Falcon Echo One Zero Niner
Downtown Seung,
Maenali III, Maenali System,
January 7, 2552, 1839 Hours, Standard Military Calendar
The Falcon roared along, weaving through the roof tops of downtown Seung. Fires burned in the outskirts, causing severe updrafts that the Falcon jockeys had to dodge, and Charlotte shook her head sadly. Her mission two days ago had blunted the Covenant thrust, sure enough, but only for a matter of hours. The Covenant destroyer in orbit had blasted down with its plasma cannons in retribution, soaking up all the damage the UNSC gunners could dish out, and successfully knocked out the ground-based MAC.
That was the deathblow. Without the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, the Covenant would press in and incinerate the city as soon as they repaired the damage to their destroyer. The Engineers were working as fast as they could, but odds were that the cannon wouldn't be repaired in time. A whole lot of people were going to die, and die badly, if the cannon facility wasn't held against the Covenant force charging up into the city.
The Army was fighting tooth and claw for every inch, employing every dirty trick in the book and making more up as they went along, buying time with their lives for the Engineers welding and bodging their hearts out. From what Charlotte could see from the Falcon, they needed Spartans.
Logan opened the COM, ready to deliver her usual pre-mission briefing. "Okay, here it is. An advance team of Covenant armor and Elites have penetrated the Army barricade, using the sewers to make an end run. They're trying to get in close to the facility so they can knock out the missile batteries and control facilities that get the MAC its targeting data and actuate the gimble. Echo is being inserted to help the small Army garrison blunt this little adventure, and if possible, keep the gun intact enough for us to use it, if and when.
"The Covenant destroyer, named Sanguine Vision, took some serious damage in their first tangle with Seung, but Colonel James figures that it'll be back in fighting trim in a few hours. The Engineers want to work on the MAC for every second they've got, and that means we have to make so much noise the Vision looks for us first, not the gun."
Matt snorted a laugh through the COM. "That seems like a lovely way to pass afternoon, Commander." Charlotte smiled briefly, glancing over at the blue-armored Spartan. He was a strange one, tough and nasty in a fight, and he had a habit for making a well-turned phrase at the right time. "Because attracting the attention of a Covenant destroyer is a grand way to last long enough to enjoy our pensions."
"What are you complaining about, Matt? You've got a brand new cannon to play with." Logan's voice was warm with humor. "Now shut up. Once we reach the facility, I'll move down to the ground level and turn the crank on the Covie infantry. Matt, you'll take the first level with that M6 of yours, and Charlotte, you take top cover and issue as many lobotomies as you can, understood?"
Charlotte flashed her confirmation light, eyes locked out into the city sliding by. The Falcon popped up and over a last line of concrete towers, and with a fast swoop that made her stomach roil, the MAC facility was there. It was a simple structure, large oval concrete pads for heavy transports, a central mushroom of cement and glass ringed by missile batteries and shielding an armored bunker; that bunker was even now filled with UNSC Army Engineers, desperately welding the MAC's housing gimble and energy relays back together again.
The Falcon flared in, ducking a streamer of plasma from a Wraith tank on the far side of the security perimeter. A Covenant Spirit class dropship was ducking in under the hailstorm of fire the Army platoon was cranking out. The radio crackled, and a harried voice echoed in Charlotte's ears. "Echo team? Lieutenant Morgan here. The Covenant are dropping an attack group of Brutes on my position. We can hold them, but it's taking everything I've got to get it done. There's a force of maybe forty Covenant, mixed Elites, Jackals, and Grunts, supported by four Wraiths coming up from the south. You'll have to be the ones to issue the party favors and escort our guests from the premises."
Charlotte jumped from the Falcon as soon as the machine was low enough to avoid hurting herself. Logan and Matt landed on either flank, ready for action. Logan unlimbered her assault rifle and pointed towards the MAC building. "Time to go to work, Echo! To your posts!"
Charlotte felt a strange quiver pass through her, and she took off, her SRS in her hands. Her boots pounded the concrete, crushing it to gravel under the weight of the MJOLNIR. She had always been fast, but this new armor was a whole other level, the last word in combat enhancement and protection. Like a greyhound, she sprinted through the concrete warren of the intake terminals and attained the stairs leading to the top floors. Her blood sang in her ears, and she smiled tightly. This was what she had been designed for, raised for; she was a hunter, made to destroy the monsters that lived in the dark.
Reaching the top level, Charlotte skidded to a halt and brought her rifle up. "Sniper cover in position. I see two Wraith tanks, a half-dozen Elites, and maybe twenty other infantry pushing up the middle, right for you, Commander." She zoomed in as far as the scope would take, and the image of a snarling Elite centered in the round reticule. "I'll see what I can do to trim those numbers a bit."