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Visegrad Relay | 3hrs Later
Four Pelican Dropships flew lazily in formation over the hills near Visegrad, each loaded with UNSC Army Troopers. The Formation dipped and dove between mountainous peaks, using narutal cliffs and canyons to mask their approach from any would-be attackers. Nearing their target, the Pelicans broke formation, each splitting off to head to its assigned drop zone.
One such Pelican was Echo 1-2, loaded up with eight Army Troopers it weaved towards its intended target area. Inside the cargo bay the Troopers of Fireteam 3 Charlie ran through their pre-mission checks. Corporal Ryan Travis methodically checked his MA37 assault rifle, more of a formality than out o a requirement really. Misriah Armory weapons had a reputation of being extremely rugged and low-maintenance. It'd take a direct shotgun blast to cripple the weapon. A few bumps and bruises weren't going to affect it, no sir.
"Time to target, 10 seconds." The pilot called over the intercom as the Pelican banked sharply to the left. Immediately afterward their fireteam leader jumped up from his seat and made his way to the back of the Pelican, grasping at handholds with his free hand as he held his weapon at the ready with the other.
"Alright Troopers, offa your arses! We got a job to do!" Sergeant First Class Trevor MacDonnel bellowed in a thick Scottish brogue as he turned to address his troops. "A bunch'a Innies thought they could blind us without us noticin'. Now it's time to show them how wrong they are! You all know your objectives, so let's keep it focused and get this done quick. The faster we get to base the faster I buy the first round!"
A chorus of 'Yes Sir's' met the Sergeant's pre-mission speech as the Pelican settled over the ground. That was their mission. A few hours earlier Visegrad's Communications Relay had gone dark. There was no communication with any of the facilities personnel and no communications between any of the planet's northern communities. Worst of all, there were no more communications off-world. Reach was effectively cut off from the rest of UNSC space.
ONI had quickly determined that Insurrectionists attached to the local People's Occupation were likely responsible for sabotaging the Relay, likely as a precursor to a larger operation. As such 3 Charlie and three other Trooper Fireteams had been sent in to investigate, neutralize any threats to the facility's operation, and finally bring the Relay back online.
The Sergeant slammed his fist onto the door release button and the rear of the dropship opened, revealing the lights of the early morning dawn on the horizon beyond the mountains. Travis followed his fellow Troopers out of the dropship and his boots touched down on sparse grasses.
Taking stock, they'd landed on a small cliff-side clearing overlooking a tiny settlement of maybe three houses. A small farm field stood off between 3 Charlie and the collection of buildings, but with the dim light Travis couldn't make out what was growing in it. The lights were off in the houses, which to Travis meant one of three things. A) Nobody was home, B) They were still asleep, or C) the Insurrectionists in those houses were trying to lead the Troopers into a trap.
Good fucking luck with that.
"Alright Troopers, into the field, let's check out that structure." MacDonnel ordered through the fireteam's helmet comm. Travis peered ahead, and sure enough there was a structure hanging out in the dark tucked up against a rock formation. Looked like a garage or storehouse from here. Also looked like a good position for Innies to camp out in, but that was just Travis' opinion.
"3 Charlie 4 reporting. Structure looks clear, Sarge." Specialist Franklin Mendoza reported in from his position next to a large boulder, DMR scanning between windows and other openings in the building.
"Roger that Four. Six, Seven, you two get in that structure and sweep for contacts. We'll go in right behind you." MacDonnel ordered, motioning the two Troopers forward. Travis braced his rifle and moved forward alongside 3 Charlie 7, Specialist Bianca Locklear. Locklear held her shotgun at the ready, sweeping back and forth along the buildings length as she closed the distance.
Travis held back slightly, falling in step behind her. She was 3 Charlie's breaching and CQC specialist, he was just her backup in case things went south. They both entered the building through the nearest opening. Inside Travis confirmed that this was indeed a storehouse, containers were stacked up against walls leaving plenty of space for the two forklifts and the equipment to maintain them.
Travis activated reached back with his free hand, fishing around his pack for the small handheld ARGUS system. Those containers looked harmless enough, but Innies were notorious for sticking bombs in places you wouldn't think to look. Finally finding the piece of kit he was looking for, he held it up in front and began scanning the containers and forklifts for any sign of explosive as he followed Locklear. "Check for explosives." He warned, keeping his voice low
She glanced quickly over her shoulder at him. "You're the one with the ARGUS, not me." She replied quickly in similarly hushed tones. "You find something let me know."
"Nothing yet." He replied, continuing to follow just a few paces behind.
"I said let me know if you find something."
He smirked. "Well aren't we a bit touchy today?"
She scoffed before completely ignoring his comment. "3 Charlie 7 reporting, building is clear of hostiles."
"3 Charlie 6 confirms, nothing suspicious in here Sergeant." He stated as the two made their way back to the door way.
"Copy that. Alright 3 Charlie, let's move in. We meet in that clearing. Four stay on overwatch, look for hostiles." MacDonnel ordered, referring to the clear area in front of the building. Travis and Locklear left the cover of the structure as the rest of 3 Charlie arrived. "Alright team, we got a settlement filled with unknowns between us and our objective and I want to figure out if these are civvies or hostiles."
"So what Sarge? Knock on doors and see what we've got?" Travis asked.
"Essentially, yes." MacDonnel confirmed. "Six and Seven, you're on me, we're gonna head for the closest house. The rest of you take up support positions in case things go south." There was a small chorus of 'copy that' before the team broke up.
Travis and Locklear each fell in step next to their CO as they made their way to the nearest house. They reached the back door of the house and MacDonnel stepped forward, pounding on the door with a clsed fist. "UNSC Army, Open up!" He bellowed before knocking on the door again.
On his third round of knocking, a light came on inside as the occupants finally woke up. "Alright! I am coming!" A woman hollered from inside in broken English. MacDonnel stepped back from the door as the Troopers heard footsteps approaching the door.
The door slid open to reveal a woman dressed in an orange t-shirt and black short shorts. She wasn't armed, thankfully, and just looked miffed about having her sleep disturbed this early in the morning. To her credit she didn't seem all that surprised or worried that there were three heavily armed soldiers standing on her back porch.
"Good morning ma'am, sorry to disturb you but we're here for a routine search. We need to enter the premises." MacDonnel stated to her, motioning inside her house. The 'routine search' was a lie of course, but the last thing they need was her being a potential informant for the Insurrection. She and the others inside the house may not be combatants, but that didn't necessarily make them loyal to the UNSC.
"Yes, yes, of course." She responded with a stiff nod, standing off to the side to allow. Her demeanor had soured by the time Travis stepped through the doorway. He gave her a smile that he hoped had said: "We'll be out of your way soon."
Inside the house was a main room with a fire pit and a sitting area off to the left, towards the back was a closed door and to the right was the kitchen. A narrow stairway led to the second level with a man standing halfway down the steps wearing only a pair of boxer shorts. "Mit Akarnak?" The man asked the woman.
"Azért jöttek, hogy keressen minket." She replied as Travis paused, trying to understand what they were saying. "…Megint." She added turning to the Troopers as MacDonnel and Locklear started visually inspecting the home. Travis had to take a second to realise that both occupants were speaking Hungarian, as most residents of the Viery Territory on Reach did.
And of course there were no interpreters assigned to any fireteam in case whoever they ran into didn't speak English. Fantastic friggin' plan.
Travis made his way to the back of the room, heading for the closed door at the back of the room. "Wait!" The man suddenly shouted, moving to stand next to Travis in front of the door. "Our daughter is in there. Let me go in first. He'll get scared."
While it seemed like a reasonable request it did go against search protocol. "I'm afraid not sir. I have to go in first. I'm just following protocol. You can come in behind me to calm her down though." Travis stated with a shrug. He slid the door to the side, revealing room of a little girl, the bed sitting front and center in the middle of the room.
She was up, cowering in behind the sheets as Travis stepped into the room. Her father pushed past heading over to the bed. He spoke calmly to his daughter, trying to calm her down as he scooped her up his arms and carried her out of the room. She didn't look any older than six.
As Travis began his inspection of the room, Mendoza, still on over watch, chose this moment to pipe in on the comm. "Sarge, I'm seeing movement out here among the hills."
"Who is it?" MacDonnel asked.
"No idea. It's too dark to make out any features. I can tell that they're getting closer though." Mendoza replied. "I think they know that we're here."
"Alright, keep me posted." MacDonnel stated over the comm as Travis continued his search of the girl's room. His ARGUS was out; nothing was scanning as an explosive in here and there was nothing that looked like any kind of weapon. Well unless you wanted to improvise her coloring pencils as a dagger or something, but that was a bit of a stretch.
He went back to the main room where MacDonnel was standing idly, monitoring the comm. The family was sitting huddled together in the seating area, both parents coddling their daughter as she played with a doll. MacDonnel turned to him as he re-entered the room. "Locklear's outside."
Travis nodded and headed to the back door, moving past the family as he stepped outside. Off to the left he found Locklear kneeling behind a tree, shotgun at the ready as she scanned the approach to the house. "You see anything?" He asked as he knelt next to her, bringing his assault rifle up.
"Nothing yet. Four hasn't reported in with anything yet." She replied, not taking her eyes of the approach. Following her gaze, Travis could barely make out the silhouettes of his fellow Troopers in cover further out in the small field.
"Mendoza, you got anything?" Travis radioed in.
"Mmmm…nothing yet, just flickers of movement. Whoever's sneaking around out there is quick on their feet." 3 Charlie Four replied, his voice steady as he kept his focus on figuring out what was moving at them. "Wait a sec-."
"Contact! Contact!" One of the Troopers called out frantically. At that moment, all hell broke loose as the five Troopers opened up on whatever was attacking them. The rapid thundering of assault rifles was met by raining globs of blue and green that splashed against the ground, every impact scorching the dirt and grass.
"My god…" He gasped as he realised what was shooting back at them. He'd never seen them before but he'd heard the stories.
"Two's been hit!" A Trooper called out.
"3 Charlie fall back!" MacDonnel hollered through the comm, running out of the house and taking up a firing position behind a rock. "Fall back to the house! Locklear get inside and get the civvies out through the front!"
Locklear took off back into the house. Travis took a deep breath as he saw four troopers moving in a fighting retreat towards them. The enemy was flitting in and out between the rocks and he couldn't line up a clear shot, couldn't see what he was shooting at. He just shot at whatever wasn't a Trooper. His assault rifle kicked in his hands. He kept it steady aiming as best as he could at the fleeting shapes of the creatures skittering through the shadows.
The rest of 3 Charlie arrived at their position, taking cover behind rocks or trees or whatever they could find. Travis had to duck back behind the tree when green globs began to sail towards his position. He heard the tree's bark sizzle as the bolts hit home. The smell of ozone began to wash over the fireteam as the salvos of superheated plasma burned the very air around them. Travis stuck his head out and blind fired at the last place he saw the enemy firing at him.
As he ducked back into cover a sharp cry cut in over the din of battle. Travis snapped to the source of the noise and found Sergeant MacDonnel lying on his back, clutching at a purple spike embedded in his shoulder. Another Trooper, 3 Charlie 3 was busy trying to drag him back along the back porch towards the house.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Three called out as he and two other troopers tried to drag their CO around the side of the house, bypassing the back door as the entrance was exposed. Travis and Mendoza were the only two troopers left holding the line.
"Come on man we need to move!" Mendoza hollered at him. Travis nodded back at him before peeking around the tree. He spotted something that made his heart sink. A small squat creature waddled forward, over its shoulder was a golden yellow weapon almost as big as it was. There was a thump as the weapon discharged huge glob of green plasma.
"Shit! GET DOWN!" Travis hollered, hitting the dirt as the blob streaked over his and Mendoza's heads and heading straight for the other marines. One smartly dodge towards the plasma ball, hitting the dirt just as it sailed past him. It detonated at the feet of the final three Troopers, including MacDonnel. The whole balcony cracked and fell away down the cliff.
"Move your ass Travis!" Mendoza yelled, picking him up by the shoulder. The two Troopers bolted for the back door, clearing the opening just as they heard another thump from the alien weapon. Inside the house they found Locklear bolting towards them. Travis didn't think, he just acted.
He tackled Locklear to the ground just as the back of the house erupted.
There were no words exchanged when the three Troopers picked themselves up and bolted out of the house and into the common area. They stopped behind a concrete barrier to catch their breath, they could hear the chatter of the enemy over the sounds of a roaring fire. The house they'd just left was blazing, for the time being keeping the Troopers safe.
"What the hell was that?!" Locklear shouted, looking suitably freaked out.
"Covenant!" Mendoza shouted back.
"What?!"
"You heard me!"
"We need to get word out! Warn command about what's going on!" Travis cut in.
"No shit! We need to fall back and radio this in!" Mendoza hollered. "Come on we don't have much more time before the Covies come after us!" The three of them pushed off from the wall and took off across a small polycrete bridge and up the hill towards another building.
As they ran, Travis started trying to raise the other fireteams in the area but received no response. He tried again but just got more of the same dead air as the three Troopers moved through the building and into another courtyard. They kept moving into the storage warehouse on the other side as the radio stayed dead.
For now, the three surviving members of 3 Charlie were on their own.
What's this? The author ISN'T introducing Noble Team? Heresy!
In all seriousness though there is a reason, but just bear with me a little bit here.
Next chapter is being written as we speak, so don't worry! This train ain't stopping anytime soon!
That being said, I would like to know what you guys think of the story so far. Is there room for improvement and where? That sort of thing.
Take care folks and have an awesome day!