Thousand 2 One

By EnigmaticPseudonym

Chapter 2- Snake in the Brush

Sgt. Mates took a knee and brought up a fist. The squad stopped automatically. His infrared/thermal visor bathed the terrain in a hue of green, allowing him visibility in the almost pitch-black environment. He scanned his surroundings carefully, examining each boulder and dip in the landscape for the unnatural outline of a Covenant soldier.

The Yin Hemisphere was radically different from its cousin on the opposite side of the Twilight Zone, the ten kilometer area that divided the planet in half. While the Yang was covered in sprawling forests, Yin had similar terrain to the moon—cold, barren, and, other than the bustling cities that dotted the land, completely lifeless. Due to the absence of sunlight, there were very few animals and even fewer plants. The temperature always hovered at a comfortable temperature of zero degrees centigrade since the inhabitants of Col-7 would purposely release small amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere now and then.

"Ghost Buster, I want you to scout out the area," Jon whispered on the encrypted radio frequency. "Find a good vantage point. Everyone, call signs only."

"Affirmative, Mosquito. Moving out now," Charlie replied. Jon caught a quick glimpse of Charles as he leaped out of the trench Kilo-2 had been following. Only a glimpse, though, as the sniper had once again disappeared into the shadows. Probably the only sniper in the UNSC that still wore a ghillie suit, Charlie had realized the potential of the long-forgotten art of camouflage. With it and his silenced sniper rifle, he had acquired ten high-ranking Elite kills from within a hundred meters of their position. No one in the company doubted the walking bush anymore.

Jon whispered, "Tight 360." In less than a second, the squad was positioned in a rough square with each shooter crouching at each corner. Only the soldiers' heads and gun barrels appeared above the trench. To a far off enemy, it would have looked like a formation of rocks. At a range of 15-20 meters, a quick burst from the squad's modified silenced SMG's (which was chambered for the 'old-school' 10 mm to increase power) would have penetrated the skulls of any Covenant soldier, albeit a hunter or a brute (a double/triple-tap is needed for an Elite). The trade off for the increased power was a magazine containing only 30 rounds.

"Shark to Ghost Buster, targets spotted due West," Tommy said.

"Roger that, targets are visible from my position [On a tall hill 50 meters from us, Jon told himself. They appear to be a squad of Grunts returning to… a small UNSC airfield. Repeat, a captured UNSC airfield, half of the locations lights are lit. No visual on any…Wait a minute. Switching to infrared…A single black Pelican is visible on one of the landing pads behind the lights. Covenant Specters and Ghosts are visible. "

"KGB to Ghost Buster, do you have an estimate of enemy strength?" Rich asked.

"Two squads of twelve in the immediate vicinity, KGB. Elites have one hostage, a male pilot. Male is…"

"Come on!" Midas pressed. "Canton and the rest of the squad can't wait all day!"

"…Male is Kilo-2-6. Repeat, Sergeant Nelson Zen."

"Nellz?" Kilo-2-1 through -5 called out in surprise.

"My eyes are better than yours. And THAT is Kotahi out there with a plasma rifle in his face and his body raised a foot off the ground by his neck," Charlie added.

Tommy placed a hand on Jon's shoulder. "Lead, it's high time we return the favor and pull Kotahi's ass out of the fire."

Jon nodded in agreement. "Kilo-2 move out. Surround the airfield and slowly tighten the circle around them. Ghost Buster, provide covering fire on go-code Alpha. Kotahi isn't going to die today."


What had started off as a seemingly successful defense of the planet had degraded into a space battle with no clear victor and furious hotspots of fighting centered on the major cities of Col-7. All seemed to be going well until the Covenant managed to destroy the Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace Drive of the Decisive Force. The whole crew had been forced to abandon the ship and join the fighting on the ground. And that's how Sgt. Nellz came to be suspended above the ground by an Elite.

"Human, you will tell me where your Admiral Too-yeh is or I will be forced to brutally end your life!" the Elite slammed him hard against a tall metal crate, causing Nellz to cough up blood.

"I…cough… told you already! I don't know!" Nellz spat. The Elite rewarded his defiance with a punch into his gut and a back-hand slap across his face.

"FOOL! We tracked your transport and one of our scouts saw your Admiral. Tell me the location of your superior or death will soon follow!"

Nelson continued to cough out blood. He was never going to compromise the human race. They were going to have to kill him first. He was about to kick the Elite in the stomach when he saw the edge of a helmet 20 meters away slowly moving left and right. Support has arrived!

The Elite had grown extremely impatient. The plasma rifle was now secured on his hip and he was wielding an activated energy sword. "You have angered me for too long. Die, scum." He saw the human pilot close his eyes. Coward, the Elite thought. Thanks to the explosion of the flash bang in between his legs and a high caliber round impacting his skull, that though would be the last thing to cross his mind.

Nelson's ears were still ringing when he opened his eyes. He was on the ground with his back against the metal crate. He saw four men in black ODST gear approaching his position. He smiled when he saw the simple 'K2' painted onto the plates attached to their biceps.

"…llz you okay? Nellz!"

"I hear ya, Jon. Stop screaming. That flash bang almost killed my ears." He looked around saw the rest of the squad in a semicircle around him, with Covenant bodies scattered all around the ground. Tommy, Rich, Midas, and Jon were all here. Charlie was probably on the tall hill over there still covering the area. He stood up, looked to his right, and saw a hole about the size of his thumb nail less than five centimeters from where his head had been. Midas brought him his wireless head set from the Pelican. "Charlie, you almost hit me there," Nelson said into his microphone.

"Stop complaining," he said jokingly."At least I didn't hit you." Chuckles emanated from the squad. "Anyway, glad to have you back Nel."

"Glad to be back guys. Well, this place is too far out from the planet's capital, so you're probably on a separate Op from the defending force, right?"

"Yup, we have to recover Admiral Tuye, the bridge crew of the DF, and his AI," Jon replied.

"Last time we were in contact with him, they were besieged in a bank in Sector 9," Rich added.

"Already? I just dropped them there a few hours ago!"

Midas nodded in acknowledgment. "No rest for the weary."

"Hey Nellz, can you still fly?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you take us to Tuye?"

"Sure. We better get going though, there's more where these guys came from."

"A'ight guys!" Jon called out. "Saddle up. We'll pick Charlie up on the hill."


To Be Continued…