Here, Blue Team is finally introduced to the new enemy. Now, the shadow finally clears, and what is suspected is immediately exposed.
Now, read, as ruin rains down upon us all
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
Chapter 2
Sam grabbed his Minigun and Rocket Launcher with both hands, in order to make sure they don't make as much noise bumping into anything, as they snuck their way towards the Scarab.
Linda chuckled, as what he did seemed clumsy on first sight. "Sam, when I said I didn't want you to carry my gun, and that you could hold your own, that was a joke."
Sam turned to her. "Maybe. But if I just let them hang from my back, they'll bump into anything. So, if you don't mind, I'll just lug them along."
Fred shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just don't blow up the entire Scarab."
Sam nodded, and they all shut up.
After fifteen minutes of sneaking around, they managed to arrive at the Scarab. As expected, it lowered its body, so they all could climb aboard. Sam tossed in his weapons, and jumped on.
Will was the last one to board, and so, they all moved out, towards the control bay of the Scarab.
When they finally arrived, they saw the Screens were not of the controls, as usual with this Deutoros Scarab, but of an Elite, who was off talking with someone else. Sam looked on, and tapped the screen. The Elite on display turned to them.
"Ah, the Demons. The one called Hood said you would be here."
"Who are you?" Fred asked.
"I am Fleetmaster Kantar 'Utaralee, and I have allied with you after Thel Vadam's speech."
Linda shrugged. "So, you dropped this gift here just for us?"
Kantar nodded. "Yes. I would like, however, that you intercept the cargo at the bottom of the Orbital Elevator, before you head up to the Cruiser."
Will looked suspicious at the Elite. "Why? What's so important about this Cargo?"
"Hood asked me to intercept it. He called them FENRIS Warheads."
All of the Spartans stood more alert at that. The Elite was asking them to recover Nukes? That was new.
"Where does Hood want them?" Fred asked, the first to recover from the surprise.
"Most of them on the Scarab, which will ferry them to UNSC Dropships that will ferry them to the ships that need them. Two, however, he is donating to your cause. He figured you could use the firepower."
Fred nodded. "My thanks. I'll secure them. Your scarab will know when it's done."
Kantar nodded. "I do not know where you are going, but I wish you good luck... Spartans." And with that, the image was replaced by an image of the area, before it turned back to the controls of the Scarab. Fred whirled around to Sam. "Before you start: No. You will not carry the nukes, nor will you have access to the detonation codes. I will keep them."
"Why?" Sam asked, falsely innocent. "I have never blown up anything."
Will snorted, and soon, Sam chuckled as well. Sam was lying here, and they all knew it.
Sam thought back to the first time he had intentionally blown up something.
Forest, Highland Mountains, Reach, Epsilon Eridani system.
14-07-2523
Sam sighed, as he mixed the last of the Cocktails together, that would create an acid that would melt through the floor of their barracks.
He, along with the rest of Blue Team, had once again been pitted against Tango Company, in one of Mendez's many training exercises. But the Marines, tired of being beaten all the time by the virtually Twelve-year-old children, had started using Live Rounds on this one. And so, Sam had gathered a few chemicals, most from the garage they had in their base and the rest from their car fuel tanks, and started making the acids. John had a plan to beat the Marines, and had asked Sam to come up with said cocktail.
Allison, similarly, was working away at making a Molotov Cocktail from ingredients stolen earlier, while Fred and Sam were making Narq-Dart guns: airguns that shot needles dipped in a tranquilizer. One that would knock even a Guta out for a few days. They knew because Tango Company had tried, unsuccessfully, to use it on them.
Sam finally added the last of the chemicals, and put the lid on it. Once it was opened to the air again, the stuff would fume, and it would slowly eat away at anything... including the container.
So, after that was done, they all got to their positions, near the road they'd blocked that Tango Company would have to drive across.
After about an hour of waiting, they finally heard the truck approach. As the marines got out to move the log away, he and the others that would be going inside (He, John, Kelly and Fhajad) crawled under the truck, and held on to the underside, the mirrors to pass the inspection held between their teeth. They were taped around certain areas to ensure they wouldn't break as easily, but Sam was still careful, even after the Marines had gotten back into the truck and driven away. He had always been the physically strongest of them, and he didn't want to actually break it by biting down too hard.
After about an hour of driving, for which it took all of Sam's will to hold on, they finally arrived at the outpost the Marines were using. Sam let go with one hand and grabbed the mirror, holding it ready so when the Marines looked underneath with that mirror attached to a pole, they would only see the underside in front of Sam.
Sure enough, despite Kelly briefly fumbling with her mirror, they managed to get in. After the Marines, parked the Warthog in the Garage, and left it alone, Sam finally, silently, lowered himself to the ground, and let go. He, like the others, rolled out from underneath that truck. After a minute of stretching muscles and removing a bit of the cramps, they finally set out to work. Sam handed John the cocktail of acid he's been carrying, while Fhajad handed Sam the molotov Allison had made. They all moved out to their respective objectives:
John would put the acid on the bottom floor of the Barracks, and place a few Stun grenades in there.
Fhajad would be near the Fence, ensuring their only way out was still clear.
Kelly would move to a covering position, dart gun in hand, so that John could grab the flag without problem once all the ruckus started.
And Sam would make sure the the Marines were properly distracted. Namely, both by the ambush at their barracks, and by the fact their spare fuel was going up in flames, an idea come up with by Allison.
One Sam would execute.
He moved silently from shadow to shadow, careful to never cross the direct line of sight of one of the marines, and made his way to the spare Fuel Tanks.
After waiting for the agreed upon time, to ensure everyone was ready, Sam opened the tanks, and threw in the Molotov. From a distance, of course.
He watched, in satisfaction, as the Tans blew up.
I need to do that again.
But he ha no time. The Marines would soon be making their way here, or to the barracks, and he needed to be gone by then. He ran along the backs of the buildings, and made his way to their escape: A hole Fhajad had cut in the perimeter fence.
He stood there, waiting for them. Sam jumped through the hole, and waited on the other side. After a moment, Kelly and John came running, and Sam saw John carried the flag they were supposed to retrieve.
They ran back into the forrest, their backs covered by Linda, Fred and Allison, the three of them being the best shots with the Dart guns.
John led the way, as they headed for the extraction point. They weren't due to be picked up in a few hours, but there was no point in being late arrivals.
They waited, hiding in the bushes, as the clock ticked down to the time Mendez would come, and see if they had succeeded in their objective.
Thirteen minutes before he was due, a Pelican swooped in, and landed in the clearing in front of them.
Fhajad moved to get up, but John held him back.
"Too soon. When isn't the Chief perfectly on time?"
Fhajad nodded, and he sank back down into a crouch again.
John handed Sam the flag they'd stolen, folded so the bright-white Star wouldn't reflect in the Pelican's lights. "Keep it safe. I'm going to lure them out."
"Be careful." Sam said.
And so, they watched, as their leader got up, and made his way to the dropship. Sure enough, before he could even board, eight men got out of the dropship, and made a semi-circle around John. The leader of them, a Lieutenant, walked up to John.
And gave him a hard punch in the stomach. Sam saw Kelly winch quite a bit at that.
The Leader pulled John up, and gave him a punch in the jaw, dropping him down on the ground again.
He saw Kelly was trying very hard to restrain herself from moving out there to stop the Lieutenant. And Sam couldn't agree more: Their success depended on them being able to hide that flag from the Marines. And if Kelly ran out there to help their friend, she would be caught, and could be used as leverage against John.
And none of them wanted that. So instead, Sam just gave a reassuring squeeze int he shoulder.
Kelly looked at him, nodded, and sat down.
Suddenly, three of the Marines encircling John dropped. After a moment, three more dropped, leaving just that Lieutenant and another Marine. Sure enough, after a second, they, too, fell.
Sam and the others got up, and made their way to the Dropship. He made a note to thank Allison, Fred and Linda for their expert shooting.
Sam helped John up, and handed him the Flag again. "I believe this is yours, Cap'n."
John rolled his eyes, tired of the old pirate captain joke. And Sam couldn't blame him. It was, after all, first made a few years ago, and Sam always made it at least once a month.
Kelly walked over, and gave the downed Lieutenant a hard kick in the stomach. "That's for messing with us." she said, and moved on.
That had been one hell of a long exercise. It took them weeks to arrange everything: The Chemicals, the stolen Stun Grenades, the mirrors, the Molotov... they even had to make a mix of very nauseating food to keep the attack dogs Tango Company had brought with them out of the equation.
Still, it was one of the best they'd done, according to Mendez. And so, everyone was satisfied with it.
Sam then grabbed his Minigun, as they were getting close the the Orbital Elevator. Sam made sure he kept out of plain sight, so their cover wouldn't be blown quickly.
As they walked up to the final gate, Fred finally gave the signal.
Sam walked up to the top side of the Scarab, and fired away at the Brutes guarding the warehouse containing the Warheads. They went down rather fast, as they didn't wear full body armor, and Sam's minigun easily tore through their admittedly thick skin.
Will, borrowing Sam's Rocket Launcher, fired up, and a Banshee crashed right in front of the Scarab.
After a minute, with Sam and Linda mostly picking the Brutes off at a distance with their specialized weapons, it was clear.
Fred and Will moved on to the main door of the warehouse. As they pulled the door open, and Sam looked inside, he whistled.
There were over Twelve Nukes inside that place.
"Still think I shouldn't carry them?" Sam asked mockingly. Fred shook his head.
"No. You will carry them onto the Scarab. While we watch."
Sam sighed.
After about five minutes of carrying the ten nukes destined for Hood and Kantar's ships to the Scarab, Fred and Will each hoisted up one of the Nukes, and they all boarded the Elevator.
Sam smiled for once. Fred had said that, during their pursuit of the ship across the planet, they had downed a lot of the Ship's crew and soldiers.
All they now had to do was board the ship, make their way to the Bridge, take it over, put in the coordinates for Onyx, and make their way to Halsey.
Piece of cake. So much that Sam was sure even he could have done it on his own.
Stealth Vessel, orbit over lunar body of third planet, Sol System.
Agent Solomon Kaiser looked at the disappearing target, the Bloodied Spirit.
Upon intercepting that communication's message sent to Hood, he had informed High Command of the situation: There was a new, potential source of technology, ripe for the taking. But Spartans were being sent there as well. And if Kaiser's sources were right, it actually was a training ground for the Threes.
He raised his overseer, and informed him, of this new development: that Blue Team had taken the cruiser, and was making their way to Onyx.
"Sir, They're on their way. Blue Team has captured the Bloodied Spirit, intercepted the Nukes taken by the Doisac Brutes, and headed for the Onyx coordinates."
The Overseer, an Unggoy, nodded. "As we expected they would. But we are already on site, and busy locking on to the Portal to Sarcophagus."
Kaiser frowned. "Sir, all due respect, this is Blue Team. They have defied odds before. Do not dismiss them like they're a mere squad of ODST soldiers." He pointed at the overseer. "They have the highest kill count in the entire UNSC. I'm telling you, you need more men."
"Your concern is noted. But what chance do five Spartans and a civilian stand against an entire Stormtrooper Legion?"
Kaiser's mood lifted in understanding. The Overseer didn't know as much about Onyx as Kaiser did, and was making decisions purely on the assumption it would only be Blue Team and Halsey he would be dealing with.
"You don't know the truth about Onyx, do you, Sir?" Kaiser said. "ONI had it off the charts, and the planet's large. We have been unable to find the training site of the Threes for years. Connect the dots."
The Overseer frowned for a moment, before he looked up with the realization. "The Threes are trained there?"
Kaiser nodded. "It's the most logical place I can come up with: Rough enough of an environment for the Spartans to train in, off the charts and out of the way so no one can stumble upon them, and it would explain all the ONI personnel that have gone missing in that start sector."
the Overseer nodded. "I see." he paused. "I will inform Commander Coldrun of your suspicions, and ask for two more Legions, as well as a Cerberus squad."
Kaiser swallowed. Even one Cerberus unit could give even the Master Chief a run for his money. But an entire Squad...
"I advice you turn that into three squads, Overseer. There's no telling how many Spartans there actually are on the planet, and I don't want us to be caught off-guard."
The Overseer nodded. "A wise decision. But remember: He will be displeased if we lose this many Cerberus operatives. They're more expensive to create and train than even Assault Carriers or Marathon Cruisers. If they are killed, he will have both our necks."
Kaiser nodded, knowing how Gharst looked upon the deaths of the Cerberus units. Not to mention, Recko. If Gharst didn't get them, Recko would.
And he preferred Gharst's executions to anything Recko could do to them.
"They won't fail. As you know, the Master Chief's occupied with Truth, and that HyperLethal Three's on Sang'Katarn. They won't fail."
"For both our sakes, I hope they won't." the Overseer said, before signing off.
Kaiser sat back in his chair for a moment, watching the large battle between the Covenant loyal to Truth and the Separatist/UNSC alliance unfold.
Indeed, it would likely guarantee success if the Cerberus squads were deployed on Onyx. But any casualty among their ranks, and Kaiser would find his neck to be severed, and likely put on a pike.
He just hoped Blue Team would be exhausted by the Sentinels before they engaged Cerberus.
Onyx orbit, Zeta Doradus system.
Linda frowned, as they exited Slipspace above Onyx. For one, while Halsey said the system was remote, it was practically still within UNSC territory. And, from the looks of it, it was actually inhabitable.
Second, there were a lot of small miniature Drones overhead. Linda even thought she spotted a few of them headed...
"Incoming." Will said from the sensor station. "About two hundred contacts, unknown designation, but seemingly Forerunner in appearance."
"Weapons charged and ready." Sam said from the weapons station. "Although I'm not sure if it's the plasma torpedoes or the energy projector I'm using."
"Linda, get us on course for the sector Halsey said they would be in. Will, go ahead and prepare a dropship. And take the nukes on board as well. Sam, take down as many as you can, but abandon the effort if it's too much. Our objective's to land on the planet, not kill unknown drones."
They all nodded, as Fred took charge of the situation. Will ran away from the sensor station with the nukes, and Sam pushed a lot of buttons. The ship shook as Plasma discharged from the cannons. Linda put them on a course that would get them in the necessary sector. Just not in the usual way.
"Looks like it's Plasma torpedoes after all." Sam quipped.
"And you were supposed to be our heavy weapons expert?" Linda teased. "I expected better."
"Cut the Chatter." Fred said from the engineering console, putting as much power as he could into weapons and engines. Sure enough, they sped forward.
But after a moment, things went bad. As usual. The Sensor station started whining some alarm.
Fred got up from the engineering console, and got a look.
"This can't be right." Fred said. "Sensor's showing three ships exiting Slipspace right behind us... two Marathon-class Cruisers and a CCS-class Cruiser. They're in formation with one another."
Linda frowned. "Even Kantar and Hood aren't as synchronized, with the peace between Elites and Humans only hours old."
She looked at the Hologram Fred brought up in the center of the Bridge: The planet, with the drones, to the front of the ship, the Bloodied Spirit in the center, and the fleet of Three ships in the back. After a moment, Sam jumped up.
"Wait. Zoom in on the dorsal bow of the Marathon on the right."
Fred complied, and he manipulated the Hologram. After a moment, it zoomed in on the area indicated. It showed a symbol. One they hadn't seen in a month, and didn't expect to see now.
A Shield as a background, with an Elite skull up front, with a hole indicating the skull had been shot, and two combat knives serving as crossbones.
"So." Fred said concerned. "We get to meet the killers of the Eridanus Rebels."
"Looks that way." Linda answered. "Still, at current projections, we'll still arrive before they do."
Fred nodded, and as he moved back to the engineering, he raised Will.
"Will, be careful. Unknowns on our six. Markings match those we found on that elite we found at the Eridanus rebels base."
"I copy, sir. Nukes are aboard, and I'm starting the preflight checks now."
"You better hurry." Sam said. "They're charging weapons."
"Who?" Linda asked.
"Both of them, the ones behind and in front of us... and we're in a crossfire here."
Linda cursed, as she glanced over to sensors. Indeed, there was an Energy Build-up in both parties. But she observed something else. Something... interesting.
The drones were combining. And the Energy build-up tripled.
And that could only mean...
instantly, she activated all emergency thrusters on the bottom, and fired the engines. It brought everyone down on the ground, and it rattled Linda's teeth... and brought them out of the line of fire just as the large mass of Drones fired their energy beams. They missed their Cruiser...
And hit the one of the unknown assailants. Linda silently cheered. That was one...
then her cheers died down, as she saw what emerged from the cloud of vapor.
The Cruiser the drones had hit. Undamaged.
Linda was slightly shocked. That build-up, when she'd detected it, was similar to one of an energy Projector's beam, and would have had the same effect on their cruiser. But for this one to escape unscathed, they must have had a ton of luck, a super good reactor...
Or shields superior even to those of the standard Covenant. She didn't know which of the latter two she dreaded more.
Fred got up, as they finally entered the atmosphere. The drones, seeing more prey, had abandoned them in favor of the unknown targets at their backs. "Everyone, to the Dropship." he ordered. "with these Drones' lasers, and the unknown's shields, we're the underdog. And as much as I want to dug it out with them we're no naval experts or tacticians."
Linda nodded, and she got out from her station in one of the crew pits. Then, she followed Fred and Sam to the Dropship, running as they went.
They got to the Dropship, a Phantom gunboat, just in time: The Drones started firing on them again, and she stumbled as the ship shook from the drones' fire. Then, as the Dropship exited the bay, the ship broke apart behind them. The unknowns had fired on them as well, and the ship's reactor must have overheated. The ship blew into three pieces, and all trailed down to the planet below.
Fortunately, due to Linda's unusual course, exactly where the camp would be. They let the dropship fall as well, disguised as debris. After a moment, as they nearly crashed into one of the Cruiser's forward ventral fins, Will reactivated the dropship's engines, and they flew away, to where they suspected Halsey would be.
As they landed, Sam looked around. It wasn't that harsh of a planet. Mostly, it just seemed like a lot of jungle, and here and there in the distance a patch of tundra. But still, they were in cover now, and they needed to keep moving. Halsey and the others with her would likely need a lift to wherever the technology might be, and they needed to be found.
He looked over his back, at the rest of the group. Linda, as usual, was covering their rear, Sniper aimed behind them at all times. Fred was in the middle, his Battle Rifle held ready in case of an attack, and the Spartan Laser he'd scavenged earlier during the battle of Earth still on his back. And Sam was walking out front, ready to take anything coming at them down with his Minigun. Will was still in the Dropship, keeping her ready in case they needed evac fast.
He looked at his right. The Canyon wall, on top of which most of the Cruiser had crashed, was kilometers long. Fred had figured it would be good to stay in the immediate area of the crash site, as the others would likely start searching for them there. And so, they were walking in circles, patrolling the area, in case more of those Drones appeared.
And sam was pretty sure by now they were some sort of previously unseen Sentinels. They were Forerunner, small in initial appearance, and guarded Forerunner sites. It made sense for them to be Sentinels.
But he dismissed his thoughts. He needed to pay attention to his surroundings, and to do that, he needed to be alert.
He was walking the circle for the fifth time, when he noticed something. One of the large rocks in the wall, hidden behind a pair of other rocks, was of a slightly different color than the other ones. And, as Sam stepped closer and tapped at it with his finger, of a different kind than the onyx they had seen a lot in the last few minutes.
"What did you find?" Fred asked, as he moved over to look.
Sam put down his Minigun, grabbed both sides of the Rock, and lifted it. He put it down on a different spot than earlier.
As expected, it had revealed a previously hidden cave. Fred and Linda had their weapons raised at the new opening. Sam picked up his Minigun again, and stepped inside. The others shortly followed.
It was a dead end. It just led to a small supply chamber. The back wall was stacked with crates, mot of which, upon further inspection, were filled with trash, stolen armor and supplies. Aside from that, there were a table, on which lay a datapad and a datachip, a crate to sit on, and a...
Sam picked it up. He didn't know what it was. It was like a very small baton, yet, with the black grip longer than the actual silver-gray stick. In total, it was only about 55 centimeters long. He looked at it.
Then, despite himself, he smiled. On the bottoms was a sticker, and there were a few words written on it.
If found, return to S.E.V. Zane.
So this was Six' combat knife. Or one she had owned prior to joining the Spartan Program.
But that didn't make sense. She was only nine when she was 'recruited' by ONI.
That meant it had likely belonged to a relative of her. Likely her father.
He put the odd baton away on his belt, and looked at the others. They were all still looking around, inspecting some of the goods on their own. Sam went back to his own search.
He picked up the data chip, and put it into his helmet.
Immediately, his HUD went black, and for a moment he feared he had let a virus inside the chip get into his armor.
But it didn't end up that way. The HUD was replaced by an image, of this cave in the background.
And in the foreground, despite looking younger and without as many scars as he'd seen on the Ascendant Justice and in her files, was Six.
He smiled, and he listened to the story of her Log, numbered ninety.
Log 90 of Sierra B312. I suppose this will be my last Log here, as I will be shipped out tomorrow for the Augmentations.
B170 is still missing. That makes over six months. That's the largest amount of time anyone's been gone from this place. Even my interrogation resistance training didn't last as long. And ONI, as usual, has been unable to recover a body. Just like with Fire team X-ray. I want him found, but Lieutenant Ambrose doesn't have the Authority to mount a proper search for him. And ONI sure isn't going to step in. They value Zone 67 too much, and don't want too many prying eyes. Beyond their own, of course. But even if they hear Ambrose's request, they won't consider one trainee worth the effort of further investigating whatever's up there.
Crazy nutter, B170. He might have looked sane to anyone else, but he was just as crazy as me. He was just a lot better at hiding it. Heh, that's the only good thing he's taught me: How to hide stuff, like true intentions, behavior. Or even feelings. All real handy when avoiding interrogations, or 'evaluations', as ONI likes to call them.
Look, I don't want to worry anyone who finds these things. But in case you find these, things will have gone downhill here. I secured this place as best I could.
And believe me, I can do a lot, especially with all the Special training I've been taking in addition to the original regime and the Cat-II training Kat has also been doing. This thing's now a practical bomb shelter. That is, unless the Brutes start ripping at the Boulder I'm using as an emergency exit.
It's also my last for another reason: My routine thefts of Datachips for all those logs. has been noticed.
If you find this, take my heirloom. It's that weird baton-looking thing on the table.
I hope you'll find your own uses for it. I know what it is, and it's helped me a lot over the years.
Good luck.
B312 out.
Sam pulled out the chip. He looked around again. She said that this was Log 90. therefor, there had to be more.
He found them in less than a minute. The Crate serving as a chair was filled, and inside Sam had found all the logs.
Fred walked over, and inspected them. They were sorted in Racks, and Sam could read two specific sets of each. One, as expected, belonged to Six, under the designation B312. The other belonged to the Spartan she'd mentioned, B170. It was incomplete, and a quarter of what could be filled was missing. Likely around that moment, B170 had gone missing.
Sam gathered the racks of Datachips, put them in his pouches, and looked around again.
There wasn't anything additional of value. Fred and Linda had grabbed the leftover rations of since Six left, and there wasn't much else. So, they moved out, and made their way to continue their patrol.
When they immediately were forced back into cover, as fire came at them from all around them.
Sam dived back into the cave, and he looked at Linda. "That Sonar sounds real nice now." he said. "Would aid tremendously in determining how many of them are out there."
Linda nodded, and activated her Sonar attachment. After a moment, she flicked the switch again, multiple times. Finally, after nearly fifteen seconds of trying, she shook her head.
"Thing's broken. It has to be."
"And why is that?" Fred asked, as he slightly rounded the corner to fire, only to be forced back as Plasma Launcher rounds hit near his position.
"I'm detecting Brutes, Elites and Humans all working together. All of them against us."
"Ever considered Mercenaries?" Sam asked, as he fired a Rocket at where he suspected a few of them were in cover. After the hit, dust shot up, and sure enough, Sam saw the fire headed towards them had lessened.
"Could be." Linda admitted. "But I doubt it. They're too well equipped. Too well organized."
"And they've got us cornered." Fred said. "The only other exit's too small for us in armor. And once we remove it, we won't stand a chance out there."
Sam peeked around the corner, as more and more shots hit their cover.
They were, indeed in a tough spot.
Then, he got an idea. The gunboat!
"Will, where are you?" he asked. "We're under attack, and need immediate fire support."
unfortunately, only static answered him. Not good at all!
"Blast!"
"We're being jammed." Fred said. "As Linda said: too organized."
Sam nodded, then deployed the stance he had for the Minigun, and deployed it so he could fire clearly down the chokepoint. And prepared for what could be their last stand.
Kelly had started running towards them as soon as they had crashed. While no ordinary com would have been able to discern the IFF tags, most ordinary com systems didn't have Kalmiya piggy-riding them. She had detected the others of Blue Team the moment they'd entered the system, followed by their uninvited guests. After Blue Team's ship had been shot down, the newcomers had landed on top of a plateau, barely a few dozen meters from the crash site of the Bloodied Spirit. And, for some dumb reason, Blue Team had stuck around the crash site, and the unknowns had been able to surround them.
And now, Kelly, Kurt and the others were all running towards them. Mendez and Halsey were using the old Warthog the Threes had managed to hide, and they were taking a detour across a lot of dirt-roads.
Finally, Kelly managed to arrive at the site of the battle. It was, Kelly had to admit, a depressive sight. Over thirty soldiers of various species, mostly Elites Brutes and Humans, had surrounded a small cave, from which loud turret fire emerged. Despite the situation, Kelly smiled. At least Sam was still alive, or he wouldn't have let others use his turret. Like Jorge, Alice and Romero, Sam always preferred using a turret.
Kurt and the other Threes finally caught up. "We're being jammed. The ships on the top of the plateau are disrupting coms."
"We'll manage." Kalmiya said, using the speakers of Kelly's helmet. "Just do your part, Lieutenant."
Kurt nodded, and he took Team Saber, to the left of the formation. Kelly turned to the two remaining Spartans, Tom and Lucy. "You two, with me."
"We're with you, ma'am. Always wanted to see the fastest being alive in action."
Lucy just shook her head at her partner's enthusiasm, before nodding she was ready.
Kelly raised her Oathsworn, and ran towards the main force of assailants, although she kept a pace Tom and Lucy could keep up with.
The assailants were easy to spot: They wore Black and bright Yellow armor, and the yellow stood out. Strangely, the Brutes wore full body-armor as well, and they were more disciplined than usual.
But Kelly didn't pay it special attention. Kalmiya could do that, and she needed to help her friends.
That was when something unusual happened.
A Phantom gunboat flew over, and laid fire on the enemies. Then, as if by a miracle, the static lifted.
"Will, we need extraction! They're too much for us!" Fred said, sounding overwhelmed.
"I'm a little busy, Fred." Will retorted. "Namely, saving your ass!"
"Will, this is Kelly!" she called. "We're inbound, coming from North and West side."
"Kelly!" Linda called. "We're in that cave, with over fifteen hostiles. If you're going to aid us, you'd better do it now!"
Kelly frowned. There were still twenty five hostiles left. "That will take a moment. Your friends left a rearguard."
"Oh, these are definitely not Friends." Sam said, hurried. "I'm not even sure Six would like them. And she likes psychopaths."
At this, they finally came into range. Kelly fired at the first, an unsuspecting human covering his teammates, a Brute and an Elite, as they brought up a pair of Spartan Lasers. The Human's backbone was shattered by the blast, and the man fell. Tom threw a Frag grenade at the Lasers, and Kelly saw, to her satisfaction, that the Brute died, and the Elite reeled back from the pain. Lucy jumped up, and snapped the Elite's neck.
Next, Kelly turned her attention to a charging Brute, who, surprisingly, wielded a pair of Energy Swords. Kelly countered the charge, by throwing one of the Plasma Grenades she had kept since the Ascendant Justice/Gettysburg, and firing at it as it passed the Brute's face. The Brute tried to turn away. Only to meet a DMR round fired by Lucy. Face to face.
Kelly nodded in thanks, and picked up the Plasma rifles the Brute had holstered. She put Oathsworn on her back, and fired away at a pack of Brutes that was making its way towards the Cave. To her surprise, a human was leading the charge.
But Kurt put a stop to it. He and team Saber had gotten to the top of the Plateau, and fired down on the group. The Brutes, surprised by the fact they'd been outmaneuvered, didn't stand a chance. They were cut down.
But then, a pair of Elites separated themselves from those attempting to take down Will's gunboat.
And Kelly, upon seeing them, instantly knew she was in trouble. For one, they had an increased physique, and seemed far more agile. For another, their armor was different from the other assailants. More advanced, more powerful.
And it looked nearly identical to that of the one they'd found in the ruins of the Eridanus hideout.
"shit." Kelly muttered, as the Elites started to stalk towards her. Both holstered their ranged weapons, and drew Energy Swords.
"You won't outrun us, 087." one said. "Your rabbit hole has been uncovered by the bloodhounds."
"Our true test of skill is at hand." its twin said. "Spartan Versus Cerberus. Speed versus Lethality."
after a pause, both raised their swords. "Time to die, Shaddock." they said at the same time.
At that word, Shaddock, she immediately felt lightheaded, and she suddenly found herself back in time.
27-08-2517
"Where are we going?" she asked, as she was put in an Albatross. None of the men or women responded.
She cowered in the confines of the small ship, barely larger than a dropship, as it led them away from her home world of Imber. There were fifteen of them, sitting in the hold: All children of similar age, none of whom she'd ever seen before. She didn't like them at first sight. She cried. She wanted to just go home.
After a moment, a young man with dark skin, and hair so short she could see his head beneath it, approached her. He held a tray with cups of water, and a bowl of sweets. The other men looked at him with surprise and disapproval. But the man didn't pay it any attention. He handed out the water, and gave each of them a few sweets. Kelly took it greedily. Despite the fact that a stranger was giving her something (And her parents had taught her to never accept things from strangers) she accepted it.
"What's your name, little girl?" the man asked, as he sat down in front of her.
Kelly drank a bit of the water. "Kelly." she answered hesitantly. "Kelly Shaddock."
"Well," the man said, holding his hand out. "I'm Marcus Graves. The pilot of this sorry tug." Kelly wasn't sure, but there was something that sounded like sorrow in the man's voice.
"Where are we going?" she repeated.
The man sighed. "We're going to Reach. That's all I'm allowed to say."
Kelly nodded. She'd heard of Reach. It was supposedly one of the Galaxy's largest worlds, containing billions of people.
"Where are my parents?" Kelly asked. "I was supposed to meet them. At the school."
The man was only silent. "All I can say for sure is that they aren't here."
Kelly looked down, thinking. "Will I ever see them again?"
Graves looked down himself. After a long silence, all he said was this.
"I don't know."
but, just as Kelly was about to ask something else, an unknown voice called out.
Then, she suddenly recognized it, despite the fact it was from the future.
It was Kalmiya!
"Wake up! Kelly, Wake up now! For John!"
Kelly suddenly got out of her referee. She saw the Elites were almost onto her, and she jumped away, throwing a grenade onto the ground so the blast would carry her farther.
Blast! Whatever those Elites had said had forced out a Flashback, a memory she'd thought lost, distracting her for precious seconds. Now, she was put on the defensive.
And she noticed she was losing ground fast! Immediately as she landed, one was onto her, trying to slash at her Throat. She ducked underneath it, but it adjusted its strike, going down at the last second.
She was only saved due to the fact she had stumbled, and fell out of the way of the strike.
Then, as she jumped up, the Elite tried to kick out her legs from underneath her. As she landed, she saw the Elite hadn't followed up. Instead, it were keeping its distance distance, though it did keep its eyes on her.
Then, she suddenly remembered something.
Its partner.
She fell forward, as she was kicked in the back. And, unlike with usual Elites, this blow actually threw her over twenty meters distant.
As she got up, she saw both of them were smiling at her malevolently.
"Impressive." the first said again. "I didn't expect you to recover so fast."
Kelly bit down on her lips. "I'm not as easily killed."
the other Elite's mandible guards shifted away, and, having seen Fol do so several times, she saw it smile. "Maybe. But the Master Chief's not here to save you now."
then, they both suddenly looked behind themselves, as two heavy objects fell to the ground. Kelly looked behind her assailants.
Sam stood there. His Minigun and Rocket Launcher on the ground.
And he looked pissed.
"And here I thought you guys were mercenaries."
"We are." the second elite retorted. "We merely hold nothing back. Not even memories thought forgotten."
Sam rolled his neck, and brought his fists together. "All the same, I want a piece of you guys now."
he grabbed the Kukri and his own combat knife, and took on a low combat stance. "And I'm not leaving without one."
Kelly, during this exchange, took in her surroundings, in less than a second. Kurt was leading the Threes against these Mercs, and they were put on the defensive as a result. Fred and Linda had managed to come out of the cave and were providing support, along with Will's gunboat.
It was just the four of them. As they'd said, Spartans against whatever these beings were.
Cerberus. That was it. No matter what, it was a name she would remember.
Then, one of the Elites turned to her, while the other raised his hands in a boxing stance.
"So be it." the First said. "Caldwell."
the Elites then stormed at them. And, as Kelly expected, Sam was temporarily frozen, stuck in an unknown memory of his past. Before her opponent got to her, Kelly managed two sentences before she was forced to fight.
"Get out of it, Sam. For Six."
She didn't look to find out how her attempt went. She blocked the blows the Elite threw at her. And, she had to admit, this Elite was stronger than most.
Much stronger.
She blocked a swipe at her with his Energy Sword by throwing her arm against his.
Every bit of her speed was needed to evade the strikes. Every time she blocked, she was thrown clear, and she had to use all of her speed to even get up in time before he was on her again. As she evaded, her prompt had worked. Sam was beating away at his Elite. But then, the Elite took a direct hit to the head, and she saw Sam had used his full strength in that strike. Most Elites would be dead by now.
But this Elite only jerked its head to the side, as if he was merely slapped in the face. It tilted its head, and gave Sam a punch of his own.
Before she could see the full reaction, she was back to evading the blows of her own Elite. And he was catching up. While, if she was at her full strength, she might have been able to outfight him through her fast counters and quick strikes. But she had been exhausted from running, as there wasn't enough room on the warthog. And the exhaustion was getting to her.
She dodged another punch aimed at her chest, which she knew would have broken her ribcage. Then, her back bumped into something.
It was Sam.
"No good." Sam panted. "They have my strength, and your... speedy reflexes."
Kelly nodded. She had figured out as much. This thing adapted just as fast as she did, and could strike just as quick.
She then had an idea. A stupid one. One that could mean the death of both of them.
It was also something Six and John might have done.
"Want to trade?" she whispered to Sam. "My opponent for yours?"
before she got an answer, she turned around, jumped past Sam, and attacked his opponent. The Elite, obviously surprised, barely had time to block her punch.
And didn't jump away as she threw her last Plasma grenade at his helmet. It stuck.
Kelly jumped away, rolling with her fall before getting up. She turned around.
The Elite had managed to remove is helmet, and she could see he was heavily scarred, and, as the corpse at Eridanus Secundus, filled with implants.
But removing his helmet had sealed his fate.
The helmet was removed, and he had inadvertently turned the grenade to his face.
It blew up, the blast directed towards the face, and when the vapor cleared, two-third of his head was gone.
He fell down, finally dead.
She turned around. Sam had obviously gotten her intentions, as he was battering away at the Elite with all of his strength. And while the Elite was still faster, he had to get used to the more powerful blows.
And he didn't have the time for that.
As the Elite tried to strike at Sam with both of his fists, Sam caught them both.
And he smiled, as Kelly knew.
"My turn."
and with that, he got a better grip on the arms themselves, and he ripped the arms off with all of his strength, and hammered away at the stunned body. Kelly joined in, and they each landed a few punches before passing the body over to the other.
After a moment, it fell onto its back.
"I see I... underestimated... Blue Team. Rest assured... Cerberus... won't... make that... mistake... again."
and with that, it spat out a bit of blood, before its eyes closed. They didn't open.
Kelly sighed, as she grabbed her weapons, which had fallen during the scuffle.
"Your friends." Kelly started, as she felt her body shake from the exhaustion. That fight had truly taken something out of her.
In fact, it was the first true challenge to her speed she'd had since the Augmentations.
"Are they always this tough?"
"No clue." Sam answered, and he sounded just as exhausted. "We only met... about five seconds before you got to us." Kelly noted that he was leaning on one leg mostly, limping to his Minigun. Kelly put Oathsworn on her back, holstered the Plasma Rifles, and made her way over to both of Sam's weapons.
"I'll carry that." she said, picking up his Rocket Launcher. Afterwards, she put Sam's right arm over her shoulder, and heaved him up. "You've had a rough fight. You deserve a rest." she moved to pick up his Minigun.
But he beat her to it. "You had one as well. Come on. We'll limp back to the others."
and with that, after Sam had slung Kelly's left arm over his own shoulder, they limped back.
By the time they arrived at the others, the fight was over. The mercs, whoever they were, had been defeated. Kurt had seemed to be catching up with Fred, Linda and Will, who had gotten out of his stolen gunboat. Halsey and Mendez stood a bit back at that group, but were still close enogh to overhear. The others were searching the corpses for ammo and supplies.
As the two limped over, everyone looked at them. Fred rushed over. "What the hell happened to you two?" he asked, as he got out a med kit.
It was then, that she finally noticed the extent to how Sam had been beaten up. His visor was cracked, his Chest piece was had multiple fist-sized dents in them, and his leg plate was bent.
"We got our asses kicked." Kelly answered for them. "Now, if you don't mind, I want to sleep."
Fred nodded, and he guided them towards the gunboat. As they got in, Kelly saw they had two crates with radioactive material in them. Knowing Sam, it were most likely nukes, as an insurance no one else would get at the tech.
Fred lay down a pair of blankets recovered from that cave, and Kelly lay down on one.
"We'll wake you guys once we're all rested and prepared." Fred said. "Until then, sleep."
and with that, he exited the ship through the grav-lift. Kelly sighed, and examined her own armor.
It wasn't in that good a state either. Her lower arm plates were as good as useless, as cracks and seams lined them, likely the result of her attempts to block the blows of those Elites. Her backplate, upon inspection, was also, literally, ripped in two from the kick. On top of that, the buckles securing the front plate to her body suit had been broken by a pair of strikes.
In short, the armor was a wreck.
Kelly sighed, and removed Kalmiya's datachip from her armor, inserting it in a datapad with a small holographic projector, for showing images. Kalmiya appeared.
"Who the hell were those guys, Kalmiya?" she asked, gasping a bit as she moved a painful part of her body. "Because they are just as fast and strong-"
"As Spartans." Kalmiya finished. "I know. And beyond the fact they're connected to the corpse you found at the Eridanus base and with the ships in orbit, I haven't a clue what they are."
"There has to be something." Sam said, as he sat down and inspected his own gear. "No one makes beings like that without anyone noticing."
"I don't know, Spartan." Kalmiya persisted. "I suspect I have files detailing the general group, but nothing concerning how they were enhanced."
Kelly nodded. "Then that'll do." she said. "Bri-"
"Later." Kalmiya said. "As you said, you got your ass kicked. And if even a Spartan manages to get their ass kicked, they will need all the rest they can to recover."
Kelly wanted to argue, but Kalmiya was right: she was exhausted, bruised, and needed some sleep. She grabbed her Helmet, and put it under her head, serving as a headrest.
And, with that, she dozed off.
Halsey and Mendez stepped over to the corpses of the Elites Sam and Kelly had been fighting. She had watched the fight from a short distance, noting everything she could: the armor, the weapons, the voices.
And she was starting to get terrified.
These Elites, were it not for Kelly's sudden switch, would have bested them. They had everything a Spartan had: Speed, incredible strength, skill... they even used their pasts against them, using surnames that they likely had forgotten to make them hesitate in battle, and take them by surprise. Blast, one even had taken a direct punch from Sam without even reeling back. These beings, Cerberus, as she overheard, were dangerous. The most dangerous beings in the galaxy, likely.
She dreaded the day one would come for her.
She looked up, as Mendez approached her. He was, however, also looking at the corpses in concern.
"I'll admit it: These things are tough as nails." he said. "You saw what it took to beat them." he looked up.
"there are likely more of them out there, and we don't have what it takes to beat them all."
Halsey nodded. "As Conroy would say: 'You can't fight everything and expect to always be victorious'. We knew our Spartans would face Challenges."
Mendez looked at her, with disapproval evident in his eyes.
"Though I never expected anything like them." she admitted. "We need to get to Zone 67 before they do, and keep that tech out of their hands."
Mendez shook his head. "That's the point I'm trying to make, Doc: These things can best even your Spartans. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if one even beats the Chief."
Halsey looked up, shocked by Mendez's confession. "You don't believe that."
"I do." Mendez retorted. "John doesn't have Kelly's speed. Or Sam's strength. And his infinite Luck won't be enough with these things."
before the doctor could protest, he held his hands up. "I'm not looking for a debate, Doc. I'm merely pointing this out: We need more men and people if we end up running into more of them, because we can't deal with this on our own."
Halsey, seeing his point, nodded. "We shall see if we ever do, Mendez. We shall see."
Halno Orthel'kee was pissed. Their attack on Blue Team, while going well in the initial stages, had failed. Over thirty Stormtroopers lay dead at that crashed cruiser, and two Cerberus units were dead. That left Halno with only nine Cerberus units, ten if he counted himself as well.
The ships had taken off after deploying the troops directly, and they were now in orbit.
Halno looked again at the map he had of the place.
That city, and its map room, had to be in the northern regions, somewhere. But the Buggers, or Yanme'e if you wanted to use the correct words, were unsuccessful in recovering data from the mainframe at the UNSC training facility located here. And so, Halno had retorted to using the ship's scanners to locate it. But so far, no luck.
Then, he opened a channel. The ground-side commander appeared.
"Sir, we have found Blue Team. They've all boarded the Gunboat, and are headed north. Should we intercept them?"
Halno was contemplating to let the commander do so at that exact moment. But he shook his head.
"They may have intel about this place we need. Have the King's Manor track them from orbit. They'll lead us to the Map room. And to the Teleportation portal that provides access to Sarcophagus."
the Commander saluted. "Yes, sir." she responded, before she went along her task.
He turned to his fellow Cerberus unit and second-in-command, the Brute Lonugus.
"Ready the first Legion. I want them to keep the Map room secure. The second and third, once it's located, will move on the Core room. The rest of Cerberus, including us, will join them."
"Sure that's wise, commander?" Lonugus asked. "Putting all of the pieces in one place? If something happened, we wouldn't be able to explain all the losses."
Halno shrugged. "If this job is fucked up, we're all dead anyway. Do it."
Lonugus nodded. "Yes, commander."
and with that, Lonugus went on to do his task. Halno then turned to a console, and performed his own.
After all, if he wanted every advantage, it was best that he knew all his opponents perfectly.
Right down to their last names.
And so, The end draws near. Blue Team has encountered Cerberus. and now, they must find a way to survive... or die on this wretched, remote planet.
Next: The Map room in the City, the retrieval of Katana and B170, and the final battle of the Control room. Where Sacrifices are to be made if we are to become immortal.
Gharst Omenlumin.