk. Pretty good if you want to keep the neighbors out."
"Mhmm," Ciarán responded. Removing his battle rifle and reloading it, he looked down the sight and aimed up. In the center of the structure, standing above all other pillars, was a thin antenna. His visor indicated the field was being emitted from that. The Spartan backed up and resighted. Serenity's questioning voice filled his helmet, "Um, Ciarán, what exactly are you going to do?"
"Take out the field."
"And you intend to do that...with a battle rifle?"
"I left my sniper rifle on the Pelican."
"Yes, I know that, but-"
"Serenity."
"Yes?"
"I'm trying to concentrate."
Serenity scowled, but didn't proceed with the conversation. Ciarán took a deep breath and held it. After a moment he gently squeezed the trigger. Barely audible, the triple round burst exploded from the barrel. The high velocity rounds tipped the antenna and the field sputtered and collapsed. He replaced the rifle and said, "I hit it."
"Indeed you did," Serenity answered, her tone slightly annoyed, "It was a lucky shot."
"Being a Spartan has nothing to do with luck, Serenity. It's all skill."
"Whatever gets you through the mission..."
Ciarán smiled and quickly advanced on the structure. Just feet away from the wall, red blips filled his motion tracker. He cursed and slid that last couple of feet, his back making on;y the slightest sound as it connected with the side of the complex. Ciarán quickly brought his hand up and hit the front of his right shoulder. His energy shield glistened for a moment and then formed a honeycomb-like bubble around him. The panels dimmed and then copied everything that appeared behind them. Ciarán disappeared onto the wall.
As the cloak settled, a patrol of numerous creatures rounded the corner. Each one had a large, blue, circular object jetting from their forearm. Beady eyes shifted back and forth on the side of a vulture-like head. Standing just a hair taller than the Grunts he encountered earlier, the group of Jackals were stick thin and outfitted with similar weaponry. Counting over thirty, the Spartan remained still as a statue. With agonizingly slow steps, the Jackals combed over the entire area. After almost fifteen minutes of searching, the group seemed to shrug in unison and began retreating in the direction they'd come from.
Muscles screaming from lack of use, Ciarán's life arm twitched. The Spartan felt a cold sweat begin to form as a single Jackal stopped. It turned and cocked its head, studying the wall Ciarán was mimicking. It watched, unblinking, for several seconds before a loud squawk disturbed its thoughts. It snapped its head in the direction of the distraction and conjured up a series of high pitched calls. This argument, as Ciarán surmised it was, continued only briefly finally culminating in the first Jackal casting a short glare in Ciarán's direction and then grudgingly falling back into formation.
Ciarán remained still for several minutes following the Jackals' departure. Deciding the coast was clear, he deactivate the cloak and took in a much needed breath of air. Serenity's voice made him jump, "I'll say it again, impressive. The chameleon circuit is extraordinary! Its much more sophisticated than the UNSC's initial tests with Sangheili cloaking devices."
"Serenity," Ciarán breathed, "This mission is a covert operation. One of the fundamental aspects of said operation is silence...now shut it!"
"Jeesh, someone's cranky."
Ciarán smacked the side of his helmet. After receiving a series of grunts and scowls, Ciarán continued on. As he rounded the corner of the complex, he saw his point of entry. Twenty feet in diameter, a large cylinder jutted from the wall. A greenish steam billowing from behind the bars made Ciarán hesitate.
"You're positive the radiation level is low enough that it won't cook my armor."
"Of course," replied the A.I., "It'll only cook your shields."
"Wonderful..."
Ciarán took a deep breath and made his way over. He gripped two adjacent bars and flexed. The bars groaned in protest, but quickly gave, creating a hole large enough for him to slip through. The moment his feet touched the liquid streaming out, his radiation levels spiked off the chart.
"Serenity..." Ciarán said, concern beginning to present itself in his voice.
"You bellowed."
"I don't have to worry about these readings, right?"
"Mhmm. There'll be no lasting effects and should minor ones arise, those will pass following a week of rest and relaxation."
"That's so reassuring..."
"By the way, you weren't planning on having children were you?"
The Spartan smacked his helmet again and proceeded on.
"Just thought I'd ask."
Navigating the labyrinth of pipework took more time than Ciarán would have liked. Despite having a layout of the structure it took him almost forty-five minutes to reach his objective. Sliding through a maintenance duct, he swept the hall he entered. Observing no resistance and no apparent surveillance he continued forward. Rounding the corner, he froze. Standing not three feet in front of him was a Brute, back turned. Ciarán twirled around and slammed onto the wall, activating his camouflage. The Brute spun around and quickly drew his weapon, surveying the corridor. Ciarán closed his eyes and mentally banged his head on a wall, annoyed that he had nearly been discovered.
The Brute slowly made his way down the hall, eventually disappearing from view down the perpendicular passageway. After a moment, Ciarán deactivated his cloak and growled, "What the hell, Serenity? Why didn't my sensors pick him up?"
"One moment," Serenity answered, "Oops."
"Oops?" Ciarán's annoyance was evident in his tone.
"I seem to have miscalculated certain variables. The radiation, while not a danger to your body, appears to have caused some of your suit's minor applications to malfunction."
"A motion tracker is not a minor application! I'm completely blind now, Serenity!"
"Well, not completely. I can attempt to wirelessly infiltrate the Loyalist's network and make use of their sensor program. I should be able to alert you to any enemy movement around your location."
Sighing, Ciarán said, "Do it."
"It'll take a few minutes while I bypass their security protocols. I suggest continuing to your objective while I do so."
The inside of the complex was simplistic. Sleek, purple colored walls lined the halls and a gray walkway seemed to snake down every corridor. Ciarán took note of how tall the passages were; they topped at almost twice his height. Aside from the occasional patrol, Ciarán managed to avoid any confrontation with the enemy as he made his way to his destination. With Serenity's guidance, he finally made it. Bypassing a set of sliding doors, the Spartan confirmed a visual of the target. Pulsating in the center of a large, domed room was a tall spire. Tubes and wires winded across the floor, feeding from the spire into the walls surrounding it.
"Target confirmed. Energy readings indicate this is the facility's power source. A well placed charge should cause it to overload. The ensuing explosion will vaporize everything it touches. I suggest you set a timer so that you can escape with ample time to spare."
"Thanks for stating the obvious, Serenity. Now shut up and let me work."
Ciarán activated his cloak and slipped from shadow to shadow. Avoiding the guards in the room, he crouched in front of the spire. He removed a Lotus Antitank Mine and slid it under the spire's operating table. Satisfied it would remain undiscovered, Ciarán stood and turned to leave. Suddenly, a wave encompassed the room. The lights flickered for a moment and Ciarán's cloak failed. Things were quite for a moment. The twelve Brutes that were on duty had frozen and were looking at him. Ciarán let out a sigh and muttered, "This is awkward."
He look at the closest Brute and said, "I'm assuming that you're not going to let me just walk out of here."
The Brute growled and brought his plasma rifle to bear. Rolling out of the line of fire, Ciarán dodged behind a pillar. He removed what looked like a pen out of his back pouch and removed the cap. Without hesitating, he clicked the red button. There was a massive explosion that rattled the entire building and deafened Ciarán.
As the ringing in his ears subsided, Ciarán peeked around the corner. Red-purple blood painted the walls and the floor was covered in scrap metal, a smoldering mush blanketing everything else. Ciarán shrugged, "That works too."
"For eliminating those guards, of course, but what about the dozens of troops sure to come and investigate?"
The room was covered in a red hue as an alarm started sounding. Ciarán smiled and answered, removing his battle rifle, "I ask them to bring their A game."
Imagining Serenity shaking her head, he moved across the room and entered the hall. As he did so he saw a group of Brutes charging in his direction. By this time his motion sensor was almost completely red so he clicked it off. He flipped the safety off his rifle and said, "Serenity, how about we give this armor a test drive."
"What about stealth?" the A.I. asked sarcastically as Ciarán pulled his side arm and turned side ways down the length of the hall, "I guess that's no longer an option."
A group of Grunts rounding the opposite corner was peppered by pistol fire. In a hail of battle rifle bursts, Ciarán managed to lessen the Brute's numbers from sixteen to ten, their chieftain still charging with them. Dry firing, the Spartan dropped his weapon and let his training take over. He faced the group and took a deep breath. By this time the conglomeration of beasts had opened fire. Blue plasma sizzled down the hall, the shots that impacted his armor doing little to affect it. He exhaled and ran at them.
Jumping in the air, he used the first Brute's shoulders to propel him forward. The Brutes were obviously dumbfounded by the Spartan's course of action as they were slow to react. Taking advantage, Ciarán righted himself mid air and brought his foot into a Brutes face. Forcing the monster down, he brought all of the weight in his armor upon him. The alien's skull was easily crushed. Not breaking pace, Ciarán used his other leg to roundhouse kick two of them into a wall. Ciarán ducked as a massive arm cut through the air where his head once was. He grabbed the arm, stepped to the side and hyper-extended it roughly. Bone and muscle broke the skin and the Brute let out a howl of pain which was quickly silenced as Ciarán rolled into him and implanted his elbow into his face.
The six remaining Brutes quickly backed off, trying to reorganize. Not wanting them to get comfortable, Ciarán drew his dagger and blindly flicked it at the creature moving up behind him. The Spartan heard the satisfying sound of his dagger finding a temporary sheath and bolted to the wall to avoid a barrage of plasma. He kicked off the wall and planted his thighs on the nearest Brute's face. He twisted violent, the Loyalist's neck snapping like a twig. Using his momentum as he fell, he landed on his hands and threw the Brute's body into its brother. As the Spartan landed, he grabbed a plasma rifle and fired down the hall. In the flurry of fire, two of the Brute weren't able to escape and fell to the ground, their torsos smoldering. Ciarán smiled, observing his work when an ear splitting roar filled the hall.
The armored Brute was breathing heavily and glaring at Ciarán. Through the course of the battle, Ciarán had failed to discern its weapon. Standing two feet taller than he was, the Brute carried a large, black hammer. It roared again and started ambling toward the Spartan.
"Ciaran you need to be careful, that's not a weapon to be trifled with."
"I know, Serenity; it's a gravity hammer. Don't worry. That Brute is slow as-"
With a speed Ciarán hadn't anticipated, the Brute switched to a full on charge and was upon him in seconds. Unable to dodge, Ciarán watched as, with a battle yell, the Brute swung. It impacted the Spartan and the ensuing blast sent him into the wall, a large dent forming. Without using the weaponized part of it, the Brute continued to beat the Spartan multiple times, each hit driving him deeper and deeper into the wall.
Serenity's voice pounded inside the Spartan's helmet, "CIARÁN!"
The Spartan had flat lined after the fourth beating and had been unresponsive since. Serenity continued calling his name, her memory simulating concern and horror. Through the visor, the A.I. watched as the Brute pulled back for a final strike. As the hammer came down, she heard something. BEEP.
Ciarán's hand, ripping itself from the wall, moved up and caught the head. He chuckled and said, "Sorry. I fell asleep."
He gripped it tightly and pushed forward, off setting the beast. As he did so, he quickly pulled himself from the wall and primed two grenades. He causally tossed them at the disoriented Brute's feet and said, "See ya later."
He brought up his fist and then slammed in on the ground saying, "Armor lock initiate."
An electrical pulse charged through his energy shield. The Brute looked down, noticed the spheres, and managed to inhale to try and roar before the explosives detonated. Jets of flames rocketed down the hallway setting anything they touched ablaze. As the explosion settled, the Spartan's armor flickered and returned to normal.
Ciaran smiled, "OMICRON always has been the best."
As he stood, Serenity half yelled, "You were dead!"
He rotated his head, cracking his neck, and answered, "Shock induced cardiac arrest. My body was momentarily stunned beyond living."
"Still! That doesn't explain how you resuscitated yourself."
"I didn't."
"What?" Serenity asked, confused.
"I'm not sure if you notice or not, but, when ever you're overly upset, you cause machinery to release high voltage bursts of electricity."
"No I don't."
"Yes, you do. You have to be very pissed off, mind you, but you still do. Ever notice how when you and I argue back on the Spirit that my computer always shorts and a lot of secondary systems crash?"
He imagined her blinking as she responded, "Coincidence. I'd notice if I were doing something so obvious."
"Apparently you don't. I'm glad you've never gotten to that point when you've been synced with my armor and I've been alive. I get the occasional static shock, but I've gotten so used to that I don't even really register that it's happening anymore."
"You're making this up."
"Check your systems; I'm sure you'll find electrical surges that correspond with your outbursts. But do it quietly. We need to find away out of here before the core overloads."
Serenity grumbled and said, "Estimated time till overload is four minutes thirty seven seconds and counting. If I remember correctly, there is a hanger on the far side of the complex. I'm still reading a docked Phantom. You can make it if you hurry."
Ciarán nodded and turned in the direction of his new NAV point. He stroked a few keys on his TRU and quickly maneuvered through the labyrinth of hallways. Encountering only a few patrols, his overall trip took minutes. Arriving in the hangar bay, the Spartan noted how quickly the situation had deteriorated. Secondary explosions had collapsed much of the superstructure and the walls were threatening to give in to the stress they were under.
"If you were going to board the ship, now would be a good. There's only a minute thirty – CIARÁN!"
A red blip suddenly appearing directly behind him, Ciarán ducked. As he did so, an energy sword sizzled through the air where he had once been. He quickly rolled out of the way and drew his side arm. Aiming, he hesitated when he saw an Elite. Standing a head shorter than Ciarán, unusual for the species, the alien was clad in a type of armor the Spartan was not privy to. Not separated into individual pieces of metal, it resembled more of a body suit than actual steel portions. Wearing a helmet similar to a Sangheili Ranger, the figure made no utterance toward Ciarán.
Ciarán frowned and said, "Last time I checked, the Elites were our allies. Any particular reason you're trying to filet me?"
Remaining silent, the Elite began to circle. Ciarán followed suit and glanced at his mission clock. Sixty seven seconds left. He had to move. Quickly. The Spartan cocked his gun, "Well I'd love to stay and chat, but in about a minute, we're both going to be incinerated by an incredibly horrific explosion. I'm going to have to cut our rendezvous short."
He opened fire. The figure dodged to the left and quickly advanced on Ciarán. He violently brought his energy sword up in an attempt to cut the Spartan down. Unfortunately for him, Ciarán took a step back and caught his arm. Ciarán repositioned his pistol and opened fire point blank. Of the remaining four rounds, only one managed to piece the shields and hit its target. The Elite dropped the energy sword and broke away from Ciarán. Clutching his side, the Elite turned and quickly made his way down a smoking corridor.
"Ciarán! Move!"
The Spartan glanced at the hallway for a moment, but quickly boarded the smoldering Phantom. Serenity, interfacing with the ship's navigational system, quickly started the engines and propelled the craft through the roof. Turning away from the smoking building, she piloted the ship as fast as she could make it. Ciarán looked at the timer and said, "Serenity, no pressure or anything, but we have about ten seconds before we're scrap metal."
"A Phantom wasn't exactly made to maneuver like a Longsword, Ciarán! I've diverted power from weapons, shielding, live support, and a dozen other systems and rerouted it to the engines. I'm willing to bet this is the fastest Phantom is history! Now sit down and shut up while I fly this thing!"
"Touchy..."
As the conversation came to a close, Ciarán heard the explosion before he felt it. Like a thousand guns firing, the ensuing blast turned Ciarán into a rag doll in the enclosed space. Certain the Phantom was spiraling out of control, Ciarán locked his armor and closed his eyes, the free fall sensation immediately dissipating. After almost five minutes of stillness he deactivated it. Glancing around he realized he was still in the air as opposed to a pile of rubble. He looked at the monitor and asked, "Serenity, why didn't you tell me we weren't crashing?"
"I was enjoying some peace and quiet...relatively speaking. Want to take a look at your handy work? Look out the aft view port."
Ciarán stood, rolling his eyes, and proceeded to the back. Observing the screen he saw a kilometer high mushroom cloud and a crater where the facility had once been.
"Huh...too flashy in my opinion. I still think I should have just cleared out the residents one by one. Would have been simpler."
Ciarán took a seat in the pilots chair as Serenity commented, "I think you'd have run out of broom closets way before you finished stacking bodies."
The Spartan chuckled and removed his helmet. Wavy black hair and a pale complexion welcomed the fresh air. Noticing the five o'clock shadow in his reflection on the metal he said, "My devilishly handsome and chiseled features are in need of a shave."
"And your ego is in need of a brutal bashing."
Ciarán smiled. Remembering something, he removed his helmet's video recorder and inserted it into the Phantom's systems. He tapped a button and the start of his mission appeared on screen. Resting his head in his hand, Ciarán instructed, "Serenity, fast forward to my encounter with the Elite. Let it play through."
For the second time, he experienced the scuffle. As it concluded he said, "Play it back again and freeze at frame 374."
Doing as she was told, Serenity asked, "What exactly are you looking for?"
The video halted and Ciarán pointed at the wound he inflicted, "Zoom in there."
She did so and Ciarán leaned back, trying to piece together what he saw.
"Ciaran, what is bothering you?"
He disconnected the film and replaced it into his helmet, "It's nothing..."
The Covenant had a multitude of races and a vast variety of weaponry, but never once had he encountered a race that had blood as crimson as his own.
