November 15, 2552
Earth, Missouri
1745 CST
The SOEIV hatch rocketed away, smashing into a nearby tree. A fifth of the pod itself was buried in the ground, debris kicked up around its impact crater. Eric looked around from the limited view, thankful to see green grass after the ruinous greeting of Earth's orbit. He stepped out of the pod, released the safety on his Battle Rifle and gathered a more complete view of his position. To the south he saw a telltale landmark; the St. Louis Gateway Arch. The monument was almost six centuries old, yet the city of St. Louis had never let it fall into disrepair. To their credit, the monument looked as though it was still the year 2000.
Eric opened his communications, broadening the scope as wide as his in-armor systems would allow. "This is Gunnery Sergeant Eric Thurson of ODST Fireteam Helbound, broadcasting to any available UNSC forces." He said as he surveyed the area. "My squad has landed in St. Louis approximately fifteen kilometers north-west of the Gateway Arch. UNSC Come and Get 'Em is down in Sector Bravo-5, North St. Louis. Landing rated catastrophic: crew KIA prior to atmospheric reentry. Over."
The city looked like a ghost town. The trams had stopped, and smoke rose from several unseen fires. Some of the skyscrapers were decimated, ruined skeletons of their former structures. Most of the city still stood, though it was most likely infested with Covenant troops. The faint sounds of chaos could be heard just above ambient noises, indicating some form of presence though it was impossible to tell if they were civilian or military.
His earpiece crackled, the damaged antennae in the city straining to put the signal through. "Helbound, this is the 36th of Cleveland broadcasting from Fort Manning. We have no reports of a distress signal; our comms are all but shot. We have no communication with ONI Boston. Best guess is that Covenant tech is jamming all outgoing signals. Be advised, there is moderate alien activity in St. Louis. Both factions are present. From what we can tell civilian occupancy is minimal, if at all."
"Copy that, 36th. Thurson out." He didn't know what they meant by 'both factions' but after the orbital greeting they had received, any Covenant he saw was as good as dead.
Eric downloaded a map of St. Louis to his HUD from the local Waypoint, and his squad's IFF tags soon displayed over their coordinates as their systems synced with his own. The map then conformed to the existing terrain based on his current view; IFF indicators appeared behind a hill, through a copse of trees and wherever else his squad was located.
He opened up the squad comm-line, his ear-piece fuzzing with static for a moment. "Helbound, fall in." His squad's vitals appeared on the right side of his HUD as they reported; all green. Their jump had been a success in that none of the squad had died, but there had been no coordination to their landing. Cavetti had screamed – as to be expected from his first true drop – but he was the only one to have vocalized anything.
Hackett arrived first, swaggering over a small hill like she was heading to a kegger. "Helluva ride, sir. I ain't ever gonna get tired of it." She smirked through a 15% polarized visor, though her mirth was thin. "Sure didn't help the view coming down, though."
"No it did not, Lance Corporal," the GySgt replied, "though I'm sure we'll be able to repay the favor in our own way soon enough."
The rest of the squad soon arrived at the rendezvous point. "Area secure, sir." Alice said with a salute. "Ran into a couple Grunts when I landed. Gave 'em a dirt nap."
"Man, can you believe this?" Jimmy shouted in excitement. "I shot right under the Arch comin' in like I was a freakin' home-run ball. I coulda reached out an touched it if-"
"We've got a situation, Helbound," Eric said, cutting off the Private, "beyond the obvious. Hays, your methane-sucking chimps mean the Covenant are still here. Expect Elites and Brutes, as well as more Grunts and Jackals. Probably a few Hunters, too." Eric grimaced, only imagining what the large, colony-army aliens could do to the squad.
"Yeah?" Yakusheva smirked, hefting a M19 SSM Jackhammer rocket launcher. Where most Jackhammer's had 'SPNKr' painted in white letters down the side, Masha modified every rocket launcher issued to her. She had painted over the original wording, replacing it with blocked Cyrillic letters spelling 'ХЛЫСТ'. "Well I have a few surprises waiting for them, if they decide to play rough." As the demolition specialist, Yakusheva's battle-armor was thicker than the standard issue, particularly around the chest, arms and neck, providing her added protection in the likely event of an explosion.
Jimmy raised a brow at her weapon. "What does that say? 'Eksjibist'?"
Masha gave a hearty laugh, shaking her head at the rookie's complete butchering of the word. "It says 'khlist', Jimmy. It means 'whip'."
"Pft! The hell you naming a rocket launcher whip for? Makes no sense!"
She shrugged. "It makes perfect sense to me. What is the word before, 'spank'? That makes no sense." She gave a wry, sideways glance to Hackett. "Spank is nothing for a weapon. That is for a lot of fun."
Cavetti shook his head. "You're weird, Masha."
After going over the groups' individual reports while dropping in, Thurson allowed the squad some time to recuperate. Yakusheva scrolled through a datapad, learning basic information of the city. She looked up, furrowing her brow as Hackett walked over. "What in the world did you do to your visor?"
Hackett smirked, pulling off her helmet to look at it. A section of her visor was polarized to 100% in the appearance of aviator sunglasses, the rest of the glass was currently at 15%. "I got some techie to customize it when I was posted on Reach."
Yakusheva frowned. "Shit," she shook her head, "no chance to get one for myself then. How did they do it?"
"Diff'rent pieces of visor-glass. Sensors run to separate polarization managers, so I can adjust them separately, or equal them out. I thought it'd be kick-ass, and it was only fifteen hundred credits."
Masha smirked. "Always trying to be cool, aren't you?"
Hackett grinned, taking a sip from her canteen. "I am cool, Yakusheva."
Alice smiled faintly, watching The Hunters. She slung her assault rifle over her shoulder, moving to converse with the GySgt alone a few feet away from the rest of the squad. "Sir, what's our objective?" She asked, her tone hushed.
"Currently Sergeant?" Eric replied. "We make our way into the city, neutralizing any Covenant hostiles we encounter, and regroup with any UNSC forces that remain."
"What about Earth, sir?"
Eric scoffed. "Hays you want to save the world, pray real hard and ONI might send a Spartan to drop down from space and chase the Covenant off. Until then we focus on our own predicament. We'll have to worry about Earth after."
Alice furrowed her brow. "Yes sir. Any word from local friendlies?"
"Not much that made any sense." Eric sighed. "Something about two factions of freaks, and there's Covie tech that's putting outgoing signals on the fritz."
Hays thought for a moment. "First priority should be to take out those jammers then, if we can find them, and then re-establish communications with the nearest base."
The GySgt nodded in agreement. "And there's the challenge," he smirked grimly, "trying to find the very thing that's blinding us."
Alice gave a shrug. "Well, figure if it's blocking tech, the worse our stuff gets the closer we are?"
Eric gave a small laugh. "Hays, that's just ridiculous enough that it might work. We'll move out and head towards fuzzy tech, I suppose."
The Helljumpers made their way into the city. Hays crouched by the door of an apartment structure as the squad covered her, inspecting the security system. "How bad is it?" Eric asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.
She gave a small sigh. "I've seen better, but I can get us through. I'll need a minute or two." The squad covered Hays as she crouched in front of the buildings lock. She held out a hand, making a 'give it here' motion. "Yakusheva. I need a blade."
Masha de-polarized her visor to give a grimace. She pulled her combat knife from its sheath, handing it to the Sergeant handle first. "Do not bend it, da?"
"Your knife'll be fine." Alice pried the face off with the blade, exposing wires and circuits. She handed Masha her knife back. "See? Simple." When the doors finally slid open she waved the squad through, covering them before following in last. They walked down the hallway, sweeping corners and searching for signs of life. Alice came upon a door slightly ajar. It gave a low creak as she pushed it slowly with the barrel of her assault rifle. As she peered around the corner an M6-C fired, punching a hole in the wall beside her helmet. She fell back, pressing her back to the door and slamming it open fully. "Woah! Friendlies, friendlies!" The Helbound formed up around the door's frame, ready to storm the room.
A frantic woman's voice came from the living room. "Y-you come out, then, nice and slow! That was a warning shot… I know how to use this gun, and I'm not afraid of you looters!"
"We're not looters, were Helljumpers. UNSC." She set her rifle on the floor, scooting it into sight with her foot. The shot was clearly not a warning shot - the woman couldn't handle the gun well at all - but Hays didn't want to risk a jumpy trigger finger, even an unskilled one. "I'm coming around now, slowly." Alice turned the corner, her left hand held up in sight and her right hovering over her own holstered M6, hidden behind the door. The woman stood against the far wall, both hands clutching her pistol tightly. She shielded two children, boys, both of them her own by the way they clung to her. Alice's right hand waved the Helbound down before rising to join her left as she stepped into full view. "Easy… We're not here to hurt you."
The woman's face scrunched in confusion, but hope glimmered in her eyes. "UNSC… Are you Spartans?" She asked, the last word spoken with mythicized reverence.
Alice smirked behind her visor. "No, just soldiers. Here, I'm going to take my helmet off." The woman lowered her pistol as Alice's face came into view. "See? I've got a whole squad with me." She waved the Helbound over, who followed her example and removed their helmets. Seeing other humans seemed to relax the woman some.
"Well, you're a little late to the party." She said with a humorless laugh. "Those alien bastards already burned their way through the city with hardly more than the metropolitan police to stop them. The bigger fight looks to be in Cleveland, though your guess is better than mine to why."
The mother introduced herself as Tasha, leaving her sons names unsaid. When asked about the Covenant, and which aliens she had seen, she shook her head. "No, it wasn't the dinosaur-looking ones. It was the gorilla-like ones, the Brutes." She gave another dry laugh. "What a name, huh? Sure as hell accurate enough."
"Do you know if the Elites – the dinosaur ones – were with the Brutes?" Eric asked. The animosity between the two species was fairly common knowledge, but the reasons were largely unknown. Mostly troops just made note that they were rarely encountered together, and were all the more thankful for it.
Tasha shook her head. "No, not really."
Hackett breathed a sigh of relief. "Well that's damn good; I don't got enough medigel to deal with the damage both them freaks can do."
"No, I mean they weren't on the same side." Tasha's brow furrowed in confusion. "They're both in the city, but it's like they were fighting a different war. They were fighting each other. I don't know why, but I don't think the split-chins knew it was happening. The Brutes killed a lot of them."
Masha shook her head. "That is not good, Gunny. Bulls with no leash?"
Jimmy furrowed his brow. "Bulls? We ain't talking about cows, Masha."
She gave a heavy, frustrated sigh. "The big monkey-looking aliens. Because they like to charge at you- shut up, Jimmy." Masha looked back to Thurson. "Perhaps they have gone rogue; who knows what they will do then?"
Eric's mouth pressed to a thin line. "I can take a guess. If they're looking to overthrow the Elites, maybe take Earth for their own, we've got to get word to Command." He looked to Tasha. "Are you sure what you saw?"
She gave a small nod. "Hard to forget one of them pulling an Elite's head off, laughing." Her description brought an ill-looking grimace to Jimmy's face. The group jumped, startled, as an explosion shook the apartment. Not much more than the windows rattled; whatever was going on was outside the building. From the ashen look on the mother's face, it was still far too close for comfort.
Eric pulled his helmet on, the rest of the squad following suite. He looked to the civilians. "Hit the lights, get somewhere safe. We'll draw them away from here." Tasha nodded hastily, pulling her sons to her. As the ODST crept from her apartment, guns sweeping the hallway, her home darkened one light at a time.
Eric followed the sounds of battle, muffled through the walls. The Helbound followed in formation behind him, sweeping across the apartments should any Covenant try to ambush them. The GySgt heard Brutes shouting, met with angry roars of Elites-at least two of them. Plasma fire peppered their taunts and challenges, and Eric knew there were likely a handful of Grunts on either side.
"Should we hit 'em now?" Jimmy asked, his voice a low, harsh whisper.
Eric shook his head. "We stay out of this until the odds are in our favor. Keep low and keep quiet, I don't want any-" A deafening BOOM! cut Eric off as the wall in front of them shattered inward. Blue plasma flames licked around the falling rubble. "Stay down!" Eric ordered; their comms were closed, so he didn't have to worry about being heard. Hays, on the other hand…
Alice gripped her assault rifle tighter. Her vitals spiked slightly on Eric's HUD. "Screw this." She hissed, "For Reach!" Before Eric could stop her, Hays charged through the crumbling wall. One of the Grunts gave a startled chirp, whirling around to meet her with a plasma pistol raised. She slammed the butt of her rifle into its face in reply, shattering its methane rebreather. The squat alien collapsed to the ground as she brought her gun back down, firing a quick burst to cut down a second Grunt.
"Gods dammit," Eric swore, "go, go, go!" The Helljumpers followed in after Hays, weapons raised. Alice charged towards a purple-and-steel armored Elite, hoping to catch him unawares. She fired a second burst at the larger alien, causing his shields to flare. They didn't burst.
"Shit…" Alice groaned, the recklessness of her actions hitting her as the Special Operations Sangheili turned quickly to face her, a plasma rifle aimed. He considered her for a moment, grunted, and then grabbed her combat armor to shove her back towards her squad. He raised his rifle again, but fired past the group of humans. Yakusheva turned to get sights on the Elite's target, and barely had enough time to shout a warning as a Brute charged towards the Sangheili. Masha dove out of the way as it swept by, the scent of singed fur stinging her nostrils through her helmet's vents.
The Brute lowered his shoulders, slamming into the Sangheili with all his weight. The two aliens grappled for a moment, but then the Elite was lifted off his saurian feet as the ape-like Brute continued his charge around the building's corner.
Eric grabbed Hays' arm, pulling her to her feet. "What the hell was that, Staff Sergeant?" He took a quick look around them, making sure the area was relatively clear. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Hays shook her head, glad for the helmet that hid a furious blush creeping up her neck. "No, sir, just looking for some payback."
"Payback's worth nothing to the dead." He cringed as Alice bristled. "That sounded worse than I meant for it to. We'll talk later; let's move out before we lose the bastards." The squad moved quickly once everyone was up, following the Covenant around the edge of the apartments. The aliens had gotten a head start on them; Eric hoped enough time that they would be forgotten in the conflict. He leaned just around the corner, enough to get a look and still remain in cover. The Spec-Ops was accompanied by an Elite in blue armor - a Minor - and four Grunts waddled after them. Three Brutes were making for a park, turning every so often to fire back at the small lance.
Eric took point, the squad following closely behind him. "Nobody fires a shot until they're done fighting." He ordered. "With any luck we won't have many to finish off."
"Can't believe I'm actually rootin' for the split-chins." Hackett groused.
The Brutes broke through a treeline, emerging onto an empty playground. One swatted aside a spring rider, growling in annoyance as it bounced back to hit his legs. He pointed to the forests beyond the playground. "Make for the trees!" He snarled.
The Minor Elite pulled a small violet orb from his belt, activating the Plasma Grenade and lobbing it towards the pack. It arced through the air, adhering quickly to the matted fur of one Brute. He gave a startled cry, struggling in vain to pull the grenade from his fur. His packmate shoved him away just in time as the device exploded in a flash of blue plasma and gore. The Brute closest to the explosion staggered backwards, stunned and singed by the blast. He quickly fell as the Spec-Ops drove an Energy Sword through his chest, tackling him to the ground. The pack leader whirled around, roaring a challenge as he raised his Plasma Rifle. He never got to fire, as a hole edged by green radioactive residue burned straight through the center of his forehead.
The Minor lowered a Carbine as the Brute collapsed, making his way over to join the Spec-Ops. The senior Elite began to bark orders, telling the Grunts to strip weapons and supplies off the Brutes. Eric took the chance while the aliens were distracted to spread his squad in a semi-circle around the Covenant. They moved in, weapons raised. Eric kept a close eye on Hays, hoping she wouldn't do anything too reckless. Hackett pumped a shell into her shotgun, the sound alerting the aliens. The Grunts jumped, letting out a startled yelp. They would have ran, but a stern growl from the Spec-Ops kept them planted before he slowly raised his hands. The Minor looked as though he was going to attack, but then thought better of it and raised his hands as well. Now that Thurson could observe them, their armor was unlike anything he had seen before; more organic, with fewer smooth edges and elegant decorations. Hackett looked to Eric, confusion plain in her voice. "What the hell? Are they givin' up on us?"
Eric opened his comms. "Helbound to Ft. Manning. We've come upon a group of Covenant; two Elites and a handful of Grunts. Targets have laid down their weapons and appear to be surrendering. Please advise."
The almost panicked response was immediate over the entire squad's comms. "Helbound do not engage, I repeat do not engage! The Swords of Sanghelios forces are protected under the Ceasefire; any motion against them is a breach of that treaty. Do not engage!"
"You've got to be shitting me." Hays said incredulously, her assault rifle still trained on the aliens.
"Hold fire," Eric ordered, "but don't let them out of your sight."
"Humans," the Spec-Ops growled, "we greet you in brotherhood. Events have occurred among our kin that would condemn us to death-"
"Oh, plenty more than that, asshole!" Hays shouted as she slammed the butt of her assault rifle hard into the Spec-Ops's gut. He dropped to a knee, letting out a surprised cough. She stood over him, the weapon aimed directly at his face. "Reach wasn't enough, huh? You bastards had to come and burn down Earth too; and for what? Your so-called Great Journey!?" The Minor grabbed her rifle, yanking it up with one hand while taking hold of her armor in the other.
"Stand down!" The GySgt barked, the squad's guns raised further in agitation. The Minor hesitated for a moment, clearly enraged, but released Alice. She snatched her rifle from the alien, stepping back into line with a muttered curse.
The Spec-Ops stood up, his mandibles twitching in agitation. "I am Esa 'Vadam." He said, before gesturing to the Minor. "My blood-kin, Nosu, and all of the Sangheili in our cause, honor Kaidon Thel 'Vadam as Arbiter. His word commands us now as the renewed Swords of Sanghelios, and he has made peace with your leaders."
Eric slowly lowered his rifle. "Peace, huh—just like that? The view from orbit could have fooled us." His squad followed suite, equally uncomfortable with the situation. "You." He pointed at the Spec-Ops. "I want to know everything you know."
Esa looked to Hays, the ODST bristling in response. "I will speak to you, human, but not among such unruly soldiers."
The GySgt shook his head. "Fine. Helbound, secure the others. Make sure they don't do anything… sudden."
"Sir…" Tension was heavy in Hay's voice.
"Relax, Sarge." He said over private comms. "If anything happens to me, you're in command. As my final order in the event of my untimely death; kill the bastards."
Hays remained silent, but gave a sharp nod as Eric and the Spec-Ops walked towards a small gazebo. "Your soldiers are quick to anger." The alien criticized. "It will be the death of them, one day."
"Yeah, maybe," Eric said coldly, "but your kind did burn her homeworld to a cinder. Not that I'm complaining, but why aren't we dead right now?"
The Spec-Ops huffed in mild amusement. "Even you admit our skill in battle. You are not dead because we are now allies, human, and to slay an ally is a great dishonor. We have been shown the truth of this war, of the lies the Prophets told us. We need one another now."
"We've done just fine despite you split-chins trying to exterminate us. So why'd you throw in the towel?" Eric asked, setting his helmet aside as he sat on a picnic table. "I thought your Covenant was one big happy family."
Esa seemed to ignore Eric's contempt. "Not so, human. The Prophets manipulated and lied to us. When we found out the truth, we rebelled. We overthrew what Prophets we could, and took back the fleets for our own. Much blood was shed, and many Sangheili lost their lives. We side now with your kind in hopes to stop the Great Liar, Truth, on his mad journey to become a god."
"Yeah, sounds like fun." Eric said flatly. "Look, I've got orders to stand down, so you and your squad didn't get an ass full of lead. But don't think we're friends just because our bosses say so."
Esa nodded, understanding the tentative alliance.
"So what are you doing here?"
The Spec-Ops pointed off in the distance to the Gateway Arch. "Your monument has been taken. The Jiralhanae have stolen it for their crude devices. They have many Kig-Yar, and their mutual bloodlust makes them fight all the more viciously. We have been slaying any Covenant remaining in your city, while attempting to save any Sangheili caught unawares by the Jiralhanae."
Eric waved a hand in confusion, "The hell's a Jiral-hanay? Or a Kig-Yar for that matter?"
"The Jiralhanae are what you call 'Brutes', and rightfully so." Esa growled. "They have no honor. They would sooner kill their kin than serve with them. The Kig-Yar you have named Jackals; they are weak in body but shrewd of mind, and they serve without protest so long as they benefit from it."
"Yeah, and they love their snipers." Eric said grimly. "You said they took the monument. Is that what's interfering with communications?"
The Spec-Ops nodded again. "It is possible. Your primitive frequencies would suffer from the energy fields of even our simplest devices."
"Watch the primitive speak, bud." Eric scowled, looking to the Arch. "So whatever's up there, we've got to take it out. Any bright ideas?"
Esa chuckled. "Indeed, human. We kill as many Jiralhanae as we can, and we take your city back."
Hackett shook her head, watching the GySgt talk with the Spec-Ops. She elbowed Yakusheva. "Hey, what do you think the freak's telling the Gunny?" When Masha didn't answer she turned to face her.
Masha watched the Grunts as they chittered among themselves. She frowned. "They are up to something, I just know it. We should kill them, right now. Would the Brass ever know? Of course not, it is war!"
Hackett gave a conflicted look. "Yeah, but we'd know. I mean, a treaty's a treaty."
"Pff," Masha scoffed, "don't tell me that you have gone soft for the freaks so quickly."
"Hell no! I just ain't gonna lose my rank because of the bastards."
Sergeant Hays turned to face the two. "Not to mention, Corporal, that our Squadron Leader is currently isolated from the rest of us with a Spec-Ops-class Sangheili. I would much prefer not to lose him to these bastards too."
Jimmy snickered. "Yeah, we know."
Hays smacked the back of his helmet with the butt of her gun, just enough to rattle him. "He's your Gunny too, Private."
The squad chuckled as Jimmy shook his head. "Jeeze, it was a joke Sarge."
GySgt Thurson returned to the squad with Esa, shouldering his Battle Rifle. "Bunk down, Helbound. We move out at first light."
The Helljumpers made camp around the park. Hackett was fast asleep, her back propped up against Yakusheva's, who had resumed reading about the Midwest region of the United Republic of North America. Jimmy had made a small entrenchment, keeping watch over the camp with his sniper rifle while others slept.
Hays was a considerable distance from the camp. She boxed against a tree, using the distance to muffle her armored gloves striking the bark, as well as her contained grunts of frustration. Eric came up behind her; in hindsight, not the best decision. "Alice." She turned abruptly, catching him in the ribs with a surprised punch. Eric grunted. "Good thing I'm still in armor, huh?"
Hays flushed, running a hand over her head. "Sorry, sir."
"Good gods, Hays. Drop the 'sir' crap."
"Alright," she nodded, "Eric. I couldn't sleep. Decided to stay sharp." Alice sat on a fallen tree, taking a drink from her canteen.
Eric sat next to her. "Just in case a fight breaks out, huh?"
"We are in an active warzone."
Thurson gave a small sigh. "Listen, about earlier,"
Alice shook her head. "You were right. It was stupid, and it put the squad at risk. And, no matter how many Covies I kill, it won't bring Reach back." She gave a small shrug, sarcasm lacing her voice. "Plus, apparently we're all friends now." She cast a dark glance towards the Sangheili. Apparently not all was forgiven.
Eric gave a small nod. "Allies, at the very least. I don't necessarily like it either, but those are the orders." He gave her a knowing look. "Just try not to pick a fight with them? We can probably sweep one group of split-chins under the rug, but you know they won't go out without a fight."
Alice looked down. "I'll do my best Eric. But I can't forget Reach. I won't. I don't care what Command says, my family is dead because of their kind."
Eric gave a small sigh and a nod, clapping Alice on the shoulder before leaving her alone to her thoughts.