As he left the primary task to the rest of his company, Marco studied the Citadel from a dangerously close position. He couldn't be more grateful for the planet's slightly mountainous terrain. The hill that he was laying prone on gave him just the right bit of cover from the perimeter defenses, which consisted of a single Covenant Specter and a small handful of turrets branching out from the base. Their sensors probably already detected him, but without visual confirmation, he registered just as any local wild life would to them. The incursion on the town warranted enough attention to leave the Covenant base without any additional patrols.

Marco hummed quietly in thought. "They clearly weren't expecting their trap to fail if they had to rush their own defense force to the town. Their numbers must be limited." Despite this, the Citadel had compensated for their lack of a ground force, constructing shield generators connected around the base center. It would take either a whole fleet to destroy the base from orbit or an infiltration team with all of the kinetic barrier strength surrounding it, and the only way in was through the front.

"Nothing is impregnable," Marco said flatly. On the bright side, this was the least defended path to the Citadel, what with one turret and a single patrol vehicle. He watched closely as the Specter hovered by again in its wide circle around the massive structure. "Now's my chance." He pushed himself out of prone and slid down the grassy hill.

The moment he reacquired his footing, Marco bolted toward the giant alien structure. Sure enough, he now had the undivided attention of the turret as it began to rotate in his direction. The Assassin slipped the M319 IGL from his back, thanking God for his sixth sense that told him to bring it. He only prayed now that it was enough to do the trick.

Marco squeezed the trigger, fighting the recoil as he ran. The blast washed over the turret's protective shielding, leaving the gun itself unscathed. Despite this, the detonator's EMP shock was enough to freeze the turret, giving Marco the split second he needed to work his way past it.

He immediately discarded the weapon to free up his hands then jumped onto the rim of the turret's base socket, running around to the back just as the gun came back to life. "Cazzo," he muttered, taking a breath. He was safe now; there was no way the turret could turn around and fire in the direction of its own base. Keeping his balance, the Helljumper tiptoed his way along the shaft that connected the turret to the base.

The complicated design of the fortress made it look intimidating from afar. However, up close, for Marco at least, its multi-shaped exterior left plenty of room to maneuver when it came to climbing. "And plenty of time to think about it on the way up…" he muttered, staring up at the towering design before him, pondering the height.

With a running start, Marco gained the momentum he needed to scale the incline at the end of the branch. The Marine pressed his back against the side of the base as soon as he reached the first landing, the cold, alien alloy scraping against his armor. Why did this thing have to be forged by an orbital beam, he thought as slid his way along the rising divot in the structure, why can't the Covenant make something out of brick for once?

Marco reached a dead end once he reached the top of the ramp. The divot just didn't go anywhere else. Luckily, the darker surface that he was now facing was slightly rougher with more grooves than the purple alloy shelling that covered most of the Citadel. He looked up, trying to plot a destination rather than climbing aimlessly. There was an arch-like walkway that curved around the side of the structure, about fifty feet above his location. He tilted his head at the gap between the Citadel wall and the walkway. "I'll worry about that when I get there."

Marco stepped back a little from the wall to get a short burst of speed to help him up the wall. To his surprise, his boots barely slipped off the surface and he was able to grab onto the gridded pattern with little trouble. This wall must have been of a different material; it almost felt like a gritted rubber reinforced with steel through the Assassin's gloves. "Might as well have been brick."

As Marco lifted and heaved himself up the wall, every minute of his past teachings were being dug up from his brain. "Reach, grab, pull" he repeated in his head. It was easier said than done. It was even easier said than done while climbing a regular cliff face, at least then the rough surface would provide stepping stone for his feet. Using his legs as support was important, and this wall didn't give him as much leverage for his feet as it did his hands.

Marco was nearly there with about ten more feet to go. With a burst of energy, he threw himself toward a doodad sticking out of the wall. "Dammit," he muttered as he looked behind him at the walkway. Even this close, the gap was looking like too unrealistic of a jump. The Marine fell back on his virtue of improvisation and looked for a possible Plan B. There was a sizable opening to his left, leading into the structure.

Clutching the wall, he reached for the side of the oval shaped hole. "Come on…you're my way inside…just a little…" A sudden burst of exhaust shot out from the vent, causing Marco to lose his footing as he jerked his arm back. He made the mistake of looking down as his hand mercilessly dug into the wall. Even his HUD seemed to panic as his vitals registered as "KIA" for that brief moment.

Marco let out a muffled grunt as he threw his hand back onto the wall, finally resting his feet back in place. He controlled his breathing, cursing beneath his exhale, and then looked down beneath his arm. It wasn't the height that bothered him; it was the thought of loosing his hand to the heat of that exhaust port. He was just glad not to see his hidden blade glinting in free fall beneath him. "Fine," he murmured, glaring over his shoulder at the walkway.

Marco gathered all of his nerve, bracing his legs hard against the wall. This kind of maneuver was the same as a regular jump; bend the knees and push out. The only problem was the distance between the Citadel wall and the walkway; it was enough to make Marco nervous. He took a breath then counted. One, two…three!

He threw himself from the wall, one hand following the other as he reached out. He made contact with the shape, making a noise as his armor impacted its plating. A sharp exhale was stifled by his helmet as he found himself holding onto the catwalk's "railing." Marco brought his legs up for leverage onto the smooth metal rim and pulled himself over the rail and onto the catwalk. "That wasn't so bad."

Marco looked both ways of the catwalk to get a sense of direction. Instinct told him to climb higher, but being this far into the Citadel's perimeter, he couldn't stay out of sight for long. The doorway to the connecting tower would do nicely. Before he entered, Marco took one last look over the edge to make note of his altitude. His built in rangefinder read somewhere around 64 feet. Just then, the patrolling vehicle stopped outside of the turret socket he approached. A Brute stepped out. "Oh dio…"

The ape ignored the turret, walking away from the base toward the perimeter. Marco let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he saw the Brute turn around and shout something to his gunner. "What the hell?" Marco magnified his HUD on the Brute Captain just in time to see him bend over toward the grass. Sure enough, in the alien's hand was the UNSC design of an Individual Grenade Launcher. "Son of a-!"

"Fiend!"

Marco spun to his left in time to see a Brute standing before him in front of the tower door. Apparently, the baby kong was doing more than finishing Marco's sentence, what with the finger he had pointed at the Helljumper.